Many of us have thought about starting a business, enticed by being your own boss, only to weigh the risks and the odds of success and decide against it. Becoming an entrepreneur is an enormous “easier said than done” undertaking, one that requires vision, grit, energy, courage, skill, audacity, and more than a bit of luck.
Entrepreneurs are the beating heart of a vibrant market economy, turning ideas sketched on a napkin into reality. Those who build businesses in emerging markets are a special breed of entrepreneur because of the unique challenges they face, serving customers at the base of the economic pyramid in an unstable, unpredictable business environment. What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur whose mission-driven business is focused on improving the lives of the poor?
Audrey Desiderato and Ryan Levinson are two audacious entrepreneurs. In 2012, they co-founded SunFunder, a pioneering fund management company that made loans to distributed and off-grid solar companies in developing countries. What started as a crowdfunding platform making five-figure loans to solar companies in East Africa grew to a fund manager with a global footprint and assets under management of $130 million when it was acquired by Mirova in 2022, reaching $300 million with the closing of the Mirova Gigaton Fund in 2023. Their journey into entrepreneurship was unique, their partnership happened by chance, and their success was far from preordained. I sat down to interview them for my blog to learn how they met, what challenges they faced, and what advice they would give to someone contemplating the life of a social entrepreneur.
I will present the interview as a series of shorter, condensed pieces.
Part I – The Early Days: from idea to reality, and the role of serendipity
Every business has its origin story. The founder develops an idea for an original, innovative business, becomes convinced that it will succeed, writes a solid business plan, and finds investors to fund it. In reality, the process is rarely that simple or straightforward, and ignores the human element: for every new business there is an entrepreneur who has to make that bold, or perhaps terrifying, decision to dedicate their life to turning their business idea into a reality, with all the potential risks and pitfalls. In the case of SunFunder, the path to entrepreneurship was similarly non-linear. Audrey and Ryan had been separately incubating similar ideas when they met each other by chance, and things rapidly clicked.
Ryan: “The idea started at Wells Fargo (2007-11) where I was working on solar energy project finance transactions that were earning solid returns with low risk, and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there were a way for individuals to financially participate in such deals? It felt like there was a gap in the market. Meanwhile, online lending platforms like Kiva were getting big, while others like LendingClub and Kickstarter were emerging, and crowdfunding was becoming a thing. That’s when the idea for crowdfunding solar energy came into my head, but it sat there for a couple of years, until I decided to take a 10-month career break and travel to South America as well as South and South East Asia. That’s when I learned about the problems of energy access and energy poverty.”
Energy poverty refers to the 1.4 billion people in developing countries that lacked access to electricity when Ryan was incubating his business idea. At the same time, improvements in technology for LED lights, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels led to the emergence of companies that specialized in producing an array of low-cost products, from handheld solar lanterns to larger home systems, that could deliver energy and lighting to people living off the grid. While Ryan was traveling, he met with some of these off-grid solar (“OGS”) companies and discovered a recurring problem.
Ryan: ”I asked what challenges they faced, and the same problem popped up time and again: lack of access to capital. Small transaction sizes and large real and perceived risks kept international lenders away, while local banks seemed uninterested for similar reasons or because they lacked a certain sophistication that certain financing structures required.”
He told me that is the moment when it all clicked. Millions of people were potentially able to gain access to affordable energy thanks to these newly emerging OGS companies, which in turn needed capital to scale up their operations. That’s when he recalled his earlier idea of crowdfunding for solar and started working on SunFunder as a specialty solar finance platform dedicated to energy access in emerging markets.
Ryan: “When I moved back to San Francisco in 2012, I became really excited to go all-in on SunFunder, only to quickly realize I was in over my head and needed a business partner, especially one with emerging market experience. I had met a few interesting people working out of Impact Hub, but nothing seemed to click. Then in July 2012, I got lucky.”
That is when he met Audrey, who was similarly interested in solving the problem of energy access in the developing world. For her master’s thesis at SIPA, she wrote a business plan for a solar and cookstove distribution business in Ghana, and was mentored by Phil LaRocco, the co-founder of E+Co, an early impact investor and clean energy pioneer. Through her research, she drew the same conclusion as Ryan, that access to finance was a challenge for these emerging OGS companies, as well as capacity building.
Audrey: “When I met Ryan, I was working full-time in New York for a US co-generation developer, which had a climate impact, but I was more driven by social impact and wanted to return to emerging markets. I was experimenting with startups and other actors working on energy access, but didn’t really find a home where I felt like I could add value. Then I stumbled across SunFunder’s website, thanks to Google Alerts, and I literally just wrote, ‘Dear SunFunder, I really like what you’re doing, let’s have a chat to see where I can add value’ and sent it to contact@sunfunder.com”.
Ryan: “She contacted me out of the blue, and we had a couple of great conversations via Skype. But a business partnership is a major relationship, so you can’t just go all-in with someone right away without testing things. I remember telling Audrey that I was nervous because I had my first investor pitch to DOEN Foundation in a couple of days, and while I had a pitch deck, they requested a business plan pretty last-minute, which I didn’t have. So, I was scrambling. Two days later, without saying anything in advance, Audrey sends me a business plan by email asking, ‘What do you think of this?’ She developed a full business plan for SunFunder in her spare time without being asked, and it was a lot better than what I could have produced on my own. That’s when it clicked. I thought, here’s a woman who takes initiative and gets sh*t done. Our partnership advanced pretty quickly from there.”
Audrey also took a methodical approach to getting to know Ryan before deciding to go all-in as a business partner, in part because of a negative experience she had working for a start-up in the past.
Audrey: “I think what clicked for me about Ryan when we had our initial Skype calls was thinking to myself, here’s a smart guy with an amazing idea who is talking to potential co-founders. But I was quite purposeful about getting to know Ryan because I remember from my first job, which was also a start-up, that the co-founding team is really everything. You can have the most brilliant idea and be well financed, but if the co-founders are not solid, don’t share the same values, are not resilient, don’t have a sense of humor, or have ego issues, that will make or break a company, and your own journey as well.”
She recalls soon after those initial Skype discussions, Ryan came to a pitch event in New York, so she invited him to crash on her sofa. The in-person conversations they had sent a further positive signal, because she realized they shared certain values, such as a strong work ethic, concerns about climate change, a sense of humor, and the ability to not take oneself too seriously.
Audrey: “Humor is an important sign of chemistry. Are you going to be able to weather storms and support each other? Is the person able to reframe situations with humor? Also, the negotiation process tells you a lot about someone. We negotiated the co-founder equity split. There was an initial 5-month trial period, which was a true test. It was not just, can you have a beer with this person, which is also important, but, we went through some good disagreements that told us a lot about the other person.”
Audrey is referring to a key business decision that was made when she initially joined the company. Something Ryan describes as, “a fundamental question that not only forever changed the shape of the company but also our business partnership.”
Ryan: “My initial idea was that we would build our core team in San Francisco, and I tried to convince Audrey to move to California. But Audrey pushed back and said this is not the right approach if we’re going to serve emerging markets. She made a strong case to focus on East Africa, be based there, and build out a local team.”
Audrey: “Being on the ground was a big differentiator with SunFunder and our investors. We wanted to be there from day one, because we realized the off-grid solar market was a whole new industry. We needed to understand the end users to invest in the companies that served them. There were so many things we didn’t know. After that 5-month trial period, I quit my job, became a co-founder, and two months later packed two suitcases and moved to Arusha, Tanzania.”
For both Ryan and Audrey, that was a key moment in their business partnership. For Ryan, it wasn’t just about Audrey’s proven ability to “get sh*t done” but her willingness to weigh in on key decisions. For Audrey, being heard and treated like an equal business partner was key.
Ryan: “At that point, it became a true partnership. It was a big thing to have someone else drive important business decisions. That was the biggest business strategy decision we had ever made at that point. A lot of credit goes to Audrey on that early judgment call. That was pretty key.”
Audrey: “I would agree. From my perspective, I felt like, wow, this guy is really listening to me. Up to that point in my career, I was used to being the only woman on teams and for the most part not feeling like my perspective was taken seriously. Now, not only am I being heard, but we are actively assessing and validating what decision makes the most sense together.”
She recalls that experience with an earlier start-up, where she felt ignored and under-appreciated, is what drove her to want to become an entrepreneur.
Audrey: “I was employee number three at the start-up, but was never regarded as a co-founder. I was the only woman and was never heard and quite overlooked, so that fueled a sense of injustice and desire to start my own company and be like, ‘I’ll show those guys.’ So that fire of entrepreneurship started for not-so-positive reasons, but was always there. That fueled a desire to start a company that would bring together bright, passionate people with low egos from diverse backgrounds. It doesn’t matter where you come from because I see the benefit of diversity.”
For Ryan, that entrepreneurial spirit similarly came from a desire to show doubters that he could make it in a field that was not taken seriously at the time.
Ryan: “There were definitely doubters, including people who were very close to me. But as Audrey said, that can be a big motivator. Maybe wanting to show someone they’re wrong is not the healthiest motivator, but it can be a big one. When I entered the renewable energy industry in 2003-04 it was still early-stage, and people in my hometown thought it was just something hippies were into and it was never going to be a real thing. Some people made me feel like I wouldn’t be successful at it and should just go into the family business (a funeral home in Baltimore). It was always a motivator for me to show them that I can make a career in the renewable energy field. More than anything, I was driven by my passion for climate impact, and wanting to solve energy poverty, but those psychological motivators also played a big role.”
For Ryan, having to confront those doubters is just part of the territory when you become an entrepreneur. The successful ones rise above it and use it as a source of motivation.
Ryan: “There are always going to be doubters. I remember when I was eight months into SunFunder, not earning a salary, and before we raised any funding, a close friend of mine asked how long before I would give up, like it was inevitable that I’d fail. I don’t think there has ever been someone who started a company who didn’t have doubters telling them they’ll fail. To be successful as an entrepreneur, you just have to power through that. It’s part of what you go through.”
While luck played a role in finding each other, they clearly had complementary skills, good chemistry and shared similar values, which included taking ownership of key business decisions. I asked them if their partnership was ever tested.
Audrey: “Working across time zones can make you grumpy. Obviously, you sometimes get frustrated with each other. But I felt so comfortable with Ryan from the early days, that I was always giving him blunt feedback, and I’m sure that would sometimes piss him off. But I can’t think of any big moments where the relationship was tested.”
Ryan: “Things got difficult when the leadership dynamic expanded to other people, but dealing with those challenges only strengthened our partnership over time because we both had to deal with and get through those challenges together.
What Audrey said about feedback was initially hard for me because I’m conflict-averse and was raised in a family that avoided conflict. I don’t think I ever had people giving me tough feedback in my career before. There was a cultural dynamic too, because Americans tend to have this gentle ‘sandwich’ approach to giving feedback. First, you say something nice, then you work the feedback in, and then you end with something nice.”
Audrey would jokingly tell Ryan that her bluntness was just her “French way” of giving feedback, even though she doesn’t consider herself to be culturally all that French. Regardless, Ryan admits her bluntness was refreshing and at times necessary.
Ryan: “It took me some time before I really appreciated how valuable it was. As CEO, you don’t have a lot of people willing to be straight with you, or give you feedback, positive or negative. You’re lucky if a board member or investor gives you direct feedback. It was really valuable that Audrey and I were always able to talk to each other as true peers. There was no hierarchy, even though I had the CEO title. I’m always coming up with ideas, some good ones and plenty of bad ones. She was always keeping it real and calling out my bad ideas. You need someone who is willing to say, ‘that’s a really sh*tty idea.’”
I conclude Part I here, having revealed the origin story of SunFunder, what motivated Ryan and Audrey to become co-founders, how luck brought them together at the right moment, and how chemistry kept them together. Part II will delve into lessons learned about scaling a business in a dynamic market and what advice they would give to other would-be entrepreneurs. Stay tuned.
Full disclosure: the company I work for invested in several funds managed by SunFunder, and I got to know Audrey and Ryan through those transactions. I normally don’t blog about my work, but felt comfortable doing so because their company was sold to Mirova three years ago, and both of them have since left the company. I’ve avoided discussing those transactions on purpose and have chosen to focus the blog instead on their entrepreneurial journey.
