​Ripple Hosts

​Moritz Belling

​Earlybird VC

​Amanda Birkenholz

​UVC Partners

​TL;DR

​We want to equip founders in the energy sector with go-to-market hacks and develop a playbook together to sell to the largest incumbents in energy

​Topic overview

• ​While many emerging players like Tibber, Octopus, Trawa, etc. try to take away market share from incumbent energy companies, the majority of the energy market will still be served by incumbents — making them the real distribution bottleneck for transformation at scale

• ​Incumbents now operate under multiple pressures: regulatory deadlines (e.g. CSRD, SFDR, grid flexibility mandates), decarbonization goals, margin compression, and customer churn — all of which create urgency, but also expose internal fragmentation, outdated decision structures, and an overwhelming dependence on legacy systems that make execution slow and risk-averse

• ​Given the anticipated loss of market share and competitive pressure from new competitors, energy companies have increased sense of urgency to transform themselves to remain competitive, making them "more thankful" buyers of software and AI to enhance their own capabilities

• ​This creates a unique opening for start-ups: if they can navigate stakeholder complexity, procurement inertia, and integration fears, they can position themselves as transformation catalysts, instead of only vendors

• ​Based on this momentum, now is the time for start-ups to step-up their distribution and go-to-market toolbox to sell their products to incumbent energy companies

​What’s up for discussion?

​Panel participants are encouraged to share unexpected GTM hacks — from clever pilot structuring to internal champion activation to overcoming RFPs

• ​Forward Deployed Engineering: What start-ups can learn from Palantir’s hybrid GTM model — embedding technical teams alongside commercial ones to unlock long-cycle accounts through trust and co-development

• ​AI narrative: How to shift the buyer conversation from innovation theatre to operational value — framing AI as a force multiplier for grid optimization, asset longevity, or regulatory compliance

• ​Multiplier: How to use channel partners (consulting firms, engineering houses, and even system integrators) as force multipliers — not only for access but for validation, budget unlocking and de-risking deployments

• ​Heavy-hitter: What kind of GTM hires actually work in energy — why ex-consultants, ex-utilities talent and solution engineers are more effective than pure SaaS sales reps in cracking utility accounts

• ​Field intelligence loop: How to build bottom-up awareness with domain operators (e.g., field engineers, plant managers, trading desks) that translate into top-down pressure

• ​Use case fit over product fit: How to anchor around regulatory, decarbonization or efficiency mandates — and sell “initiatives”, not “tools”

​Dream outcome

​A practical, field-tested playbook for breaking into energy incumbents — including strategies for early traction, multi-stakeholder alignment, and scaling beyond lighthouse accounts

​Who should attend?

​Founders in Energy; Representatives from Energy Companies seeking to buy disruptive solutions