Killian O’Connor, COO and Co-founder, Solo Energy
Killian O’Connor, COO and Co-founder, Solo Energy, takes on the Business & Finance 60-second interview challenge.
Q. What was your first job? Baking bread in the local supermarket at the age of 11 and earning £2.50/hr in old money! Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date? Co-founding Solo Energy and helping to build a great team of passionate individuals with a shared vision of a sustainable future. Also, we recently won the Smart Technology Innovation Award at the it@cork Leaders Awards – that was a pretty proud moment for us! Q. In three words or less, how do you define success? Health, happiness, family. Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? My parents always had the attitude of “You’ll never know unless you give it a try!”, and they reminded me of this when I was mulling over whether or not to quit my job and take a chance in setting up Solo Energy. So I took a chance and haven’t looked back since! Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff? Regular rolls and scones from our local deli usually keeps the whole gang happy! Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why? It would have to be Manoj Bhargava of the ‘Billions in Change’ movement. He is giving away 99% of his $4 billion fortune to fund projects and inventions that bring basic needs like electricity, clean water, nutritious food and effective healthcare to the developing world. He essentially spends his day looking at really cool projects and inventions that will change the world for the better! Q. How do you relax? Exercise. I love getting out in the fresh air for a run, swim, cycle or hike – it’s a great way to clear the head and to appreciate the beautiful part of the world we live in. A healthy body is a healthy mind! Q. What’s your motto? Be happy at what you do and remember the important things in life. Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business? We want to positively disrupt the energy sector with the ultimate goal of making renewable energy accessible and affordable to all. We want to see a fully decarbonised electricity system within our lifetime and aim to play a major part in this transition.
My parents always had the attitude of ‘You’ll never know unless you give it a try!’, and they reminded me of this when I was mulling over whether or not to quit my job and take a chance in setting up Solo Energy. So I took a chance and haven’t looked back since!
