I'm 45, and I decided to found the nonprofit Bright Saver.

At 45, I made a choice that surprised even me. I left the world of venture-backed tech to found a nonprofit. Not because startups stopped being interesting. It's an incredible time to build in tech. But this season of my life feels different.

What Changed

I've had a long run in technology. I built companies, scaled them, helped grow Gen.G Esports into one of the most recognized esports organizations in the world. Somewhere along the way I started asking a different question. Not 'can we grow this?' but 'does this matter enough?' Cheap clean energy matters — in the concrete way that families are paying too much for electricity and the technology to fix it already exists.

Why Nonprofit

Plug-in solar needed someone who could push on policy as well as product — work with legislators, advocate for legal changes, build trust with utilities, and still ship a real product to real customers. The nonprofit structure gives us credibility in rooms where a VC-backed company faces immediate skepticism. It also forces discipline. Every dollar has to count. That suits me.

This Season of Life

I'm 45. I have kids. I've spent years building things that made money. I want to spend the next chapter building something I can explain at dinner. At Bright Saver, we make plug-in NEM expansion kits for California homeowners with existing rooftop solar — four 250-watt panels, a 45-minute install, no electrician, starting at $1,499. We've been covered by The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, and NPR. We're working with legislators in 29-plus states. This is what this season of my life looks like. I'm glad I made the choice.

If you want to see what we're building, visit brightsaver.org.