What inspired you to start this business?

Andrew: It’s kind of an interesting story. When I was a kid my Dad taught me how to drive trucks. And as a young kid, you don’t listen to all the instructions you’re told; one of the things he told me was, you have to be careful going down hills in a loaded truck. It’s going to push you because there’s a lot of energy in the truck. Of course, the first time I did it, I didn’t listen. I was rolling down a big hill and slamming on the brakes, realizing that wasn’t going to stop the truck. I realized pretty quickly that’s not how the equation works and it was terrifying because I thought I was going to roll the truck over. I was headed down the hill with people stopped at the light at the bottom. Then I remembered my Dad’s conversation, started downshifting and avoided rolling the truck.

I’ll always remember that moment and how much force there is in a loaded truck. Later, I went to college took physics and learned about Newton’s 2nd law, and all the different principles and I recalled my experience with the truck as a kid.

One day I’m sitting in traffic on the Mass Pike next to a truck, watching its drive shaft spin. After looking at this for a while, it dawned on me. Everything came together: all that force, all those lessons I learned as a kid and what I learned in college — I realized I could make energy from that truck. There’s a point in that vehicle I can harvest energy from and right there in my car, I started taking notes. At the time, I was working in the venture group of a big corporation, and they were investing in companies with electric vehicles, hydrogen, and telematics. Knowing of the technology out there, it was during that moment where my past and present came together in this idea — that there’s a great opportunity especially in large vehicles to harvest energy.

Now that this company is real, what are your expectations?

Andrew: Our goal is to build a product, a real product that solves a real-world problem and improves the lives of people. And also to do that in a way that’s profitable. We’re determined to cross that commercialization threshold and become a company that creates a product people can rely on and use to make their lives better.

We want to improve the lives of millions of truck drivers around the world. And then go on to do distributed energy grids in the emerging world and possibly with the military.

How’s your startup different than others?

Andrew: It’s a small business that doesn’t have the funds like most. I view startups who begin with $100 million as large companies who just haven’t been around too long. A startup to me is a team of people working to solve a problem. They put a lot of themselves into the equation early on and then build the company from there. But that model is tough and requires a pretty big commitment.

When I think of a startup, I think of the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford, the folks who built it in their garage and basement. And through their own sweat equity built it into something, before they brought in investors. That’s the model we’re on. That one is little more difficult than someone writing a big check, saying I love your ideas, go figure it out, and we’ll pay you to do it.

There’s nothing wrong with that model, but our path is a little bit more difficult than that and I also find it a little bit more rewarding. Because the investment in the company is more personal than when someone pays you to solve the problem, you’re not a hired gun. We believe in what we’re building. That I like and that path to me feels right.

What’s it like running a startup with little money?

Andrew: It’s exciting; however, you really have to be on your toes on decisions. Every decision is meaningful. You don’t have the luxury of buying the wrong part or wrong equipment because you’re on a razor-thin margin.

Money is inconsistent. You don’t get paid all the time. As the founder, I put the money into the company rather than take the money out. It’s a tricky dynamic, but it comes at a cost. On the other hand, I wouldn’t change what I do on a daily basis for anything. I love what I do. I love the shop. I love the prototyping. I love the building. I love the company.

The downside is it’s very hard on my responsibilities as an adult and there’s a price to be paid. It’s wonderful and also difficult. I don’t have a college fund anymore for my kids. We spent that money on all the equipment in here. And I don’t regret that, but there are those moments at 2am when you’re hoping you made the right decision. It’s not as easy as people make it out to be.

Why are you doing this in the Merrimack Valley, and not Cambridge or Boston?

Peter: Well, it’s a good mixture. There’s a unique ecosystem in this part of Massachusetts. There’s both co-working space for offices and for actual manufacturing. Scaling up is very difficult in the larger cities because the first thing that happens when you try to scale up is you try to find real estate and run into limited space options and long leases. At CI Works you’re further North and rent is lower. The facility allows you to scale up to your desired space needs as you grow. Not to mention the ability for us to park our 18 wheeler next to the building.

Andrew: I started out with 400 square feet and was one of the early tenants here. And I know it’s a cliché, but I started this in my barn. Working on it on the weekends and cutting up a truck. As I started to progress, I realized that being in a barn was awesome, but I was also isolated and wasn’t a part of a community. I didn’t have resources and had to drive a long distance to get them.

We’ve found a rich ecosystem here; from machine shops to engineers and this space allows us to scale up when needed. I need space where I can take out my welding torch and weld or fire-up my Bridgeport to cut metal and make noise. I have dirty space and can use the computer to send emails and make a PowerPoint.

We work with trucks, the frame in our shop is a Freightliner, Class A truck frame, that we actually had to cut to get in here and it’s still over 20 feet. It’s not something you can squeeze into a space in Cambridge or Somerville.

Peter: When you talk about the Merrimack Valley, there’re two things you’ve got going here. One is based on the general area and the amount of manufacturing that still goes on here. Everything we have on our truck was prototyped within 20 miles of here and is now currently made within 50 miles of here.

The next thing is the community, not only the services like marketing firms and so forth, but also the startup community aspect where there are other companies in our same position. Andrew can go over and borrow something from the electronics people on our floor. And in turn, they’ll borrow something from us. We’ll tell each other about grants and opportunities for investment. It’s a true community. You’ve got the geographic value of where we are and you have the specific value of this particular facility.