This article is part of ISEN's series highlighting alumni in sustainability and energy. MORE PROFILES
Motivating consumers to save energy
Growing up with family vacations to Lake Tahoe, Ty Benefiel was an avid fan of the outdoors. After learning to dive at 13-years-old, he made it a goal to go to the Great Barrier Reef. While the reef was beautiful, he also saw the effects of coral bleaching; a process that occurs due to ocean temperatures rising. It was his first personal experience with climate change.
“It's devastating to think that future generations may not be able to see the wonder that is the Great Barrier Reef. That had an impact on me,” says Benefiel, the president and co-founder of MeterGenius, a free app that helps utility customers achieve energy goals. “I wanted to create a business that had a positive impact on the environment.”
Benefiel graduated with his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2014. There, he met another Northwestern student, Yan Man (McC ’16), and together they launched MeterGenius. For the past three years the company has been working with several energy providers to build applications that guide their thousands of consumers to conserve energy. Now, however, MeterGenius recently launched its own application, independent of energy providers.
“It's devastating to think that future generations may not be able to see the wonder that is the Great Barrier Reef. That had an impact on me.” — Ty Benefiel (KSM '14), President and Co-founder of MeterGenius
“The confusion that exists around energy and all of the options provided creates a huge gap between consumer knowledge and what can be achieved. We are setting out to solve that problem,” says Benefiel, who was the president of the Sustainable Business Club during his time at Kellogg.
While MeterGenius provides tips to consumers based on information customers submit, Benefiel understands that the money a customer could save may not be enough to convince them to change their habits. Thus, MeterGenius features several games that earn users points redeemable for carbon offsets, Amazon gift cards, and other items. With these gamifications, MeterGenius allows customers to see instant rewards when they conserve energy.
“I feel the biggest sense of pride when users tell me about how the program changed their way of thinking. Some consumers even recycle more or purchase carbon offsets,” says Benefiel. “Those conversations are what got us through the toughest times.”
Benefiel fostered his idea at Northwestern where he took Kellogg courses with Prof. Klaus Weber on the intersections between sustainability and business as well NUvention: Energy, a course where students develop a product/service in the sustainable energy industry. The course is offered through a partnership between the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Institute of Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN).
Outside of NUvention: Energy, Benefiel worked with ISEN’s associate director, Jeff Henderson, on bringing in speakers for the Sustainable Business Club. Henderson also helped to develop MeterGenius by introducing Man and Benefiel to various Chicago Energy Systems, creating key partnerships for the company.
“My advice for anyone trying to start a business is to do something that you are passionate about,” concludes Benefiel, “Businesses are a ton of work, time, and sacrifice, so it has to be something you believe is worth fighting for. If I were not passionate about the environment, it would have been difficult to push through tough times.”
This article is part of ISEN's series highlighting alumni in sustainability and energy. MORE PROFILES
