OEN News“Get comfortable not knowing:” BuildingLens leans into the unknown to bring clean energy to marginalized groups
Knowing what you don’t know might be a key difference between someone with just an idea and an entrepreneur. That acknowledgement of the unknown is where curiosity and drive meet.
David Burchfield’s entrepreneurial journey started with a question and desire to seek out what he didn’t yet know. Sitting at a table studying to be an addiction counselor with his then girlfriend (and future wife), Burchfield’s father-in-law mentioned he should consider becoming an engineer.
“I said, ‘what is an engineer?’” Burchfield laughs. “He ended up supporting me and my family through four years of college.”
Community and family remain priorities for Burchfield, and he quickly found ways to leverage his engineering education to benefit those who need it most. In 2017, with multiple engineering degrees and years of experience under his belt, Burchfield launched Burch Energy Services, an energy engineering firm dedicated to racial inclusivity and climate justice. The company offers design and build services, including retrofitting buildings to bring them up to modern clean energy standards while creating opportunities for marginalized communities in the energy world.
“This is where I ‘got the bug,’ so to speak,” he says. “Burch Energy is built on a mission of mitigating climate change while focusing on racial justice.”
Seeing an opportunity to further support priority populations whose safe building needs are not being met, Burchfield began exploring ways to optimize energy for small to mid-sized buildings. The team quickly grew and BuildingLens, a SaaS solution that helps improve air quality and drive energy efficiency, was born. Burchfield again leaned into what he didn’t yet know to get BuildingLens off the ground.
“There was a lot of learning in the first year,” he says. “And a lot of patience, which is tough for impatient entrepreneurs.”
With initial investments secured, BuildingLens is looking farther afield than just retrofitting buildings. The hope is to grow into a full suite utility service company that supports virtual power plants for small to mid-size buildings. For Burchfield, it’s also about changing perspectives.
“We want to show utility companies that it’s possible to provide service at half the cost and double the value,” he says. “And we want to bring this future to priority populations first.”
Burchfield is quick to point to his team as the catalyst for BuildingLens’ impactful plans. “I have a really great team, and there’s a synergy that can only happen with the right folks,” he says. “When you have that, you can do things that seem impossible.”
Bringing the right people to the table to fill in the gaps of what you don’t know is critical to succeeding as an entrepreneur, Burchfield says. He feels one of his biggest accomplishments is sitting with the unfamiliar, something he suggests all entrepreneurs do.
“Get comfortable not knowing,” he says. “As many glass ceilings as you break, you’ll find more. If you race to the top, you won’t make it – enjoy the journey and enjoy your people.”
Produced by A.wordsmith for OEN
