In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Nishaant Sangaavi, Vice President of Strategic Sales and Partnerships at Brillion, discusses how innovation, data, and AI are reshaping the energy sector. With over two decades of global experience in technology and clean energy, he shares how Brillion is helping utilities build smarter, more connected relationships with customers while accelerating the transition to a sustainable future.
Nishaant Sangaavi is Vice President of Strategic Sales and Partnerships, for Brillion, a leading SaaS company that leverages AI, behavior and data insights in a modern application suite that enables North American utilities to turn every energy customer relationship into a true partnership. He is responsible for developing and leading strategic sales and partnership strategies with utilities that are exploring new initiatives for energy savings, electrification, and other clean energy-related demands based on changing market needs.
Nishaant joined Brillion’s executive team in 2024, aligning EnergyX Solutions, the company he co-founded and served as CEO, in an acquisition that was backed by M33 Growth, a growth stage private equity investment firm.
Nishaant has spent more than 20 years in energy and technology in Canada, the US and the Netherlands, serving Western Europe. Nishaant graduated from Schulich School of Business, York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a Master’s of Business degree in international business and marketing. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and business from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
EnergyX Solutions was known for disrupting energy efficiency through innovative technologies. Reflecting on your time as founder and CEO, what do you see as the key drivers behind EnergyX’s rapid growth and industry impact?
There is a quote from Victor Hugo that comes to mind as I reflect on the genesis of EnergyX: ‘There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come’.
We started EnergyX in 2016 when there was a huge focus on energy efficiency across North America. We had a market that was ripe for disruption – traditional utilities that were regulated and mandated to accelerate energy transition and did not have the technology in place to do so, at scale and cost effectively. We had secured pre-seed funding and so had the capital to build a SaaS platform that utilities could license in order to empower their residential customers to lower their energy usage by adopting relevant energy efficiency measures and retrofits. And we had a number of utilities that we had already built relationships with and were ready to pilot our technology.
And so, when you have a market that is ready to be disrupted, partners that are committed to license your technology and capital to develop and build your product, it is a great recipe to drive growth and create impact. We had all of these in our favour as we began our journey to build EnergyX.
Can you walk us through the acquisition process of EnergyX Solutions, specifically how you navigated negotiations, stakeholder alignment, and ensured a smooth transition for your team and clients?
In 2023, we were on target to achieve 50% YoY growth given our utility partnership across Canada, the US and Portugal. During this time, we had term sheets from two private equity firms who wanted to add EnergyX into their border portfolio. Given the consolidation in our space, we made a board decision to exit as long as we could maximize liquidity for all EnergyX shareholders and ensure that all of our employees and clients were well taken care of.
The acquisition process was one of the most intensive deals I have ever led and successfully closed. From the Fall of 2023 until Feb 02, 2024, which is when our acquisition closed, the process consumed me 24/7.
The three most important focus areas for me were as follows:
- Full transparency across the EnergyX leadership team so that we could meet all deliverables at each stage of the acquisition process in time. Deals get lost because of lack of momentum and we were committed to accelerate the timelines.
- Continuing to grow our core business whilst we were negotiating the acquisition. Hitting our year end targets and assuring our utility partners on how the acquisition would benefit them was key for us to achieve our valuation and maximize liquidity.
- Negotiating on behalf of all of the EnergyX co-workers in order for them to grow in their respective roles. I am extremely proud that almost 2 years post acquisition, the entire EnergyX team is still very much intact and thriving.
You have transitioned from startup founder and CEO to a corporate executive role at Brillion. What skills, perspectives, or strategies from your entrepreneurial journey are proving most valuable as VP of Strategic Sales and Partnerships in a larger organization?
The transition from a founder and CEO to an executive in the corporate world is a very personal one and like most big changes in life, you go through a metamorphosis.
For me, I went from being the captain of my own ship to joining a large fleet where I am now leading in conjunction with others. I went from having one team with a sole mission, purpose and focus to dealing with multiple teams with multiple product lines and a diverse customer base. From being in a position where I was setting the company culture to being in a role where culture is already set and engrained. From being VC funded where the focus was on growth at all cost to private equity owned where the focus is on profitability. And so, I had to reinvent myself and in doing so, also make sure that the legacy EnergyX team and all of our clients were protected during this transition.
22 months later, I believe it’s been a successful reinvention. And the skill sets that I had honed during running my start-up – the focus on always selling, thriving for product market fit, building relationships with key clients and managing my investors and shareholders – have all helped me in the corporate world. Where I have also grown is in managing different egos and personalities, maneuvering corporate politics and setting up repeatable and scalable processes across the organization.
Finally, what advice would you share with fellow Canadian small business owners who may be considering an exit or acquisition, and what guiding principles helped you achieve a successful outcome?
The biggest advice I would give in this regard would be to buckle up and get ready for the time of your life.
Here are the stats: 90% of most start-ups do not have a successful exit and so having an exit opportunity and being able to get the deal closed is a wonderful achievement and can be life changing. It was for me.
The biggest question to answer as an entrepreneur though is why you are building a business. For us, given that we were VC backed, an exit was always on the horizon. And so, we built our business with that premise in mind and when the opportunity and moreso, the timing was in our favour, we were able to execute. And there were close 7 times throughout the acquisition process where I thought we would not be able to get the deal across the finish line. And yet we did.
The guiding principle for me was the fundamental belief that getting acquired by the right partner was the best thing for the founders, our co-workers, our investors/shareholders and our clients. I firmly believed in that and being fully transparent in every interaction with our acquirers helped us build and solidify trust. It was the trust that helped get the deal across the finish line.
I am blessed that I am a first time founder that was able to secure a successful exit. It was not a home run, however a very respectful base hit that helped create meaningful wealth for my family. It was a good ending.
And I know, I have one more left in me…..and all of the experience and confidence to make the next one even more impactful.
