Responding to change: Spotlight on V.S. Hariharan
An interview with the founder and CEO of Third Wave Power
For the first of our spotlights on Singapore’s cleantech sector, we sat down with Hariharan V.S., founder and CEO of solar enterprise Third Wave Power to talk about what made him venture into the maze of entrepreneurship after over 20 years spent in the corporate world and how his startup is set to become a small enterprise by next year. Here’s a part of our conversation.
Building a corporate career
“I grew up and pursued my education in India. I graduated with an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
After a stint at Wipro Technologies in my home country, I made the move to Singapore and joined Hewlett Packard (HP) as a product marketer. This set the start of an exciting journey. Suddenly, my earnings were not in rupees but in dollars and I was part of a global business.
‘That’s not what I want to retire with.’
Gradually, I was given opportunities for growth and stepped into more and more senior roles in different divisions and across multiple locations.
Yet after all those years, it became a typical MNC job. Every year, I was getting a new target, a new business and a lot of paperwork. As I was nearing my 10-year tenure as a vice president, I thought ‘That’s not what I want to retire with.’ So between 2008 and 2011, I had been thinking a lot about what I could do next.”
The vision for a fresh start
“I quit in 2011 and had some interesting job opportunities to consider. But out of the blue, one thing came along: entrepreneurship.
A former colleague of mine suggested I should do ‘something useful for the world’.
In 2011, the National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF) launched its first round of incubators, whose objective was to fund compelling business ideas. A former colleague of mine, who was at Small World Group incubator working with NRF, suggested I should come on board and do ‘something useful for the world,’ as she put it. As we brainstormed ideas, solar came up, and it was a natural pick.
Growing up, electricity has always been an issue in India. I used to study with candle lights because power cuts were a normal fact of life. But I wasn’t looking into building rooftop solar solutions. I didn’t want to be ‘me too’. So I looked further.
In a world where the future would belong to the internet of things, I could see the tremendous potential behind powering those devices or objects that are connected to the Internet, especially in off-grid areas.
The spread in mobile devices gave solar a new life. People started using solar batteries to charge their phones and tablets. In a world where the future would belong to the internet of things, I could see the tremendous potential behind powering those devices or objects that are connected to the Internet, especially in off-grid areas. And that laid the foundation of our business.”
Executing the plan
“Together with Small World Group, we drafted a business plan, submitted it to NRF, and within few weeks we got funding approval.
Having spent over two decades in a corporation, it was exciting for me to build something that would be socially impactful. In HP, my biggest area of expertise was creating products that the market wanted. I knew that I could easily leverage my marketing capabilities to create good quality products, which deliver a great customer experience. But I lacked the solar expertise.
Because of that, I looked for people within HP with an R&D background. I was lucky to cross paths with Jiew-Liang Loi, who is still with me today.
Together, within only six months, we created the first product. It was a multi-functional solar charger for phones and tablets, with integrated radio and reading light.
Together, within only six months, we created the first product. It was a multi-functional solar charger for phones and tablets, with integrated radio and reading light. If I’d look at it right now, I’d probably feel embarrassed, because it was pretty large. Despite its size, it was very well received. We sent hundred beta units for testing to ten different countries and the feedback we got in return was great.
With this milestone achieved, the next steps were clear: we wanted to scale this product across the world while building more and better products along the way. To make it happen, we had to raise more funds.
Somehow, it seemed all too simple. It was like I was walking on water.
Surprisingly, when we started fundraising along with our incubator within only four weeks we raised 2 million Singapore dollars. Somehow, it seemed all too simple. It was like I was walking on water.”
First challenges
“With our first product, we tested several territories across the globe, both mature and emerging markets. As we analyzed the results from each territory, we understood that our pricing and cost structure only fits developed markets. And so we narrowed our geographical focus to target only Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the development team was working on the next product. The new solar charger was thinner, lighter and had a higher battery capacity.
As we had our hands full with marketing, distribution, and R&D, the whole market had moved. The price of lithium batteries dropped from $15-$20 to about $5, so Chinese manufacturers moved hastily to produce lighter, smaller and cheaper products.
Thus, all was running according to the plan. Except for the market. As we had our hands full with marketing, distribution, and R&D, the whole market had moved. The price of lithium batteries dropped from $15-$20 to about $5, so Chinese manufacturers moved hastily to produce lighter, smaller and cheaper products. It goes without saying, it was a struggle to sell the stock of the first product. But we eventually succeeded and used this setback to better think of the market dynamics and our position.
The pressure to innovate grew bigger.
We now had a new and more competitive product, but the products around us evolved as well. So, the pressure to innovate grew bigger.
Amid these developments, we sold about 10,000 units of our second product, the majority of them in the US. By all means, a satisfactory result. On the other hand, we only had one product, which was not necessarily meeting everyone’s needs.”
A bumpy ride
“We were a Singapore-based company with limited working capital that was selling products internationally. In a global competitive context, that was an issue.
Big commercial partners like Walmart or Best Buy were willing to work with us but on the condition, we guarantee a two week delivery time. As a reference back then, our estimated delivery time was about four months.
Because of that and also because we needed a larger portfolio of products, we started to explore China as a potential manufacturing location. That would give us a better competitive edge and allow us to look again at emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.”
Big rethinking of the strategy
“The question on everyone’s mind was ‘What shall we do?’
The lighting market in India was big and so was the charging market. This insight guided us to totally rethink our strategy and look at India as a favorable market for us.
We went back to basics. We were in the solar business in Asia. Here people lack electricity and the tech industry is growing. In India alone, about 400 million people (60 million households) lack electricity. But they own mobile phones. And some people would walk several kilometers to find a spot to charge their phones. The lighting market in India was big and so was the charging market. This insight guided us to totally rethink our strategy and look at India as a favorable market for us.
We were aware of the competition on the ground. But this time around, we were wiser. We conducted research studies, we tested some products and instead of developing new products from scratch, we partnered with an ODM company, while using our R&D capabilities. Like this, we were able to create products faster and customize easier, with features customers would appreciate.
We created a full range of lighting solutions and at the same time, we enhanced our charging solutions portfolio. With these, we entered India earlier this year. We are there to stay.”
Making it work
“Now entering a new market might sound mundane. But in fact, operating in an emerging market involves much more work: the distribution channels are not established, people don’t understand the products. So, before the selling process even starts, educational programs are needed.
With this in mind, we employ different marketing tools for each product. First, we have created a local brand name called Jugnu and translated the user manuals in Hindi. Second, we adapted our language to the local norms. For instance, if we talk about the brightness level, we use the kerosene lamp as a comparison. People know the kerosene lamp and can easily relate to it. And third, we have trained our salespeople, who then pass the knowledge to the end customers. Currently, we have 150 dealers and aim to reach a few thousand in the near future.
Besides this, we work closely together with village entrepreneurs and also partner with financial inclusion rural distribution companies, which not only provide financial support but also act as a distributor of our products.”
What’s next?
“Our current efforts are channeled into having a deeper local presence in India, which includes service and support and even a top-level manufacturing assembly.
At the same time, we aim to replicate the current business model in ASEAN markets, like Indonesia and the Philippines. We’ve already done some groundwork and understand the local context.
Our mission is clear: to create social impact for consumers at the bottom of the pyramid.
Our mission is clear: to create social impact for low-income off-grid communities. One of our latest projects, for instance, was the development of street lights for a fish farm in Sri Lanka. Since we now have a large variety of lighting solutions from small solar lamps all the way to big street lights, we can address the needs of villages, which are not connected to the grid and we can better serve the people with no access to electricity.
But we won’t stop here. We want to make our products smart and able to communicate within the cloud. We want to create a monitoring system that can tell if the battery is charged, drained, if the product is in use or not. We are now working on this and the plan is to make it part of a pay-as-you-go model.
If I had a magic wand, I would probably ask for money to sustain our innovation and expansion. When you have budget constraints, you tend to move slowly and execute below your expectations. We’re still a startup, but I’m hoping to be more of an SME by next year.”
A special thanks goes to Hariharan for sharing his story with us. You can learn more about Third Wave Power and discover their products on their website and on Facebook.
For more stories about the entrepreneurs shaping the cleantech sector in Singapore, follow New Ventures Asia and sign up for updates.
