Best Foot Forward
Flexitricity works with industrial and commercial energy users to balance supply and demand for electricity, helping the National Grid to maintain a stable system. An innovative control system networks users’ standby generators and switches off high demand equipment, without impacting on users’ core business, to create a low carbon ‘virtual power station’ that creates capacity on the grid as required.
From the outset, Managing Director, Alastair Martin, felt that finding the right support would be crucial to the success of the business, “It is all very well having a great idea, but if you fail to develop it into a viable business it is worthless. To do that you need help and advice, and for credible people to demonstrate belief in the idea behind the business.”
Solution
Flexitricity (then trading as Martin Energy Ltd) joined the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce
in 2004. Alastair was convinced that it was the right organisation to support the development
of his fledgling business:
“As a start-up, we saw the Chamber as a great way to start to build a network of contacts and to raise awareness of the business nationwide. It is also an invaluable source of training and advice on everything from business planning to employment law.”
Outcome
The Chamber has given Flexitricity access to a wide range of useful resources. Alastair knows that professional training courses are available when he needs them, whilst the ability to network with business decision makers has been vital, “Energy managers understand our service and see the benefits immediately in terms of regulation, carbon footprint and cost savings. But the people we need to convince are the finance and operations directors who we have the opportunity to meet through Chamber events.”
Chamber membership also helped to generate vital publicity, after Flexitricity was named a
‘Most Promising New Business’ at the Chamber Awards 2007:
“We have had lots of new sign ups in the last four months and winning this award certainly helped. It provided a ringing endorsement of the business and ensured we got lots of publicity. As such, it added a new dimension to our sales conversations.”