“I’m passionate about what SNRG offers”
Meet Shane Hussain, Founder and CEO of SNRG
Vast experience in business has given Shane Hussain a clear focus on what the cornerstones of life should be.
“The key lessons I’ve learnt are family first, and be passionate about what you do – as it drives you,” says Shane. “Understand that failing and getting things wrong are part of the journey. “You also need to get on with people, build and value relationships. And if you’ve agreed to a deal, honour it.”
Shane refreshingly describes himself as “old enough to have experienced a lot, and young enough to still have the energy to want to make a difference.” This means taking a great idea through to becoming reality, rather than procrastinating.
He adds: “I am, and always have been, driven about my business endeavours. “None more so than SNRG, which is my sixth start-up and the most exciting, challenging and innovative area I have ever encountered. I’m thankful that our investors are backing that endeavour.
“I believe SNRG’s role is to take something complex, like microgrids, and make it simple for people. It is important to make energy affordable and accessible for all.”
Shane is keen to accelerate the transition to an all-electric landscape: “SNRG SmartGrids are ahead in the local energy generation evolution, and we can now fund, own or co-share and operate. “So I’m focused on persuading our customers to move quicker, because we help in taking away the risk in the transition to an all-electric Net Zero future. “With the support of our investment partners – Antin Infrastructure Partners and Centrica – and the ‘can do’ culture my colleagues are creating in SNRG, it’s a compelling proposition.”
Shane’s drive towards SNRG creating a better world is clear. But he did say family comes first – and with good reason. “I’m married with four children and I’m privileged to work with one of them – Alec, who is a co-founder and CMO at SNRG.
“What makes working with Alec unique is the innate bond we share. This amplifies what we are able to do in business together.
“This, plus the fact that many people don’t get the opportunity to work with their family, and experience the many different parts of who they are, makes working at SNRG with Alec a rewarding and very different experience to my past business ventures.
“It is an honour working together, although he may not always think so!
“Family is the most important part of my life. Time management becomes a compromise, because I have a busy work life. There is a lot to do, so hobbies and holidays have been casualties.” A busy life brings challenges in completing important tasks, but Shane has always been resourceful, with an ability to generate a lot from a little.
Born in Camden, London, Shane was raised in Hertfordshire, where he still lives, in Berkhamsted. His career began as a motor mechanic, then at the age of 28, Shane took on a role in sales for a data storage company.
“I then started and ran my first business in data storage at the age of 32, and sold it shortly after,” Shane recalls. “Since then I’ve started and sold other technology and services businesses, experienced failure, led acquisitions and company turnarounds, worked with investment boards, sat in executive and non-executive positions.”
SNRG was born in 2018, evolving from a discussion between Shane and Alec to being a market leader today. “Building SNRG has been an evolutionary endeavour, helped in no small measure by highly talented and committed colleagues whose contribution has been instrumental in getting to where we are today, alongside the belief shown by our investors,” says Shane.
“All this galvanises us to accelerate the achievement of our ambitions and scale.”
The pandemic created many problems for businesses, but SNRG embraced the remote way of working to its advantage. “We’ve even had colleagues, interviewed and joined, that we didn’t meet in person until quite recently,” Shane reveals.
“With the world opening up, we will be committing to an office with a flexible working environment. We want to create a collaborative culture which attracts the best talent and empowers them to achieve their personal and our collective goals.”
Shane admits to preferring a more traditional approach when it comes to sharing his zeal for the SNRG SmartGrid proposition. He prides himself on persuading people to move away from the status quo, by taking the time to meaningfully connect with them and genuinely understand their needs and pain points “I very much prefer to talk to colleagues, customers and our investors, rather than email them, and where possible meet in person,” Shane confirms
“Covid and video conferencing have changed how we work, but you cannot beat meeting people in person, it’s a connection that shapes how you are going to – or not – work with them.
“To me, SNRG is about getting our potential customers to understand our proposition, and with our funding we can help them do it now.
“So, outside of the responsibilities of a CEO of an invested company – something which is new to me – the majority of my time is spent developing opportunities, talking to potential customers, finding, contacting and building relationships, seeking referrals or connections and spending time in discussions with my colleagues and investor partners.
“A number of the business relationships, over the years, have become lasting friendships.” It means that no two days are the same for Shane. “I will normally be up around 5am and spend about an hour or so on emails that I didn’t complete the previous day, or need thinking about,” he reveals. “It’s important to create thinking time, so the mornings provide for that, plus a catch-up with Alec. “Then I get to the gym for about an hour, because if I don’t, then I’m not going to make time for exercise that day.
“I like to spend the majority of the working day in off site customer meetings. I will probably do a customer or contact breakfast, lunch or dinner a couple of times per week. “I will normally stop around 7pm, and then do another couple of hours later and finish about midnight.”
Does Shane ever switch off? You’ll be happy to know that, just like a SNRG SmartGrid, there is time allocated to recharging. “With our children now grown up, weekends normally involve an early morning catch-up on things, and then I like to switch off, doing mundane things like cutting the grass or other mainly outside chores that have to be done,” Shane confirms.
“I prefer to do them myself, rather than to ask others to do them for me. Plus I like tinkering with old mechanical things, and playing tennis with friends.”
It will never be long until Shane is back focusing 100% on SNRG, and how his company can bring stability and affordability in an uncertain world. “The recent rises in energy prices, the unfortunate events in Ukraine, the decarbonisation agenda, and the transition to electric mobility, all means that electricity is the new energy source,” says Shane. “It needs to be green and it has to be affordable and available to all so we can make a difference for people today.
“SNRG does exactly that for its customers.
“We reduce the amount of energy we need from the grid, we help the developer in getting planning permission for buildings that will need to comply with Future Homes Standards, and we create innovative and communal EV charging solutions, especially for apartments.
“We support the social landlord, the Industrial and Commercial (I&C) portfolio owners, move their buildings away from gas and increase their portfolio compliance ratings – plus we help people save money on energy bills.
“That’s good for people, it’s good for the planet, and it’s what gets me up in the morning.”
