Folsom Labs, Inc. the San Francisco-based developer of HelioScope, has raised a $1 million round of funding from leading industry executives. The capital will be used to expand HelioScope to become a full end-to-end solar software solution, from initial customer lead to final close. HelioScope has gained widespread adoption across residential and commercial solar developers as well as engineering, procurement and construction firms (EPCs). Customers include REC Solar, SunEdison, NRG, Rosendin Electric, GE Power & Water, and Borrego Solar — plus hundreds of small and medium-sized developers and installers.
"HelioScope is already a phenomenal PV design tool, and we have the opportunity to extend it further, from refining residential functionality to generating permitting documents – and all steps in between. Even though we are profitable and growing rapidly, our customers are ready for that complete solution," said Paul Gibbs, CEO of Folsom Labs. "This group of highly strategic investors will really help accelerate that vision."
The round was led by Sheldon Kimber, Principal at Kokosing Capital, and formerly the COO of Recurrent Energy. It includes a number of solar industry veterans, including Tim Ball (founder of REC Solar and board member of SunRun), and Fred Kittler of Firelake Capital.
"The solar industry doesn't need a new semiconductor technology – it needs tools like HelioScope that help installers design, deploy and finance projects more efficiently. Few understand this as well as the Folsom Labs team," said Kimber. "Folsom Labs started by attacking the most valuable problem – system design and energy calculations – and are now uniquely positioned to become a true end-to-end solution for solar developers."
"By raising when we didn't need the money, we were able to be very selective about the investors we wanted to work with – and ended up with a group of investors that include the most experienced executives in the solar industry," said Paul Grana, co-founder of Folsom Labs and Head of Sales & Marketing. "Our investors make sure we are tuned in with where the industry is going on a 5- to 15-year horizon, and help us manage our growth opportunities effectively."
"HelioScope has become essential to the way we run our business," said Jay Miller, Director of Engineering at groSolar. "The software has transformed our pre-sales process, helping us cut our customer turnaround time in half. It then enables me to do powerful value-engineering – and then integrates seamlessly with the rest of our processes."
Chris Anderson, CTO of Borrego Solar summarized the value of an expanded offering from Folsom Labs: "We've already adopted HelioScope across the prospecting stage of our business, dramatically reducing our turnaround time," said Chris, "with this expanded offering, we will be able to adopt HelioScope throughout our end-to-end process, enabling us to leverage the labor savings even further.
"The Folsom Labs team has a proven track record of being responsive to customers and delivering improvements that really make a difference," Anderson added. "We couldn't be happier to be a HelioScope customer, and can't wait to see what is in store next."
