Ep. 158: Arch Rao, Founder & CEO of Span

Today's guest is Arch Rao, Founder & CEO of Span. Span is reinventing the home electrical panel. The existing home electrical panel has seen very little innovation over the last 75 years. Span is a smart digital electrical panel that makes it easier to integrate renewable energy and distributed energy resources into your home. After a few years of pursuing a Ph.D., Arch decided to drop out and work on technologies that would have a non-linear impact on our efforts towards abating climate change. Arch has spent over a decade working in clean energy. He was an energy consultant at LCG Consulting and technical advisor for The Westly Group. Arch also co-founding Verdigris Technologies and was a Founding Engineer and Direct at Joby Energy. Arch served as the Head of Products, Application & Sales Engineering at Tesla, where he focused on building the Battery Business Unit. In 2018, he left Telsa to found Span. Arch holds a B.E. in Automotive Engineering from the University of Madras and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford. In this episode, Arch tells me about his career leading up to Span, the company's mission to electrify the home, and what makes Span unique. We have a lively discussion about why traditional electrical panels need to be innovated, what the market looks like today, and how to incentivize homeowners to make the switch to renewable energy. Arch is a fantastic guest, especially for those looking to learn more about home electrification. Enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. Episode recorded May 5th, 2021