54. Heather Nelson – Seal Solar – The Future of the Solar Industry in the New Normal

Written by Robert Wagner, CPA, Advisory Partner | Aug 2, 2021 1:10:55 PM

Heather Nelson is the Co-Founder + President at Seal Solar, a solar energy construction company which designs and installs solar energy systems for both residential and commercial applications. Seal was founded in 2012 and has grown quickly into one of the leading solar energy system providers in Arkansas.

Heather started her career in the banking industry and served many years as a commercial lending officer until she co-founded Seal Solar with Josh Davenport.

Heather was named the 2021 Business Executive of the Year. She holds an MBA at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Marketing degree at the University of Arkansas.

Her community involvement is extensive. Currently, she sits on the board of Junior Achievement of Arkansas; she is a Commissioner at the Arkansas History Commission; and she serves at The Excel Center at Goodwill School Advisory Council.

In this episode, Heather discusses her foray into the solar industry after nearly two decades of working in the banking and corporate lending space, and how she and co-founder Josh found success in spite of a lack of knowledge in energy efficiency at the beginning.

She says that the tipping point for solar—when virtually every built environment will factor in solar energy systems—depends on “how good we educate the public” alongside how soon an accessible spread of financing options becomes available.

Heather speaks on how she runs the ship, from how Seal has managed to stay afloat during the turbulent circumstances of the last year-and-a-half to a description of the company’s supply chain.

This episode is now on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen via the podcast player embedded above.

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