News & Media
Superb Crew: Power Kiosk Connects Energy Brokers And Suppliers Via Its Online Marketplace

Posted on June 3, 2020

Hamed Babai, Hami, is the Founder and CEO of Power Kiosk, the largest, cloud-based energy procurement marketplace. Power Kiosk manages over 16,000 customers, 110 suppliers and is licensed in 34 states and provinces of the USA and Canada. The Chicago based SAAS start up has returned $120 Million dollars in savings to customers. Hamed’s commitment is to continue developing the much-needed infrastructures that help customers realize these savings that are promised to them by deregulation.

With no credit and just $4,000 to his name, Hami, emigrated to Chicago at the age of 21. In 2013 the then Energy broker found himself in professional and personal crisis when the startup he was working for went under. It was then he took his first step towards building what has since become Power Kiosk.

Below is our recent interview with Hamed Babai, the Founder of Power Kiosk:

Q: What was your Aha-moment?

A: I became a broker of energy right after graduated from my Ph.D. program in Northwestern University. What was happening in the industry was insane. The industry was failing to evolve and was fragmented from every angle. Brokers were calling the suppliers over and over all day every day. There was no synergy. Everything ran slow and inefficient. It became obvious that the energy brokerage industry needed a massive shakeup. Power Kiosk is the product of that imagination in 2012.

Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to Power Kiosk?

A: Power Kiosk is the largest energy retail marketplace in North America. We connect buyers and suppliers of energy with the mission of securing the best energy plans that fit the customer’s and broker’s needs. Our mission is to make sure our customers always find and pay the lowest available rate for Natural Gas and Electricity in the market.

Power Kiosk is not simply a unique SAAS company, it has changed the game in how energy is brokered and remains to be the only 360* company of its kind making Hami an industry leader. Babai’s leadership has grown Power Kiosk to become a multi-million dollar company in 7 years.

Babai’s Ph.D. Engineer intellect allowed him to identify an opportunity and execute against its risk. In Sept 2017, Babai completed his first round of fundraising and on-boarded with his current partner, Steve Joung; no outside funding has been accepted since.

The River North-based company has grown from a single office with 1 employee into a roster of 25 full-time employees spread between headquarters and a second office in Atlanta, Georgia.

Q: What are the key benefits of using your marketplace?

A: The key to a marketplace being effective is how well it engages both parties to successfully transact with each another. Our marketplace has a broad reach to a large supplier network and provides the intelligence needed for them to be more competitive. Our artificial intelligence accurately identifies the best fit time, product and supplier to fulfill the customer’s needs.

Q: What are main benefits for energy brokers?

A: Energy brokers are the main users of Power Kiosk. We enable brokers to make better energy buying decisions on behalf of their customers. Our platform also provides a seamless procurement experience for brokers that eliminates many barriers of entry and allows them to sell quicker and more frequently. Whether it is a timely alert for opportunities that they can communicate to their customers, finding the best time to renew a contract, finding the best suppliers or contract terms, Power Kiosk gives brokers the insights they need to close deals.

Q: What can we expect from Power Kiosk in next 12 months?

A: We are the true leader in innovation in the energy retail industry. Our goals in the next 12 months are to continue expanding our supplier network, connect to the entire utility network to accurately and instantaneously predict the consumption and spending trend of the customers, and to bring new billing services to market.

Q: What’s the best things about Power Kiosk that people might not know about?

A: With our software, Energy brokers can start their own business overnight in all North American markets without a large investment. All that is required is a monthly subscription (Prices start at $20 per month). We provide licenses, operation support, supplier relationships and advanced analytics for brokers to focus on what matters most, customer acquisition. We have the full capability to skin our platform to that of the broker’s own custom brand. Most importantly we are an API-driven platform and any broker with big marketing dreams can rest assured that with our platform helps deliver on those dreams.

Original Source: SuperbCrew.com