We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaiden Waggoner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaiden, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I am all in on risk taking. I don’t believe anyone can set themselves apart or achieve any level of greatness in any industry without it. Growing up playing soccer my whole life I had to learn to bet on myself against everyone else. Going all in with competition is a huge risk and includes countless times of setting yourself up for failure. When I was launching my company Luminate I viewed it the exact same way as I use to view soccer. I bet on myself, my team and our vision to take the risk in uprooting our lives and moving all the way to Texas from California to start Luminate. Every step of the way we’ve taken risks in order to expand and chase our goals.

What should our readers know about your business?
Luminate is a residential solar company. We sell, install and service solar systems on peoples homes across the country in various states that we operate in.

I got started in solar by working as a door to door sales representative for several different companies. During this time each company that I worked for had different issues that myself and my customers that I was selling would experience. I became obsessed with the solar industry and as I learned more I started to realized and have the idea that I could do things a lot better than the other companies I was working at. Finally after being at enough companies I met several people that would later become the leadership team that was crazy enough to believe in my vision, leave their current jobs and chase the dream of moving to Texas and starting Luminate. The reason we have grown so quickly and are starting to take market share from our much larger competitors is that we have addressed the issues head on that I dealt with as a sales representative working at these larger companies. The biggest issue being speed and quality that we have focused on. We expedite every step of our process and are much faster than any of our competitors. That comes from having an amazing bought in team.

I’m learning a new lesson almost daily at this point. Starting the company I didn’t realize the level of technicalities in construction, accounting, sales, leadership, recruiting and more that it took to operate at a high level and compete in this industry. Almost everyday I’m learning something or dealing with something in an area of the business that I didn’t even know existed when I first started this. This biggest takeaway looking back on this that I’ve learned is that no matter what the challenge is, if you outwork everyone consistently for longer periods of time you can compete at an insanely high level in business.

I want the world to know my company and my teams mission which is to change lives through clean renewable energy, and that we will do whatever it takes to make this happen. Our story proves that you don’t have to be the smartest in the room, have the biggest reputation, or have the most experience to disrupt an industry. If you look at my team we are a bunch of misfits that are bought in on the same mission and are willing to put in the work it takes.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Texas offers us such a big variety of things to do.

To list some of my favorite things to do when people visit would be Buccees trips, major league sporting events, concerts, BBQ, steakhouses, beach trips, gyms, etc.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Every step of my career there’s been constant support from so many people Number one I’d like to dedicate it to my fiancé Adriana. Since I met her she’s always supported me in my career from Luminate just being an idea, to moving across the country to a brand new state, to chasing the constant growth that we’re currently doing. She’s been a rockstar and never doubted me once.

Second my familys been there every step of the way from chasing soccer dreams, to door to door sales, to starting my own company. They’ve always been there and have continued to support me even in the toughest of times.

Website: https://luminate.solar

Instagram: jaiwagg

Linkedin: Jaiden Waggoner

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