Hidden Gems: Meet Reginald Parker of Optimal Technology Corporation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Reginald Parker.

Hi Reginald, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I feel that I was destined to lead Optimal and its mission to help save the planet. My father and his forefathers were all entrepreneurs. My father also gifted me with great mathematical skills. These guiding principles helped me earn three engineering degrees (BS from MIT and MS & PhD from GA Tech) and an MBA from FSU. From there, I was a professor and administrator in academia, launched new products for Fortune 100 companies (energy and materials), consulted for a top-tier strategy firm, and founded three startups (nanotech, solar project development, and energy tech).

Harvard recently estimated that 20% of all deaths are due to consumption of fossil fuels. Since Chemical Engineering is chiefly responsible for the scale of fossil fuels and its impact, I felt compelled to make amends for my chosen field. In doing so, I followed my strengths and my legacy which was to combine my engineering skills, business acumen, and entrepreneurial interest.

Raising the seed capital to accelerate our work has been difficult. To date, we’ve raised $950K. This was matched with revenues approximately $970K in revenues at 38% gross margins. We would prefer to have raised a round of similar size to some of our competitors. This type of capital injection would truly allow us to accelerate. That said, given the story of my life and that of my family, we do not quit, and we find a way. Before heading to MIT which costed $20,450 for the first year, we lived off of $470 per month. Loans, scholarships, and grants did not meet all of my needs. And so, I worked two jobs the summer before going to school, internships each summer, applied to other scholarships, worked during school, and won several competitions to bridge the gap. I also purchased used books, bought all my clothes from TJ Maxx, and purchased the cheapest meal plan. These lessons of money management (living within my means) helped Optimal survive and grow through the pandemic and other lean times. We partnered for growth We sold consulting services. We found ways.

Now, we have a large pipeline of customers, strong revenues, extremely competitive tech, and a strong team; however, we need a larger team to meet our current needs. We are working on a new way to solve this new and good problem.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been difficult to raise capital, to work against the naysayers, and against the pandemic.

Capital insufficiency made every step purposeful however difficult. Our ability to move forward against these odds were not welcomed but assumed. The largest issue is that our mission is altruistic and globally beneficial. This makes the work harder. That is if you are working for a less polluted planet, especially for its residence. It becomes harder to do if the residents are working against those efforts.

Our inventions are unique and have been met with such statements as “how come no one else invent this”, “this seems to be too good to be true”, and “how can you compete against the Chinese”. Our retorts to these have been they aren’t us and so that why. It is almost too good because it is true, and I have the third-party reports to prove it. We maintain a strategic competitive advantage with superior technology, the best in engineering to maintain that superiority, strategic markets to sell into that’s green fields, and partners who will help us maintain our market position.

During the pandemic, we pivoted and expanded our solutions to include an intelligent energy manager. Our future will depend on constant innovation, developing solutions different than others, and listening to the market.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Optimal Technology Corporation (“Optimal Tech”) is a Backstage Capital backed, Google Black Founder Fund Recipient, award-winning climate tech firm. We are intelligently lowering the cost of electricity by up to 70% using advanced analytics, remote autonomous monitoring/control tech, and a curated solutions marketplace. The Optimal team has delivered over 600 renewable projects globally in their careers and has developed a five-year pipeline of 10,000+ installations of our products and services.

Optimal realizes that $1.4T in energy is wasted annually (MIT). 1.1 billion people have no access to electrical energy (World Bank). 20% of people in the world die due to combustion of fossil fuels (Harvard). Optimal is working to reverse these numbers.

Leading these efforts is Dr. Reginald Parker who is founder and CEO. He developed 30+ renewable energy power projects including the first African American utility-scale solar farm in the U.S. (approximately 5.5 football fields in size). He also is the inventor on five pending patents and managed $400 MM projects in corporate America and consulted at BCG. He received his BS from MIT, PhD from GA Tech, and his MBA from FSU. The Chief Business Development Officer is Tim Webb and has worked with the CEO in the solar industry over ten years. He received his BS from Penn State and MA from University of Chicago. He is an experienced financial professional who has a background and has sales management and operations experience in solar. The VP of Operations is Charelle Lans who received her BS from Florida State University in Engineering. She is a certified black belt in six sigma and lean engineering. The VP of Installation is Mr. William McCarroll who received his BS from Presbyterian College. He has an extensive background in installation management and real estate development. Over a 10-year period, he led the installation of 12,500 cell towers which helped improve his firm’s valuation from $30 M to $3.5 B.

Our recent awards include:
Green For All Business Council Founding Member, 2021
Thirty Black Founders in the United States to Watch in 2021, Jason A. Scott
2021 Top 40 Innovative Technology Companies in Georgia
2020 Google Black Founder Fund Awardee
2020 Game Changing Founder of Color
2020 Hello Tomorrow: Deep Tech Pioneer
2019 California Climate Cup Finalist: Clean & Smart Grid
2019 Make in LA Bootcamp
2019 Founder Gym Cohort 6
2019 Backstage Capital Accelerator Headliner, Inaugural Cohort
2018 Google for Startups: Black Founders Exchange Demo Day Winner

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Find an ecosystem and a business advisor/ mentor in your business area. These two will help you find the resources that you will need, help you not make bad mistakes, and provide you best practices in growing your enterprise.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@getoptimaltech.com
• Website: https://www.getoptimaltech.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getoptimaltech
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getoptimaltech
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/getoptimaltech
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_XvNC16lRywmGsaRPjchvg
• Other: https://drgreenpower.carrd.co/