By Steven Ùgalde
Membership & Marketing Outreach Coordinator
As a benefit of being a TXSES Platinum Business Member, we highlight the member’s company in our newsletter. This month, we sat down with Nicholas Manto, founder/CEO of The Solar Scouts, an electrical contracting firm specializing in installing photovoltaic solar arrays serving the North Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth communities.
TXSES: Hi Nicholas! Welcome to the TXSES family. Thanks for becoming a TXSES Platinum Business Member. Tell us a little bit about The Solar Scouts.
Nicholas: The story of The Solar Scouts traces back to my days in scouting. I’m an Eagle Scout, and while attaining my degrees from Rawl’s College of Business at Texas Tech University, I was Vice President of The Goin’ Band and Trumpet section leader! My experience in the band allowed me to collaborate with students in every college, learning beyond my studies, especially about architecture and engineering. Drawing from my scouting experience, we would leave our campsite better than we arrived. We would pick up trash at the end of our excursion to make sure we left no trace, and most of the time we were picking up from previous campers. The idea of my “campsite” is expanded to the entire planet, and I believe we must leave the planet better than we inherited it. Driven by a desire to contribute positively to the well-being of our planet, I founded the company in North Texas. The Solar Scouts operates as a boutique firm with a team that works collaboratively, fostering teamwork, marketing, business development, sales, installation, support, and operations, while developing relationships with our distribution and manufacturing partners.
TXSES: What’s your approach to projects?
Nicholas: The primary goal when approaching projects, especially in the residential sector, extends beyond a reduction in energy bills. We focus on understanding the consumers’ end goals and emphasizing the broader impact on their economic benefit. Each residential project is tailored not only for economic efficiency but also for ecological sustainability. We aim to forge connections within the solar community, emphasizing solar education, exposing fraudulent practices, aligning financial goals with strategic planning and ensuring optimal utilization of solar panels each year. Education remains a core element for us, with a commitment to enlighten the public about the solar industry’s potential. We have several educational videos to help consumers with information before they make the decision to go solar.
TXSES: What would you describe as your biggest challenges in this work?
Nicholas: Our biggest challenge is overcoming misconceptions about solar, and general skepticism in the market. The attribution we see is less than qualified people in the industry doing business poorly and negative word of mouth influencing others. In addition to that, lead generation is difficult and expensive. If homeowners or business owners were seeking solar as a necessity and approaching our business, we could greatly reduce the price of these systems with less marketing and sales dollars required, then that would compound into even cheaper projects as volume increases.
TXSES: There are also issues with ERCOT, the PUCT and decision-makers who advance anti-solar policies while promoting oil and gas. This is an ongoing story. What would you say has surprised you the most with this work?
Nicholas: As a business owner who started on the sales end of the business and bridged that into the operations and installation side, I’m surprised by how collaborative our community is. Most business owners in the industry share an abundance mentality and are open to learning, sharing, and helping each other grow. We know there’s a huge impact to make on our local communities and the State of Texas while leaving the planet a better place than we inherited it!
TXSES: We couldn’t agree more! Thanks for making time to visit with us about The Solar Scouts work, Nicholas. How can people find out more about you?
Nicholas: Click https://thesolarscouts.com or call 972.433.5979. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about our work.