Simple Energy Closes $6 Million in Series B Funding

BOULDER, Colo., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simple Energy announced that it closed $6 million in a Series B funding round led by the Westly Group. As part of the round, Westly Group's Founder and Managing Partner, Steve Westly will be joining Simple Energy's Board of Directors.

"We have already achieved major results from energy saving programs with utilities all over North America," said Yoav Lurie, CEO and co-founder of Simple Energy. "This round of funding and the addition of Steve to our board will fuel Simple Energy's development of new products due out in 2014, expand our national reach, and further refine our micro-targeted messaging to customers to motivate them to save energy."

Simple Energy offers utility companies an innovative and effective digital marketing software as a service ("SaaS") platform that engages customers and drives energy savings. Simple Energy's platform helps customers understand their energy use with actionable insights and compelling motivations based on behavioral science. The platform normalizes customer's energy usage, allowing participants to compare with friends, neighbors and colleagues. In addition, customers can earn points, rewards, and gift cards by saving energy.

"Simple Energy has built the leading SaaS platform for utilities who want to engage their customers," said Steve Westly. "We have spoken to many utilities -- from major investor-owned utilities seeking mandated energy efficiency results, to competitive utilities focused on customer acquisition -- and they all have a critical need to more deeply engage their consumers. The successful utilities in the future will be consumer-centric in a way the industry has never been before –and we believe those utilities will use Simple Energy."

The Westly Group is led by Steve Westly, who was formerly the Controller and Chief Fiscal Officer of the state of California. Prior to his work with the state, Westly served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, Business Development, M&A and International for eBay. He currently serves on the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board as a representative for the venture capital industry. The Westly Group's portfolio includes Tesla Motors, RecyleBank, cleanWell, Honest Buildings, Lunera Lighting and others.

About Simple Energy
Simple Energy uses behavioral science, big data analytics, and digital marketing techniques to change how people save energy and how utilities engage their customers. Simple Energy's software as a service ("SaaS") digital marketing platform engages utility customers and drives energy savings. Participants in Simple Energy programs compare their real energy usage with friends and neighbors, earn prizes for saving energy, and become more engaged energy consumers. Simple Energy is making energy efficiency social, fun, and simple.

For more information visit: www.SimpleEnergy.com.

About Westly Group
The Westly Group is dedicated to building companies that will solve the world's most pressing problems. From next generation electric vehicles to healthy school meals, we invest in exceptional teams scaling transformative technologies and business models. We believe in the power of the passionate entrepreneur — whether sitting in a modern office tower or a Silicon Valley garage — to change the world.

The Westly Group is one of the larger clean tech venture firms in the US. The company is located in Menlo Park and has offices in Beijing. The company has had four companies go public on the NASDAQ. 

For more information visit: www.WestlyGroup.com.

SOURCE Simple Energy