Sheldon Kimber is CEO and Founder of Intersect, a provider of power solutions to the industries of tomorrow. In his prior role as COO of Recurrent Energy, he led the company’s development, origination, EPC, and operations activities globally and helped lead its expansion from a five person start-up to a leading, utility-scale developer, eventually delivering 2GW of COD. Sheldon joined Recurrent Energy in 2007 having previously worked at Calpine, Goldman Sachs, and Accenture. He holds a BA from Kenyon College and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where he taught project finance for almost 10 years.
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Guest Resources
Intersect – Check out the website to find Sheldon’s blog and contact info. They are hiring across multiple roles.
Sheldon Kimber LinkedIn – Connect to Sheldon on LinkedIn.
3 Value Bombs
1. Choose investors for alignment, not valuation. The right partners share your vision and support your governance.
2. Curiosity drives innovation. A culture of “why not?” opens new pathways to scale and resilience.
3. Earn your edge through experience. Success comes from putting in the reps, learning the system, and then building something better.
Sponsors
HighLevel: The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies! Learn more at HighLevelFire.com!
Intuit QuickBooks: Transform your cash flow — and your business — check out QuickBooks Money Tools today! Learn more at QuickBooks.com/money! Terms apply. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments Inc., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: How Sheldon Kimber Built Intersect, the Power and Data Center Solutions Provider Fueling America’s AIBoom
[1:23] – Sheldon shares something he believes about becoming successful that most people disagree with.
- Success requires gratitude and perspective. Hard work matters, but luck favors the prepared. Many people forget that their success is built on the support of others, family, education, and opportunity.
[3:56] – Sheldon talks about what made him take the leap from a major success story with Recurrent Energy to start Intersect.
- Recurrent helped launch the clean energy industry, but it was limited by its era of rigid models and early technology.
- With Intersect, he wanted to take those lessons and rebuild smarter: lean teams, integrated power for data centers, and scale economies. It’s about evolving the model, not reinventing it.
[7:37] – Sheldon tells us about a make-or-break moment in his early journey.
- Their joint venture partner faced financial crisis, which left them stranded. He and his co-founder literally worked from their lobby in New York for six weeks to save the deal. It was grueling, but it taught them perseverance and creative problem-solving which he called “type two fun.”
[10:33] – A timeout to thank our sponsors.
- HighLevel: The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies! Learn more at HighLevelFire.com!
- Intuit QuickBooks: Transform your cash flow — and your business — check out QuickBooks Money Tools today! Learn more at QuickBooks.com/money! Terms apply. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments Inc., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
[13:24] – Sheldon gives his best advice for raising capital the smart way.
- It’s all about who you take money from. Don’t chase the highest valuation but choose investors with integrity and alignment.
- They have taken lower valuations in exchange for better governance and long-term partnership. That’s how you stay in control in capital-intensive industries.
[16:58] – Sheldon talks about his mindset and what principle helped him to lead at scale.
- They built a culture of curiosity and contrarian thinking
- If he took no for an answer, he asks “why not?” constantly.
- A great leader balances confidence with humility. You need conviction to lead thousands, but humility to keep learning.
[19:39] – Sheldon gives one lesson from his journey that can help listeners take massive action.
- Put in the work. The myth of the overnight entrepreneur is just a myth.
- Experience within an industry gives you context, insight, and the credibility to innovate effectively.
[21:10] – Call to action.
- Intersect – Check out the website to find Sheldon’s blog and contact info. They are hiring across multiple roles.
- Sheldon Kimber LinkedIn – Connect to Sheldon on LinkedIn.
[21:25] – Thank you to our Sponsor!
- HighLevel: The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies! Learn more at HighLevelFire.com!
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
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