WattTime’s origins date back to our quest to answer a seemingly simple question: “How clean is the electricity I’m using right now?” For a variety of reasons, there wasn’t a way to answer the question. And we decided it was worth figuring out.

It started out with dozens of software coders in a computer-filled room tackling the problem in a hackathon. Since then, 200+ volunteers across disciplines have contributed their skills and talents, backed by the work and participation of PhDs and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon University. The resulting solution: Automated Emissions Reduction.

Today, we continue to feed AER with increasing algorithms and capabilities so that we can put forth solutions that align with our mission and enable customers to deliver on consumers’ demand for energy choice.

Although WattTime’s technology allows for electricity grid emissions reductions, it’s first and foremost about customer choice.

We have options in nearly everything we do and buy: where to live, what color to paint the bedroom, what car to drive, what phone to buy and what apps to fill it with, which foods we eat. Yet we’ve had little to no choice in the electricity we consume, save for maybe putting solar on our roof, paying a premium for renewable energy certificates (RECs), or choosing a different retail electricity provider (if even an option).

Meanwhile, we haven’t had any option but to use the dirty energy provided to us, and hope and wait for the grid to get cleaner with more renewables. But here at WattTime, we’re guessing most customers wouldn’t choose to pollute if they didn’t have to. We give them the power to choose cleaner energy.

When founding WattTime we had an important decision to make: how to incorporate the new organization. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, leveraging technology to solve a problem and working as part of a lean, boot-strapping team, an obvious choice was on the table: traditional tech start-up.

After serious thought and serious reflection on our values, we ultimately chose to launch as a mission-driven nonprofit to steward a movement. In fact, we’ve even turned down potential business opportunities because the projects weren’t sufficiently aligned with our mission.

Yet despite being a purpose-driven organization--or maybe because of it--we have thrived and are growing fast based on a smart business plan, powerful technology, and a revenue model that carefully aligns with our values.