Shares in an Australian startup that counts Lady Gaga among its investors have skyrocketed 300% in 6 months

Shares in ASX-listed energy tech startup Buddy Platform have climbed from 6 cents in April to 24 cents thanks to global distribution deals with telcos.

The company, which last hit headlines in March for the launch of its flagship product Buddy Ohm, had Lady Gaga’s investment vehicle, AF Square, and tech giant Microsoft as seed investors before reverse listing on the ASX in late 2015.

Sales of Buddy Ohm, a system of connected sensors and devices installed in commercial buildings to monitor, analyze, manage and reduce energy use, has developed considerable momentum in the six months since.

“The reason we’ve gone from 6 cents to 24 is because we’ve distributed the product through the first major channels,” said Buddy founder and chief David McLauchlan.

“In the Caribbean, it’s through the largest telco in the territory – 70% plus market share.”

McLauchlan told Business Insider that telcos find connected devices attractive because it encourages higher ongoing use of their mobile networks.

“It’s absolutely perfect for them. There isn’t a carrier in the world that isn’t interested in putting more stuff on their network that they can monetize,” he said.

“The worst way for them to monetize is sell you a SIM card for you to put your [device] on. If they can sell you the thing, and they can monetize that on a monthly basis, happy days. That’s why this has been successful.”

The Caribbean, according to McLauchlan, is a particularly relevant market for energy conservation gadgets because of the confluence of high cost of electricity and massive energy consumption at tourist resorts.

With Canadian building managers also facing massive power bills due to heating demands, a telco deal in that country will be wrapped up this month.

Courtesy of Buddy PlatformMcLauchlan told Business Insider that Australia, too, suffers from high electricity rates – pointing out the cost is “irrationally high” considering the abundance of sunlight and wind in the country.

“Natural resources like that should be highly affordable. I believe India has just published a statement that for the first time, for them at least, solar and wind were cheaper to generate than nuclear… Given that, we should be able to power the world almost.”

While Buddy Ohm is already selling directly to building managers in Australia, McLauchlan said he is working on a distribution deal with an unnamed local telco.

Globally, Buddy Ohm has now signed $22 million worth of contracts – and McLauchlan forecasts there will be “multiples of that to come”, with an aim to get the startup into the black by 2019.

“I feel very good about our 2019 commitment to shareholders, but also every chance I get I urge shareholders to remember that we will reinvest at every chance.”

The former Microsoft executive divides his time between the company’s offices in Adelaide and Seattle, and is also a mentor at consultancy Innovyz Start and Australian startup Bluedot Innovation, and a co-founder of events management business Bonza Bash Productions.

As for Lady Gaga, McLauchlan said she had been a strong supporter since the early days, but is not the most famous investor behind the scenes.

“It’s just quite a few of our investors don’t wish to be identified.”

 

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