Factor co-founder Jessica Venning-Bryan joined Peter Griffin on The Business of Tech, BusinessDesk's weekly deep dive into emerging technology hosted by one of New Zealand's leading tech journalists.
The conversation covers the full Factor journey. How Jessica and Simon Pohlen used a decade of experience inside the energy sector at Flick Electric and Flux Federation to identify a problem they understood better than anyone, and then built a true SaaS solution to fix it. APIs for everything, rapid deployment, and integration into the legacy systems that dominate the energy industry globally.
Jessica doesn't hold back on the reality of the journey. She talks candidly about the tension between capital efficiency and ambition, the stress of fundraising, and the constant questioning of whether the team was moving fast enough or in the right direction. Her description of the past two years as simultaneously the fastest and longest of her career will resonate with anyone who has built something under real pressure.
The episode also gets into how Factor uses AI in its forecasting engine, including time-series models, and what that means for accuracy in high-stakes pricing environments.
The exit to Gentrack was valued at NZ$24.9 million with a NZ$10 million earn-out tied to hitting $17 million in annual recurring revenue within three years. It was announced in May and funded entirely from Gentrack's cash reserves.
Listen to the full episode on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
