EightTwenty started as an electrical contractor in 2017. In 2021, the company pivoted to solar energy and everything took off: EightTwenty’s revenue grew five times from 2020 to 2021, and the company expanded from 10 employees to 59, now supporting offices in Louisville, Kentucky, northwest Arkansas and Dallas.
“As an energy state, we knew solar can be a big part of our future,” said Tony Cupucille, EightTwenty CEO and co-founder. “Our passion is to serve residential and commercial customers in Oklahoma and surrounding states to empower them to live solar.”
Why is innovation important to the growth of business in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma cannot rest on what we have done in the past – we must build upon it. With a wonderful heritage in energy, we need to be seen as a proponent of any and all types of energy that can attract the best and brightest minds in the country.
What do we not know about innovation in Oklahoma? When we started, solar adoption was .09% in a state with the sixth most sunlight. That said, the openness and bipartisan adoption of technology that makes sense is rapidly adopted. We have a very innovative state made up of innovative people. People always think starting a solar company in Oklahoma is a hard endeavor that must have tremendous resistance. It is, in fact, just the opposite. It has been filled with encouragement of customers, partners, legislators and employees that want dynamic solutions that will fuel our state and its residents for decades into the future!
Energy Innovator of the Year Finalists:
