Chris Barnhill, Director of Marketing at Skyven Technologies

Welcome to the podcast Above the Cloud: Stories from the Boardroom. In every episode, we interview business leaders who are navigating the complex world of B2B marketing. Whether you're trying to grow revenue, swoop into a new market, or launch new products, we promise you've landed in the right spot. And now, your host, Richard Bird. Today on Above the Cloud Stories from the Boardroom podcast, we have a very special guest, Mr. Chris Barnhill, and he is the director of marketing for Skyven Technologies.

How you doing, Chris? Good to have you on the show. Thanks for having me. I'm doing all right. Rich, how about yourself? Oh, man. Better than I deserve. Better than I deserve, for sure. Well, you know, we always like to kick off uh our podcast with kind of a fun question. And so, you know, thinking about your company, Sky Technologies. If you guys if your company was a bird, what kind of bird would you be? That is uh a good question and I think it kind of lines up well with with Sky. We a lot of what we do is kind of sky themed.

So, uh, one of our products is is called Arcturus, and it's the one of the brightest stars out there. So, kind of has that that that sky theme, and that that that bird plays, uh, nicely into that theme. So, uh, I think there's really two that kind of do a good job of kind of associating with with Skyman and and one, we're we're a startup, but one was that stood out to me was kind of a paragrin falcon. So, speed, sharp focus. Um, and I think as a company we really target opportunities um and and have to be strategic and and and make some high impact moves.

So that that's one. And then if I'm allowed to do a second one um I I really think from a team standpoint of kind of team dynamic um really kind of operate uh we're very synchronized. We're um instinctive collaborators across the company, right? Across functions. when you're a smaller team, you kind of have to be and and everyone's talented and has their has their their own way. So, we kind of move together and and we're unstoppable. And I I will admit I had to look up what would be a good type of bird to to describe all those things I just said.

And and what kind of came up was and I wasn't familiar with this is what they were called, but a murmmoration of starlings. Oh. Uh was kind of what kind of grasped all those all those different things. So, I think those those are two kind of opposites, but do a good job of explaining kind of what we're doing at Sky and from a team and company standpoint. Yeah, that's great. That's two great answers. You got the the the paragan falcon or are those are cool birds for sure. And then I love it. You know, we have the starlings here and uh you'll be sitting at a stoplight and you know, they're just kind of flying around together all together.

You go, how do they how do they orchestrate that? you know, it's just amazing that they can that they can flock like that. Uh, cool, man. Well, look, Chris, you know, just uh we've known each other for a long time, but maybe maybe walk the audience a little bit through your background and and how you how you wound up in your in your role today. Yeah, it's uh it's been a a fun journey. I think I what do I say kind of 18 plus years of uh on this kind of marketing uh career journey, which is has been great.

And for me it really started uh when I went uh to to college university uh went to Clemson in in South Carolina and and went in with the marketing. That's what I I wanted to do and uh joined from there and kind of landed in the industry that everyone dreams of being a part of and and that's the uh industrial valve industry. Uh, right. I mean, what? Didn't even know it existed. Knew nothing about Valves and and the opportunity of an internship popped up and uh I I I took it and and and uh kind of the the rest is history.

So, again, didn't know the industry existed, but came in they they needed some help more from a marketing analyst type type uh type approach. So really doing some research on industries, market sizing, competition, and really gathering all that information that's really needed to help uh drive strategies and and just kind of learn what's going on. So it it worked out well. I think it was a great way for one for me to as you go into a new industry, it was a great way to learn all about it, right? And I'm not an engineer by by background and in the valve industry can be very very engineery.

So uh learning all the all all that along the way too has been uh very very important. But from from that role kind of moved into more of this marketing and communications kind of internal external communications which is is obviously very important. Um and then a lot of that at that time was events, trade shows. I had a a great a great uh opportunity to travel kind of all over and and visit new places and uh build brand awareness uh along along the way. And then um from there kind of moved uh actually to another Valve company.

So, kind of once you're in in the Valve valve industry, you kind of kind of stay there. Um, and and really got involved in more of a strategy implementation, um, lead generation, um, all all those type of things of actually implementing uh, the these strategies and and starting to work more uh, kind of cross functionally, right? So make obviously sales but with engineering, product development, all those different functions and kind of how that all kind of relates and how we we communicate inside and and outside the the walls.

Um and then from there just quickly um kind of moved into leading our our innovation uh uh group um which at the time was one I think still kind of super cool especially for the industrial valve industry. There was a lot of focus on hey let's really understand our customer. let's talk to them and and see what their pain points are and can we create a product or adjust a product that we have that helps uh solve those problems. Right? So, it was a cool experience kind of a startup mentality. Uh a lot of testing and learning, busting assumptions um and then helping lead lead teams through that process.

So, um that's kind of what got me to where I am today. uh a couple years ago made the move over to Skyven which was a a big jump in the sense of uh coming from a global matrix kind of organization to a a startup of about 20 people um was a a big change but something that uh was unique opportunity and and and really kind of believe in in what what we're doing here. So, um, so now, yeah, focused on a lot of those same things from from throughout the career to, uh, brand awareness, thought leadership, um, to really kind of tell the Sky story and, um, we'll get into this hopefully a little bit later, but Sky is still in the industrial space, so I didn't it didn't go too far away from the valves, but yeah, ended up here and, uh, it's been a great journey so far and probably uh, maybe halfway there, but uh, to the to the end of the journey.

We'll see. Oh man, you know, one of the things that you talked about there was the the the valve industry, industrial valves, and that is such a fascinating industry to me because it is so big, so much bigger than you think it it is. And I remember we've worked with several valve companies and and I'll go in, I'll say, "Oh, do you know such and such company? Do you know such and such company?" We work with them and they they're so vertically uh focused. They're like, "Oh, yeah. we never even heard of those guys.

And I'm like, well, they're pretty big company. And yeah, no, we don't really come across them. And uh and so just, you know, how many valve companies there are and the types of valves and everything else. And also how complex it is. It's one of those industries that you're like, how it's a valve. Like they're like ball valves and you know, there's like three or four gate valves. There's like a handful of types of valves. How complex could it be? And then you get in, you go, oh my gosh, this is this is a crazy industry.

there's just so many companies and so many specialties and like we only focus on nuclear applications and you know uh you know we only focus on you know oil and gas or what have you. So uh you know and and it's those things are critical to the to any process industry valves are and so it's really uh so if there's anything that gets made that where there's liquids or gases flowing then valves are a big part of it. So that that was a that's probably a really good way to set you up and get you into the into the industry, you know, you know, to stay in that industry.

And I think another thing you highlighted there that was really interesting to me is the fact that when you get out of school, you know, you didn't, you know, you weren't a little boy going, you know, I want to be in the valve industrial valve industry. Uh but you get in there and then you go, wow, this is interesting and fascinating. And then you meet people and that just puts your career progression on a certain path. and you just, you know, you wake up and you go, "Wow, I've been doing this for 18 years." It's uh it's true.

Yeah, it's it's like I said, didn't know it existed and then you realize, I mean, marketing specific to marketing has a place in there, right? There's a lot of opportunity and I think going through at school, at least for me, or my mindset was, oh, this is going to I want to do advertising to like consumers and those type of things, right? That's like in my mind what marketing was when I when I started and you land in this and see it's just a whole a whole another opportunity. So yeah, it's kind of crazy.

I was uh I took the similar path, you know, I was like I'm definitely going to be doing TV commercials. That's like that was what I you know when I was you showing my age a little bit, but that was the thing to do in advertising. And I even went to chose my college because I was able to work under the professor who was a copywriter for the um Miller Light great tastes great less filling commercials and I was like man that's it that's the best. Oh man. Well, you know, one of the things you also me said in there is you work with a lot of engineers and I think that's true of a lot of people in the B2B space uh especially uh you know people in the industrial or more technical industries in the B2B space.

Uh, I'll give you maybe hopefully it's a compliment, but I always I assumed you were an engineer. And the reason why I always assumed you're an engineer is because you're so knowledgeable about your products and and all and those kinds of things that um I was like, well, he really knows his stuff. He's a he's an engineer that knows how to talk about this stuff. Well, I appreciate it. I do. That is a compliment. I'll take that as a compliment. Uh, yeah, it's funny. I mean, with with engineer with valves and and really any kind of technical engineer type product, right?

There's um you've got to be able to talk about it and I think you probably know as well, no knock to to the engineers, but it it can be a lot of information, right? And okay, how do we make that digestible to to the right audience is is always the challenge. So, that kind of technical communications and and marketing is is is important. Oh, yeah. But if you if you can't speak engineer in this space, you're gonna you'll have a you won't you won't enjoy your time in the in the B2B industrial markets. No.

And there's a time there's a time and a right that long form detailed information is needed and then how do we kind of take from that and uh kind of repurpose it into different kind of formats that's uh usable in in different parts of the journey. Yeah. Well, thanks for thanks for taking us down your journey. It's an interesting road. What uh now tell us a little bit about Skyven you know uh what's the what's Skyan technologies all about? Yeah so we help industrial manufacturers improve their efficiencies reduce their operating cost and reduce their emissions.

Um and we do that at no cost to them. So this is where you kind of say wait what how what it's an interesting business model. You're just giving things away. We uh deliver emissionsfree industrial steam and we do that at the lowest cost possible with no capex required. So we have a steam generating heat pump. That's our our our cutting edge technology. Um and we install that on site at an industrial manufacturer um in parallel to their existing steam generation system. So most likely natural gas boilers or or something similar to to that.

So all of their existing systems stay on site as kind of redundant uh redundancy and backup. Um and we install this through our mo our business model which is energy as a service. So we go out and find all the grants, incentives um state level, federal, beyond um third party project financing. We find all the money needed to make that the project happen. And then what we do um is we share the savings with the customer. So once we're up and running, the customer sees a big big uh improvement on their operating expenses uh just from not having to burn as much natural gas, the improved efficiencies.

Um and then we share those savings across the the life of the contract. So that's kind of kind of what we're doing. I think I was able to weave in all my marketing uh uh blurs in there. So, but yeah, that's what we're doing at Skyven and and a huge opportunity um one from an emissions reductions, but also just with industrial manufacturers margins are thin, right? So, how do we improve efficiencies? How do we improve uh reduce cost to do what we're doing with with no impact to operations? That's that's the plan.

Wow, that is that is really interesting. So, just a 100% performance-based uh profit. So, uh or engagement. So that is really interesting because I think that you know when you're a a new technology people in that in the industrial space can be a little skeptical and they hear a lot of claims and they are interested in in like you said performance. You know they're they're working with razor thin margins. They have a lot of expenses to run those plants. So, you know, being able to come in and say, "Look, we'll we'll do all the leg work for you.

We'll get all the incentives. We'll do all the financing and then you we're just going to take a percentage of the savings." That's got to be a a great value proposition. How How'd you guys come across that model? Yeah. and and and so prior to becoming the the steam generating heat pump which is our our our product now started um more of a tech agnostic approach of hey we'll find different products or solutions that can can improve your efficiencies and reduce emissions but that energy as a service model was kind of the the the the starting point and that has carried over to to obviously what we're what we're doing today.

Um but really just saw a hurdle in the marketplace, right? A lot of these types of projects, uh you're fighting for that those capex dollars at a facility and a lot of times we we would see, hey, those either emissions reductions or uh efficiency improvement projects would just slowly go down fall down the list, right? And they would never be implemented. Uh maybe people didn't have the the resources uh to really do a project like this. So we really noticed that was a huge a huge hurdle to to get these types of projects to happen.

um and and and realize, hey, if we can if we can help fund them essentially at the at the front end, take on the full ownership of the whole project from design to implementation to operations and maintenance, take that off their plate. Obviously, the facility is heavily involved in in in the process and approvals and and everything that goes along with that. But um it was just a way we we saw that could really help make these projects happen and and have really seen some positive uh feedback for the for the projects that are installed and operating and and doing what they're supposed to do.

How could they possibly say no, right? Dream, right? Well, you know, we'll probably there nothing's ever as simple as it sounds. So, we'll probably we'll talk about that here in a little bit, I'm sure. But talk to me a little bit about the technology. So, it's just it is just a bolt-on to their existing operations. Uh, is that is that right? It's um installed on site outside of their existing process. So, it's not there's no um yeah, you got to tear out your boiler room to put this in. It's all outside of the process.

And we connect into two places at the facility. So, either at the steam header or the direct use of the steam um and then we also connect into a waste heat source. So what we're doing in a lot of these manufacturing um uh facilities obviously they're using steam to drive their process and they need a certain temperature pressure to do what what they need to do. So over throughout the process that steam loses that temperature and pressure and then the facility can no longer use it. It's not usable to them.

So a lot of times when you're driving by these facilities you'll see kind of the steam being dumped to atmosphere. They'll they'll vent it to atmosphere. So what we do is we capture that waste heat and for lack of better words upcycle it back through our system and then put in the same qual boiler quality steam uh with no emissions uh in in into the process. So um that's it. It's a it's an industrial heat pump. Steam generating heat pump. uh we use what's called mechanical vapor recompression is is a proven technology that's been around for for quite a while and in the industrial space uh to help uh the process.

But yeah, it's a it's an industrial heat pump that uh reduces emissions and and improves efficiencies. That is that's really interesting. I know we were we were driving past uh uh some sort of processing plant. I think it's uh on the east side of town, my wife and I, and she's like, "Look at all that pollution going in the air." And I was like, "No, that's just steam." She's like, "How do you know?" I was like, "Well, it's cuz it's white and it looks like a cloud. It's just steam." And uh and so she's like, "Well, it seems why do they have to release that?" And I was like, "Well, I don't know.

I don't know why they release that." And so this helps understand that. And you're And they don't have to release it, right? You just take that and um and reprocess it and heat it back up and um there's zero waste. Exactly. That's really interesting. Okay. Well, how does your team work? So, you got a small team. Some of the people who have been on the show have work have worked really large companies, but maybe they still have a small marketing team uh in their company. How do you how do you how do you guys set it up over there?

Yeah. So, when I started two years ago at at Skyven, uh was a team of one. I think there were 20 total people in the company. Uh and over the last two and a half years, we've we've grown to to right to 50. So, a decent amount of growth for for for what we're doing. And uh uh from a marketing standpoint, we've got myself and um kind of a she wears a lot of hats, but director of communications and policy, kind of government relations um amongst other things. But but that's that's the team. Um and what what we kind of focus and work on is is really kind of that communications, the messaging strategy.

Um work very closely with the sales team, which is it's it's a a great setup. a lot of um I'm sure you've you've heard it. When sales and marketing aren't aligned, that's that's not a good thing, right? And it's it's not always as easy as it should be. Um but man, here we're we're we're aligned. We're we're communications going both ways. Um and and it's it's uh it's it's really a really good team from a marketing and and sales and then obviously everybody else within Sky. But uh wear a lot of hats and and kind of going back to our our bird theme of we're we're strategic in in how we operate and uh do it with uh do it with intensity and and as a team.

Man, that's fantastic. You know that's something we see a lot is that sales and marketing are are very disperate segments in the organization and you know to see that you guys have a lean mean machine that is you know where sales and marketing working hand in hand that gives you a lot of advantages I would say compared to maybe some of your larger competitors who are you know you've got the marketing people here doing their thing and salespeople out there hustling deals and and never Shall the two ever meet?

It's just not the best approach. It is not um and you and I have kind of talked in over the years too of even outside of sales, right? The importance of other functions, there's just so many different touch points that that marketing can can play a big big role in. So, um yeah, it's a it's a it's a good team here. Yeah. Do you ever do you how closely do you work with the technology teams um here and in previous roles? I mean it's it's defin definitely a uh a key thing especially if we're talking I mean a new product right how do we communicate this to the marketplace is it is it uh solving problems that are out there right um so yeah work closely with with engineering product development project development um all of those during kind of creation of the technology launch of the technology and then there's also obviously all the feedback that comes once it's out out in out in the marketplace and operating and and what kind of kind of feedback we can get from a a customer standpoint.

So, yeah, it's it marketing to me touches pretty much any and every function inside inside the building. Yeah. Well, and you know, I think the other thing that's interesting about your industry, and it's interesting, you have a a government affairs person right there uh in in staff because that's something people usually companies outsource a lot of times, but I could see that being very with all the regulatory compliance and and things like that. I can imagine that that is a that she stays pretty busy in that role.

Yes. Yes. Yes. It's uh and I'll I'll be honest that was a a newer thing from I mean from my background right in in the government relations and and and advocacy and policy and and all those um but it's really important um as like you said as there's different regulations being passed and and funding opportunities and and grants and incentives from local government to federal to even your local utility could have incentives and how all that plays together is is is important. Yeah. you know, we we work with some aerospace companies in the past and you know, they have a uh a person who's sitting in DC, all those companies that is they're just doing what you described, you know, trying to understand incentives, trying to understand what's coming across in the bills, how much budget the government is going to chip into their programs, what what NASA's going to be up to, and they just are feet on the street in in DC understanding all those things and having those conversations is just critical to that industry for sure and it really just quickly drives that that energy as a service model too, right?

So we're we're we're out there looking for the right funding incentives. It could be tax credits, carbon credit, whatever it ends up being to to help make these projects happen. So um yeah, being being close to that is is is important. Yeah. Well, especially this uh in this the days we find ourselves in. What's one thing? You know, it sounds like you you've been in that role for now for a while and you're you're you're comfortable there and things are kind of uh moving in and shaking. What do you what's one thing you know today that you wish you would have known on day one?

Oh, that's a good question. I think the easy answer is how to use all the new tools that uh that that came along with with Java to a startup. uh uh kind of joking but Slack, Guru, Google Suite, all these tools that I'm like to do all these things. But in in in all seriousness, I think I mean coming moving to a startup was obviously knew that was going to be a big change. Uh and it's and it's been it's been great. Um but I think kind of learning that progress really beats perfection. I mean, you kind of always hear that don't let perfect get in the in the in the way of good enough.

Um, and and and I've always kind of used that, but coming in, I think any new role really, right? You come in and like it's got to be it's got we got to do everything exactly perfect and make sure every every eye is dotted, tees crossed, every word's perfect. But I think this applies to to any role, but re really really looking back saying, "Hey, just progress is it beats perfection every time." And and I think that's uh been a big thing uh here and then and really any other role too. But um just that that startup environment, right?

Speed, testing, iteration, like we're let's go, we're moving. Um you can't let perfection get in the way of good enough. Yeah. Move fast and break things. Exactly. That is definitely a mindset that startups really embrace and uh they have to because things are there. But when you're at a big global matrix organization, they they don't like to think that way. especially engineeringled companies, you know, they are like, you know, everything's got to be perfect because we don't we're not perfect. Things break and people might die and, you know, all those things that, you know, and that engineering mindset is not about um hey, let's just move fast and and and see what works.

You know, you don't want that mindset when you're driving across a bridge that was engineered. That's right. So, yeah. Cool. That is that Do you like that pace better? I do and I think it lines up. I mean, especially from a marketing standpoint, too, right, of especially in this day and age with all the digital things where you can test some things out pretty quickly and and and test and learn and and bust some assumptions. So, it lines up well with with that. Um, but I do I do enjoy uh just that speed, being agile, and again, if it doesn't work, okay, to go to something else, right?

So, um and being able to have that that authority to to do that, too, right? That's also kind of in some some companies they like you said it's that's just let's play it safe. Let's not try anything that's outside of our comfort zone. So um but yeah I I enjoy the pace. It's it's uh keeps it refreshing. Yeah, that is something that I'll warn you it would be very hard for you to go back to that slower bureaucratic pace. It is one of those things that once you once you break free of that and you go, "Wow, look, this is how this is how other people do it." And we don't have to ask for permission for 20 people that all have to put their rubber stamp on it.

We work with, you know, we work with big enterprise companies and we also work with, you know, startups and everything in between. And it's uh it's really interesting, you know, we're like, what's the approval process look like for your organization? And we're used asking that for enterprise level clients because we need to know like okay well we got to get it passed through you know 10 people in order to get the seal of approval and those people you know might take two weeks each to look at it and you have to hound them about it the whole time and then when you ask somebody at a smaller enterprise that they're like what do you mean like how many people like well just me great sign it right out like perfect let me ask you this so from a sales and marketing perspective Um what are the what are the biggest obstacles that you guys are face because it sounds like you know you were talking about you've got this performance-based model and you know there's no uh just the technology just plugs right in no risk like it should be a slam dunk to to sell that you know what but what are the obstacles you guys see?

Yeah, that's a good question and then and I think some of these will probably resonate across industries, but for us it's really just that mind share, right? There's so much information out there when you're when you're talking to a customer. Um they're getting hit with tons and tons and tons of information. If it's on the web, if it's on the internet, if it's other other companies calling them, if it's from the news, whatever it is, right? There's just so much information out there. And so being able to fight through that noise and um gain that mind share uh is is is difficult.

Um obviously that's uh kind of marketing's role is kind of how how do we how do we do that? Um, but even specific to industrial electrification, emissions reduction, um, efficiency improvement, there's just so many different things out there right now that, um, from carbon capture to to heat pumps to thermal energy storage to hydrogen to solar power, all these different things, right? And and it's not necessarily you just have to pick one of those and and that's what you go with. a lot of these we they work together and and figuring out how to take advantage of all of them is is is the goal.

So, I think that's the the biggest thing. And then just from a specific to what we're doing um is is really what we kind of talked about earlier is is understanding that these projects can happen without all that upfront capex, right? It's it's really the education of this energy as a service model. um and and really making sure that's understood and and that really touches um I mean from a sustainability manager to finance is obviously going to be involved in that from a customer side uh their operations their engineering team their site level personnel so it it touches a lot of people so being able to understand how that energy as a service model impacts all those different areas and uh making sure they understand it right I mean that's that's what we've got to do so um those were those would probably be the the biggest obstacles and and luckily marketing is is here to help help support this.

Yeah. What you know, just to dig a little deeper on that, what kind of um what are you telling the market about that? How are you capturing that thought leadership from a um from an energy as a service standpoint or Yeah, just from a from an energy as a service because that's an interesting concept and I think sometimes you know we always think about the you know marketing is always solving a problem and and it and sometimes you solve a problem that the customer doesn't know they have or or has gotten used to exact and they're like hey this is that's the way we've always done it.