“You must get comfortable with the notion that a lot of really smart people you respect are going to explain to you in excruciating detail why this is not going to work...You have to be able to see through that and have a clear vision in your mind for why it is going to work.” — Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base
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For decades, America’s electrical system has rewarded utilities for building more infrastructure, not for lowering costs. The result is a grid that expanded but rarely improved. Zach Dell, co-founder and CEO of Base, is building a different kind of power company. In under three years, Base has grown into a vertically integrated business valued in the billions. It combines home batteries and software to store electricity when it is cheap and deliver it when demand spikes. Dell’s interest in energy began long before Base. In college, he tried to lease a Hawaiian lava field for a solar project. He also experimented with anaerobic digestion systems in India and worked at Blackstone and Thrive Capital, where he met his co-founder. His bet is simple but ambitious: the next phase of the grid will come from increasing utilization rather than constantly building new infrastructure.
In our conversation, we explore:
How a failed college solar project and early energy experiments in India pulled Zach into the power industry
The lessons he absorbed from his parents, including truth-seeking, reinvention, and competitive endurance
How the U.S. grid’s regulatory structure discourages innovation and why Texas’s deregulated market creates space for new power companies
Why batteries are best understood as a time-shifting technology that increases grid utilization and reduces total system costs, not simply as energy generators
Base’s “make, move, store, sell” framework for thinking about the full power stack
How Base aims to become the first beloved energy company
How Zach identified Justin as a world-class operator and built the trust needed to go all-in together on a non-obvious idea
How aggressive AI adoption is compressing cycle times and why slow adopters risk falling behind
Thank you to the partners who make this possible
Granola: The app that might actually make you love meetings
Brex: The intelligent finance platform.
Explore the episode
Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction to Zach Dell and Base
(03:06) The Hawaiian lava field solar project and early energy curiosity
(07:58) Investing vs. operating
(09:31) Lessons from Phil Jackson on aligning talented teams
(15:24) Lessons from his parents
(19:19) The loneliness of solo founding and the value of co-founders
(21:49) Justin’s strengths as a co-founder and how their partnership formed
(30:55) Why Base became the obvious focus
(32:21) The original vision and the three reversals
(35:49) The American power grid and what makes Texas different
(40:39) Why batteries matter and what Base is building
(41:44) How Base works in two market types
(45:59) Base’s core product
(47:43) The software behind Base’s battery network
(49:14) Base’s partnerships with battery cell makers
(50:43) The Gen 2 hardware mistake and the lesson in risk management
(52:00) Dino’s strengths as Head of Hardware
(53:20) Base’s positioning as grid infrastructure
(55:39) Building a beloved energy brand
(58:45) How hiring at Base has evolved
(1:01:54) AI workflows at Base
(1:03:44) Zach’s dedicated deep work time
(1:06:29) Final meditations
Follow Zach Dell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-dell-a631a554
Resources and episode mentions
Books
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think: https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250107814
Robert Greene’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Greene/author/B001IGV3IS
People
Bill Walton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Walton
John Wooden’s website: http://www.coachwooden.com
Phil Jackson on X: https://x.com/PhilJackson11
Michael Jordan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
Scottie Pippen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottie_Pippen
Kobe Bryant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O%27Neal
Dennis Rodman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rodman
Justin Lopas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinlopas
Jared Greene on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredgreene1
Cole Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colecjones
Dana Paz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danapaz
Michael Scaria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-scaria-33383738
Dino Sasaridis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dino-sasaridis-b4674411
Michael Dell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dell
Susan Dell: https://www.dell.org/employee/susan-dell
Packy McCormick’s blog: https://www.notboring.co
Other resources
Blackstone: https://www.blackstone.com
Childhoods of exceptional people: https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/childhoods
Feynman Technique: The Ultimate Guide to Learning Anything Faster: https://fs.blog/feynman-technique
Anduril: https://www.anduril.com
Base Power Company: https://www.notboring.co/p/base-power-company
Base Power Company: Chapter 2: https://www.notboring.co/p/base-power-company-chapter-2
Austin Energy: https://austinenergy.com
GVEC: https://www.gvec.org
Bandera Electric: https://www.banderaelectric.com
Farmers Electric: https://farmerselectric.coop
NRG: https://www.nrg.com
Vista Energy: https://vistaenergymarketing.com
Costco: https://www.costco.com
Southwest Airlines: https://www.southwest.com\
HEB: https://www.heb.com
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