Favorite Parts Of Working In The Energy Industry As A Cofounder
As an auditor, Kyle enjoyed staying "extremely up to date with public policy," anticipating how policy shifts impacted audits. Now, as a founder, Kyle relishes "testing stuff" and making a difference, viewing company building as both a business and "social action."
Public Policy, Social Impact, Entrepreneurship, Testing and Experimentation, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kyle Brauer
Cofounder
Pencil Energy
UCLA - 2017
UCLA Anderson FEMBA, 2023 - MBA Degree
Political Science, American Studies
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Energy & Utilities
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Staying current with public policy and its impact on the industry is crucial.
2. The ability to anticipate policy shifts and their effect on future work is important.
3. Combining social impact with business is a rewarding aspect of entrepreneurship in this industry.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about working in your industry as an auditor?
What I enjoyed most was being extremely up to date with public policy. It was pretty much expected that every auditor was reading various news sources, policy briefs, and think tank reports to keep up to date on knowledge. This also helped maintain an open mind about what kinds of recommendations or styles might come through.
A lot of the time, things like that would inform how legislators or program administrators behave. The legislature in California is the one who generally assigns audits to the state auditor, so understanding the shifting winds there is really important.
Likewise, with the program administrators, it's important to anticipate whether some evolution in how policy is administered could affect how your future audits may behave. I loved that aspect.
As a founder, I just love testing stuff. I love going out and trying to make a difference and helping people with whatever it is they do. It sounds very socially minded, and to me, starting a company can be that way. I think more companies probably need to think about building things as a social action as well as a business action.