Cosmos

Welcome back to the show, my fellow extraordinary Americans. Today’s guest is Joshua Schuster, a leader in real estate development and sustainable initiatives. Solarback LLC CEO Josh Schuster is in charge of expanding the benefits of solar energy across Florida. Historically, Florida has fallen behind in brokering power purchase agreements compared to other states. 

However, Schuster’s organization aims to bridge this gap by enabling commercial property owners and managers to generate additional revenue with minimal investment by using solar arrays to offset dirty energy with clean, carbon-free energy. 

Prior to Solarback, Schuster completed more than $ 2.3 billion in real estate projects, representing over 3.2 million square feet of mixed-use, residential, retail, affordable, and hospitality projects. Schuster also focuses on social impact and is an active philanthropist. He co-created the B Clinic Foundation, a nonprofit that constructs medical clinics in developing countries. Six Walls, an NFT-based philanthropic platform, and Bricks and Meta, a Web3 platform that supports cross-category interaction. Josh has shared his knowledge of environmental directions with Nancy Pearlman, Bisno, the Miami State of the Market, the Street Valiant CEO, and many more. He continues incorporating his previous experiences and knowledge into solar back for a brighter, cleaner future. 

His company is teaming up with other influential individuals, such as former Florida senator Ron Silver, John Lloyd, and James Salter along the way. He’s an extraordinary American, and I’m glad and honored to have him on this show.

Josh, are you there?

Josh

Yes. Hi.

Cosmos

Hi Josh, thank you for taking the time to do this podcast with us. Can you tell me the audience a little bit more about yourself, your background, your story, and how you got started?

Josh

Sure, yeah. And thank you for having me today. I was born in the Philippines and moved to the States when I was three years old. My father was a physician who went to medical school in the Philippines and did his residency in Ohio, about 30 miles south of Cleveland. 

I grew up on a farm in a town not too far from Youngstown, Ohio, until I was almost 16 years old. Then, I moved to Florida, where I graduated high school. Then, I went to school in Louisiana. Finally, I found my way to New York City, where I started my career in real estate.

Cosmos

Wow.

So Josh, can you tell me, the audience, a bit more about your strategic vision and goal from the time you came to New York City to do $2.3 billion in real estate development? How did you get there, and what was the process like?

Josh

Sure. So, I worked for a developer out of school and was lucky to find that job. It took a lot of persistence. I worked for a property management company and wasn’t thrilled with the operations. It was a little slow for me. And in the real estate business, you know, the sexy side of it is development, mainly ground-up development. 

I started conversing with a developer who I learned was looking for a role. And I pursued the developer. Nonstop emails and phone calls, almost to the point of annoyance. Finally, he gave me a shot and gave me a job. I worked there for about four and a half years, learning the business’s ins and outs. 

Fortunately for that company, running a lean operation, I was fortunate enough to take on responsibilities that were sort of over my head, above my pay grade. What that did forced me to learn or be left in the dust. 

I took copious notes, asked many questions, and was able to start speaking the language. That’s really what it is: understanding a new language. When you enter an industry like real estate. I just caught on. I liked it. My grandfather was in real estate. Unfortunately, he passed away before I started my career. And then, after four and a half years, I told myself this might be the right time to try this myself. 

And I was young at the time. I rode a motorcycle. I was living in the Village with my girlfriend. We were, who’s now my wife, and we were, you know, just look, I was looking for deals, and I got a family friend to lend me a small amount. I found a site on the Lower East Side. I found two individuals with high net worth to back me on a business plan. And I renovated my first building when I was 26 years old. It was a seven-story building converted into 14 apartments. And that was a quite successful project. 

I took the windfall from that project and acquired more land in New York. And this was a time when the market was rising, sort of 20, 10, 11. And a rising market lifts all boats. Right. So, I would say much of this was just good timing and good luck. Was able to

Cosmos

You said 2011, which is right after the 2008 crash, right?

Josh

Correct. So this was like 20, 10, end of 10, 2011. So when the market was rebounding heavily, capital started to return to the market. So, real estate was on fire. I was acquiring sites or putting down contract deposits. I would buy sites and flip the contract to another builder developer before any of my capital was at risk.

 So I did that several times until the war chest got larger. And then finally, I said, you know what, let’s build the next project, not just flip it again. And I was constructing projects; they got larger and larger until the point I eventually said, you know what, rather than pass the hat to high net worths and go through the same song and dance and pitch for every single project, which is time-consuming, what about just raising a real estate fund? Why don’t I get all these investors to put it into one discretionary fund so I could be more nimble and seize on opportunities? And that’s what I did. I was able to start with a $50 million allocation, which I deployed across six states. At one point, the team had 18 professionals.

As you read earlier, nearly two and a half billion dollars worth of real estate was completed under my auspices during, let’s say, the 2016-2020 time frame. I am very proud of that, but with great success, especially during a relatively short time frame and especially with the youth, that I had no traditional education in the space or the right refinement. I think I was a little reckless in terms of overleveraging and overly ambitious. You know, everything you touched was burning to gold. So, that gave me a lack of appreciation of the true risk behind some of these endeavors. 

And I learned the hard way when Covid came about because my teeth were kicked in, right? I had projects being taken away from me by the lenders. I had investors that were upset that projects were going sideways. I had tenants that weren’t making rent payments. I had the governors in various states telling the construction industry they could not move forward. During COVID, the pandemic hurt. First, going through all that, it was a disaster. It was like I was living in a real-world hell. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It was like I was hit with a bad luck stick. And it was very, very difficult to navigate out of that. But, you know, thankfully, with a little help from my higher power, it’s like, you know, 2024 now, I’ve, I’ve, found my way out of that sort of darkness and found my way to start this solar back company, with is focusing on clean energy.

Cosmos

So, Josh, I want to ask you one question for the audience’s sake, right? So what you earned, you got a lot of success. Massive success in such a relatively short amount of time because not many people go through that. So, like, there’s a high level of risk involved, as you mentioned, with COVID-19. They’re like, these are the risks you must deal with. And then, it’s a high-pressure thing involving money. 

So my question is, how do you see risk in real estate development, and what is the motivational factor driving you in spite of all the high risks that could happen in such a business?

Josh

Sure. When I first started in real estate, I was driven by the delivery of a tangible asset that I could point to. I would go over, you know, any bridge towards Manhattan, and I would be able to look at the skyline, point to buildings that I constructed, and alter the skyline. And for me, it was ego-driven. That was what was boosting my desire to complete this.

Cosmos

This almost sounds like Donald Trump, New York City, and the real estate element.

Josh

But, yeah, well, that, that’s really what it is. And you know, in the small circle of real estate development developers, we’re all driven by ego. And then, once our ego is satiated, we, of course, boil down to how much money we can make with these projects. And when, at Silverback, my former company, our average size project was $100 million. And we’re realizing margins that are 20 to 30%. 

So it gets very exciting when you’re talking about that kind of massive windfall per project. It makes any amount of risk worth the reward. Right. So, you know, going back to your question of risk, I think the problem is I never really felt the impact of failure. Right. When I saw failure, it worked for another developer during the 0809 crisis.

And I learned from their mistakes. Right? I saw that; I saw their pain, but it wasn’t my pain but my wallet. It wasn’t until later in life, experiencing myself through the pandemic, that I said, oh, wow. Why do seasoned veterans in real estate not seek high leverage? This is why seasoned veterans try to maintain as much cash and dry powder, as it’s called during a recession, so they can jump on and buy as many properties as possible and take advantage of the market. This is why people never sell property so that they can be there for the long haul.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way. But again, we’re the sum of our experiences. So good or bad, it’s just that it’s all been good in my book.

Cosmos

So Josh, how do you go from real estate development to solar energy? Because, I’m sure, the audience wants to know the transition process because, because a lot of people in real estate, they’re just happy with being in real estate, you know, like that’s just their thing. But we need solar energy and environmentally friendly stuff to go from there. Like. Can you explain the transition? What got you to it?

Josh

Sure. Look at ah, as a developer, you know, practicing for nearly two decades, headquartered in New York City, real estate was everything I knew. Right. Everything I looked at, analyzed, 16-hour days I lived and breathed it. Right. But I know that I wasn’t a present father; I wasn’t a present husband. I wasn’t, you know, drifting away from certain core characteristics that I think make up the. Josh is sitting in front of you today. And once things went sideways on many of my projects, I had this PTSD with regards to real estate, and I said, you know what? We can’t; we need a change. 

So my wife and I decided like, let’s, let’s move to Florida. Let’s try to have a fresh start. I’ll be able to unravel some of the mess that’s still in New York, some of the broken glass from burnt bridges and relationships that I need to repair because of, you know, it’s not an easy conversation to explain to lenders that they’re not going to be repaid on their debt or that investors are going to lose their investment. You know, that’s not a good conversation to have. 

And so that’s also very challenging. It wore me down. Right. When you’re living in and out, day in and day out, from good news every day to now, bad news every minute, it eats away at you, so, you know, treating life like a video game with a reset button. I said, let’s move to Florida. Let’s try to start over. It’s the Sunshine State. We won’t have to deal with the seasons. And maybe a location change would help fast-track a way back to either the real estate game or whatever comes my way. 

And the latter is exactly what. So one day when I was, you know, leaving a meeting, I think it was with some architects for a project I was working on down here, I was on my way to a shopping center, to a grocery store, and on my way there, I Couldn’t find any parking, so I parked in the rear of the lot. It’s 90 degrees out. I’m wearing a dress shirt. I’m walking towards the grocery store and sweating through my shirt. And, like, I’m frustrated, mind you. You know, I’m still exacerbated by all the problems that I’m still dealing with on the real estate side of my former company. 

And it’s so hot in Florida. I couldn’t find parking. It’s so crowded. I just. It was one of those days where everything could go wrong. Walking up to this entrance, I’m fascinated by the length of this building, the shopping center. 

And I look behind the shopping center is another shopping center. Across the street, there’s another strip center. You know, everything around me is, if you’ve been to South Florida, is low-rise shopping centers, like its industrial parks, then low-rise commercial buildings. And I said, yeah, I’m getting berated by the sun. The sun shines 300 days out of the year here. There’s all this flat roof. Why don’t I take my real estate skill set here and try to control vis-a-vis leasehold positions, like, in other words, signing leases on these rooftop spaces? So now I can control that space, right? 

And by controlling it and having unobstructed access to the sun, we could build state-of-the-art solar facilities, okay? And produce enough power to offset the usage underneath those roofs. So, for example, a 150,000-square-foot Target shopping store, right? Bill, they probably spend $1 million a year on energy. We could install our system, right? Offset all their energy and cut a deal with Target to buy it from us for $500,000, right?

So they get a massive discount. We have free energy from the sun. The system paid off in a short period. And then for the rest of the life of that lease, we have, you know, this, infinite internal retail, internal rate of return.

Cosmos

Wow. So, Josh, this is an incredible transition. Like you, you are going from real estate elements in New York City to solar energy in Florida. And, like, you got inspired by, like, the sun. It’s just, it’s just like, wow.

There are so many questions I want to ask, but one thing I wanted to ask Josh is, you know, a lot of people complain about the high cost of creating the solar energy infrastructure, right? In the beginning, it’s very cost-intensive or something. 

And so, from your perspective, is that true? How can it become affordable when everybody has solar-backed energy instead of what they have right now?

Josh

Yeah, great question. I think the answer rests with the Inflation Reduction Act, right? Dedicated towards grants or government-backed loans to promote renewable energy. I tap into the tax credit side of that.

So what that means is if I invest a hundred dollars into solar, depending on where I buy the equipment and where I install the equipment would determine whether like my eligibility for a rebate, tax credit, anywhere from 30 to 60% of my investment I can take back. So, how many industries can you think of where you invest a dollar, and the government gives you back 50 cents? Not many. Right. So yes, it is very capital intensive. But you know what still is? Real estate development. And I could get in at a young age with $0. 

Right. I had two nickels to rub together when I first started. It’s about how you structure the deal. It’s about getting creative. And you know that in financial engineering, the same is true for solar development. Do you know what layers of tax credits we can include? When can we accelerate the depreciation and take advantage of those tax savings? How else do we get relatively inexpensive debt to help leverage and improve our returns? Like all these questions, as we go down that list and ask ourselves, we can seek a return that makes sense for any investor.

Cosmos

So Josh, as a continuation of this, you know, like renewable energy and just environment friendly, initiatives have now become kind of politicized like a Republican versus Democrat kind of thing where now they’ve made this thing about like very political. 

So, as a businessman who wants to create a high impact, how are you navigating the politicization of renewable energy versus oil-based companies and, somehow, getting this through?

Josh

It’s a fantastic question and a bullet that I have to dodge. Whenever we’re pitching our services or trying to raise money, people think to your point that when you start talking about climate change or climate mitigation, you’re, you know, you’re a Democrat, and that’s not necessarily true. Exactly. Ah, but rather than even go there and open the door to that debate, we just try to focus on the numbers, right? What are you paying now? If you install this new form of energy, this is what you’ll pay later. Does the economics make sense to you that 60% of the United States GDP comes from small businesses? Okay. 

So, suppose we can contribute to savings at the small business level. In that case, we’re talking about more hiring, research and development, expansion, ways to improve people’s lives, and, of course, the national GDP. 

I think it’s critical to find all kinds of ways to improve business and business growth. So, rather than focus on climate itself right now, even though that’s our investment philosophy, right? The social impact of it all is not necessarily the motivating factor for a lot of our clients.

Cosmos

I see. I mean, that’s good to hear because, yeah, you’re right. Like, not these days. Like whenever people talk about climate or renewable sources, they’re automatically like, oh, it’s a Democrat, Republican. But yeah, if you show them the math and how it’ll improve their lives, which will be sustainable over a long period, people will get to it.

But as a continuation of this, Josh, how do you see us using solar energy and renewable energy sources in the 21st century or the immediate future? Do you think it’ll completely replace oil-backed, like fossil fuel, things, or do you think it’ll be like a hybrid of the two?

Josh

Look, if we could harness the power of the sun for just one day—one day’s worth of energy—like what? One day of the sun’s power on the Earth, we could power the entire Earth and all of its consumption for a year.

 So taking that into account, like, I don’t know why we’re spending so much time thinking about nuclear reactors, micro, micro, or hydrogen or other forms of energy when we have this big yellow ball in the sky that could produce enough energy that more than what we need. Right. We just need to figure out how to harness it. When I started this 19 months ago, we dealt with these solar panels, the modules themselves. They were 300 watts per module. Okay. Now they’re over 600, and that’s in 19 months.

 So the technology is like a hockey stick, like a curve, you know, it’s super steep right now. You know, we’re covering a lot of roofs at almost every square foot of the roof now to produce as much energy as possible. Five years from now, we’ll be having this conversation, and the solar panel system will be the size of a cell phone. Like that’s where technology’s going. We just need to focus on it. I think Tesla has a solar department because it focuses and receives 16% of its revenue from solar because one day, it will be Tesla’s solar-powered cars. You’ll just park it outside, and you’ll juice your battery. 

So this gold rush for EV charging systems—I think it’s a fad, you know, like the iPod. Everyone wanted an iPod for so long until the phone started playing music, right? That’s where we’re going. We’re going to skip over that hardware component.

Cosmos

So, Josh, you’re right because if you look at computers back in the 1970s when computers were getting, they were massive computers. But now you have everything in a cell phone. I can see the same thing for solar power. 

Yet, like today’s society, you just see this stubborn resistance to change, to what is possible, and to what the future could look like with renewable energy sources. But from your perspective, why do you think that? Is it just human nature, or why do people not want things that are good?

Josh

I think people are just innately afraid of change. I think it’s about security. I mean, I remember when Netflix dropped the CD-ROM, right? They just went DVD, straight to streaming, and Wall Street and investors and everyone pulled their hair out. How could you guys just go streaming? Like, no, you need the DVD. I can’t find a DVD player if you ask me to, right? I haven’t seen a DVD player or DVD in years. 

Everyone’s streaming, right? Disruptive businesses disrupt for a reason. And that is what advances our society. Every single technology that’s made sense, even right now, artificial intelligence people are fearful. Do I use it, Do I use it to help my work product? How do I use it? No one yet really understands and knows people are playing with it, but they don’t understand the magnitude of where that is going. And I think the same is true for renewable energy. 

And I think one big challenge is that you have so many massive conglomerates, NGOs, and royal institutions that make so much money from oil that there’s no incentive for the major players to inspire change until now. You have companies now like Dell. If you look up Shell’s emissions, they list zero because they’re buying enough offsets and enough renewable energy credits to offset their emission.

Right? If you look at Total Energies out of Europe, Total Energies has already said that they, you know, by, by, I think 20, 20, 35 or something. They’re going to be a carbon zero company, and they’re the largest, you know, oil company in Europe. Right. 

So, I think the change is coming. I think the movement starts with consumer preferences. There was a lot of pushback initially for Tesla cars, and now, the third highest-selling car in America is Tesla, the Tesla Y, or something. I think that the trend is not going anywhere.

Cosmos

So, Josh, this reminds me of a story about a battle between Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla because they were like direct current versus alternating current. Tesla actually had a method where he could give free energy to the entire world or something like that, which would revolutionize society. 

However, JP Morgan didn’t think much of it or thought it would be too disruptive, and he didn’t give the financial backing. He pulled it off, then history became different, and then we have the society we have right now. But if Nikola Tesla had just had the funding, there was a lot of opposition because of, you know, the moneyed interest, the vested interest, what you just mentioned, a lot of people in the oil industry; they don’t want to see change because it cuts their profits. And so it’s something that it’s something that I noticed, you know.

Josh

Yeah. And look, I think until these special interest groups see change on their doorstep, they will be stubborn. And I think that’s why it’s our civic duty for the rest of the population to demand the change we want through our consumer preferences. 

Right? It’s obvious; scientists are telling us the Earth is almost 2 degrees hotter, right? In the next five years, the oceans will rise, you know, by at least a foot and a half. These things aren’t changing. They’re scientifically proven. 

Right? Whether you believe it’s, it’s climate-related, or it’s cyclical, or whatever it, it is, you know, it’s happening. Facts like, you know, we throw away 14 million tons of plastic into the ocean a year, okay? 14. That’s the equivalent of getting everyone in New York City to drive a Ford F150 into the ocean, okay? Line up 8 million Ford 150s and drive them into the ocean yearly. That’s how much plastic we’re wasting now. How much time until something like that catches up to us, right?

Cosmos

Yeah.

Josh

I don’t know. I mean, it’s just that we have six species going extinct every minute.

Cosmos

It’s just not sustainable.

Josh

Yeah, it’s not sustainable. And I think, you know, with Generation Y and Generation Z, the youth is getting these. They’re, you know, they understand it. I think their shopping preferences are changing. They’re going to stores that are sustainable and clean. They prefer shopping in an environment with LED lighting, and there are paper shopping bags, not plastic. You know, the consumer preferences are changing. I think it all starts there.

Cosmos

So, Josh, this is a question I asked regarding Americans in America.

Josh

Right?

Cosmos

Let’s say you’re the new generation. How should they view social impact entrepreneurship? Let’s say somebody wants to follow in your footsteps and get renewable sources of energy out, but they need to make a profit from it and also do it in a sustainable financial way. And also they can scale it. How should they go about doing that? Because what you’re doing needs to be done by more people.

Josh

Yeah. Well, I think anything in renewable energy has some of the lowest barriers to entry for an entrepreneur. The reason why I say that is there are so many grants, there are so many tax credit subsidies, and there is so much 100% financing out there. 

So, in other words, you don’t have to put in any money and get all debt from a third-party lender, which strips away many of the barriers to entry into being an entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs think, well, I need money to make money. Well, you don’t. I had no money, so I started a real estate development business. Right. I lost much of my real estate money, but I could still start a renewable energy company. Right.

getting off of that thought process that you need money to make money, it’s just something ingrained in the people who have money so that you don’t compete with them. Right?

Cosmos

Wow.

Josh

I think it requires some research. It’s going online, going to the Department of Energy, finding out what grants are out there, and realizing once you quickly read through them that the eligibility requirements aren’t as stringent as one would think. 

Cosmos

Yeah, that’s true. I would advise anybody who’s watching this to definitely do their research because we do need more social impact entrepreneurship in this world. Because it’s not just about entrepreneurship. Ultimately, entrepreneurship is not just about entrepreneurship. It’s about making an impact. 

People want to leave a legacy. Without a legacy, what’s the point of everything they do? So, the current generation is certainly thinking in those regards.

Josh

Yeah. And I think, you know, there’s a seismic shift in the way investors think these days, especially about leadership roles at major companies. It used to be that CEOs would just live for quarterly earnings reports, right? So they would do whatever it takes to have a great quarter. Now, the lifespan of a CEO is growing. They’re no longer three—or five-year stays. Some CEOs have been in that position for two to three decades. 

And so the outlook is much longer. It’s, you know, how we create a sustainable business that continues to profit, and that requires maybe taking a concessionary return now to elongate the potential of the company’s future. And so, you know, what that means is making sometimes a capital investment today.

It means, you know, if you’re, if you’re an operating business, spending the money to replace all of your interior lighting with LED lighting with efficiency switches, replacing your, your plumbing, pipes to ensure that there’s no leaks, and you’re not wasting money on water bills, insulation, tinted windows, whatever the case may be, energy, energy-efficient appliances, there are little ways to make a difference. And, I think the long-term creates savings.

Cosmos

Well, that’s awesome, Josh.

And, Josh, another question I wanted to ask, like, which I wanted to ask earlier. Still, we went to renewable energy: what is the difference between doing business in New York City and Manhattan versus doing business in South Florida? Because these are two completely different regions of America, they symbolize opposites, yet they’re similar in many ways. So, for the audience’s sake, what are the differences, and are there any similarities?

Josh

Yeah, that is a fantastic question. The lifestyle is much different. In New York, you live to work. In Florida, you work to live.

Cosmos

Wow.

Josh

So, a better priority here is being outdoors and connecting with individuals. I mean. And, I’m a victim of this. When I was in New York, when I got into an elevator, I hit the door close button repeatedly. I don’t want anyone else in that elevator with me. You know, if I’m going up an escalator and somebody’s standing on it instead of walking. I’m frustrated. Excuse me; let me get out of the way. I need to reach my destination— time, time, time. 

And you get into this bubble; it’s like wearing blinders as a horse. And you’re just focused on, you know, you’re never content. Wherever you are, you want to be somewhere else. You want to be somewhere else once you get to that somewhere else. And it’s when you’re never content, you’re always anxious and unhappy. 

And I found later in my life that a lot of, you know, a lot of my failures helped open my eyes to some of these things. There are ways to work smart without working hard. Right? You can manage your time wisely if you eject positive feelings. You know, some neuroscientists out there say it takes energy itself, like 17 seconds or something, to materialize fully, whatever the right word is. 

So, you’re creating this energy by just harping on a thought or emotion for 17 seconds. If you think about it longer and longer, you’re creating an acceleration of that energy. 

So I think down here, in my experience, people have a better attitude. I don’t think the work ethic is as strong as in New York, but it’s slightly different. I’m in a town right now, Boca Raton, with 100,000 people. I lived in Manhattan for 20 years with, you know, how many, five, six, seven million people. Right. 

So comparing the types of work and products you get is a totally different exercise. However, regarding positive energy and happiness levels, I think you will get a more thoughtful team member or employee down here.

Cosmos

It’s ultimately ironic because American identity is about the pursuit of happiness. But then, in New York City, you’re working to live, and like you’re, you’re working so hard that no one has time to be happy. 

But yeah, as you said, it’s all about balance. You know, you’ve got to have a work-life balance between your work and your personal life. Otherwise, what’s the point? We’re all going to die anyway.

Josh

That’s right. And you, and you can’t take any of this with you, you know. So, that’s why I think the social impact element of this all is so important, at least for me. I have three children. One day, they asked me, hey, Dad, what did you do to save the planet when it was dying from the climate? I’ll be able to answer that question. I think it starts with change at a very small level. 

When I was a kid, people weren’t recycling. You know, it wasn’t until, maybe, I was 10 years old that I started to see the no-no littering signs on the highway. Otherwise, if you had garbage, it would go out the window. People didn’t care about the planet then. Then, slowly, attitudes change. You know, procedures change, people become more cognizant of it, and people want to be part of it. 

And I think that’s what we’re finally starting to see now. That’s why I’ve become so interested in this space. Because, you know, there’s an industry where I could take a lot of my real estate knowledge and intuition coupled with this new industry, which is just fascinating. Whenever you’re learning about something new, it can be very exciting if you’ve embraced that. 

But now I can use all of these things and see and notice a difference, and that’s rewarding. When I built apartment buildings initially, I would like to sit outside the buildings, watching as they opened and people moved in for the first time carrying their babies, their mattresses, and their furniture, knowing that I had created a place for them to establish a new life or create new businesses. And that was so rewarding.

Now, I could enjoy seeing businesses that are thriving because they’re not spending a fortune on dirty energy. You know, they’re getting massive discounts through this. And I can immeasurably review what the energy savings equate to. This is a measurable impact regarding how many cars we kept off the road, how many trees we planted, and how many tons of coal we saved from burning.

Josh

It’s very hard to have a measurable impact in industries other than mine.

Cosmos

No, that’s, that’s great, Josh. Like, yeah, we, as I mentioned before, we need more people to get into this space because that is what’s going to revolutionize the world, like make it a better place. We have to switch to renewable sources of energy. 

And it’s not a political thing. I want my audience to know this is not a Republican versus Democrat thing. This is just a common sense, rational type thing. You can create a for-profit thing that will allow you to make money and use renewable sources. And so, yeah.

So, yeah, Josh, as a continuation, can you tell the audience a bit more about Solar Back, LLC, and the premise so that the audience can get more information about this?

Josh

Sure. You can find us at www.solarbackusa.com. But, in a nutshell, what we do is we approach this; by the way, if any of your audience members are listening to this, I encourage them to help us find sites, and we pay handsomely for them. But what we’re looking for are large-scale flat rooms. It could be any asset class. But I think the best are industrial buildings and commercial properties, like shopping malls and shopping centers. 

Think Target, Home Depot, Walmart, and big box stores like that. In fact, if we covered every Walmart in the country, which is about 700 million square feet, we’d have enough power to power New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.

Cosmos

Wow.

Josh

Right. So I mean, and they’re just sitting there flat and vacant. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of that? Why isn’t Walmart encouraging that kind of growth and expansion? There are companies like IKEA; for example, 100 of every IKEA has solar panels on the roof. You may not know that, but that’s true—Chase Branch has 450 locations, and Target stores have 700 locations. With solar, the trend is moving.

So, if anybody finds a property between 25,000 square feet and 2 million square feet, we want it. We will approach the landlord and ask them a simple question: Are you making any money on your roof? They’re going to look at you crazy. Of course, I’m not. You know, why would I make money on my roof? Well, we see it as a vacant floor. 

Okay? It’s a vacant floor. We’re the tenants. We don’t need any protection from the elements. We don’t care if it rains, snows, or hails. Well, maybe we care if it has, but we want to make sure that we have unobstructed access to the sun. We will then pay rent like any tenant. 

Okay, here’s the catch. Once we cover and blanket that roof and create the power, rather than buy from the dirty grid, you acquire energy from us. That’s our only ask. And we’re not making money on you. It will be a substantial discount to what you would pay, the utility monopolies. So why would you say no to that? Oh, and by the way, Mr. Mrs. Landlord, we’ll go a step further because not only will we give you tremendous savings, but any of your tenants in your building who are probably already struggling to make rent payments or already have struggling businesses because retail is suffering a little bit in this country, we’re going to offset their operating expenses too. 

So it’s a triple win. The bottom line is that people and the planet profit. It’s possible for all three to live in the same equation.

Cosmos

That is amazing, Josh. I would ask my audience to take a look into this because it is amazing work that you’re doing. Josh, in addition to this, are there any other projects that you’re working on that you want the audience to get a glimpse into?

Josh

Right now, we are exploring a new vertical. I wish I knew more about the idea so we could delve into it because I find it fascinating. But if you’re up to speed on some of the bitcoin, movement. I know you had a podcast on the topic. Still, the biggest challenge and cost associated with Bitcoin mining involves pooling the systems and the energy required to operate them. M. Right.

But suppose we’re getting infinite energy from the sun. In that case, we’re looking at designing systems now to build out facilities within the buildings we already lease and hook up these bitcoin mining rigs to our solar facility so that the hours are continuous and free. These machines continue to operate and mine that bitcoin dust, or what have you. And before you know it, you have a wallet accruing with value, and you sort of forget about it, come back to it later, and you’ll hopefully notice a large amount of money sitting there for you.

Cosmos

Man, Bitcoin mining with solar energy just blows my mind. I can see that happening, and that’s incredible. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Josh

Right now, the goal is to create as many sources of revenue as possible because we will once we have a steady cash flow. We’re on target right now, with about 300 buildings to generate close to $25 million a year in net energy income. 

That should allow us to float a green solar bond and bring in an evaluation of around 650 to 700 million dollars. It’s not going to work. And that’s only in less than three years or two and a half years of operations. 

And so if, you know, God continues to be good to us. There’s so much potential because there are so many flat roofs, including 13 billion square feet of commercial. Commercial roofs on tap.

Cosmos

No, I mean, that’s incredible. And what you just mentioned about Bitcoin combined with soul energy, I could see that being a big thing. And Josh, how can the audience connect with you and learn more about you? If they wanted to ask any question, like, where would they? How do they contact you?

Josh

I love getting emails and phone calls, too. I. My. My email is josh.solarbackusa.com. Feel free to ask any questions or comments—obviously, our. Our website has much information on there. But, you know, never know if an audience member may have an asset. Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who already has real estate, right? 

Real estate is one of those things that I feel many people are intertwined in terms of their relationships and being connected to real estate. So, you know, no, building is not of interest. We’ll try to make something work; if it doesn’t, we at least build connections.

Cosmos

That’s great, Josh. And Josh, I’m so grateful that you took the time to do this podcast with us and share your story and journey about going from New York City real estate to solar energy in Florida. I hope that you inspire a lot of people, and I hope that you come back to his podcast at a later time.

Josh

Yeah, thank you. No, it’s. It’s. I’m humbled to be here, and I appreciate you considering us.

Just one thing I’d like to leave the audience with is just, you know, as I’m sure there’s a lot of entrepreneurs listening, but I just want, you know, to leave with the message that, don’t forget your mental health. Right. I think that’s paramount. 

Something that’s often overlooked and forgotten. It’s very easy to be discouraged and very easy to be frustrated. It’s very easy to give up entirely. But, you know, that’s what sets us apart: just focusing on our mental health, staying strong up there, and then maintaining that persistence and moving forward.

Cosmos

No, totally. We should. Well, we should take care of mental health. I always recommend that people meditate because you have to master your mind and emotions and all of that. 

And so, yeah, I want to conclude this episode by letting my fellow extraordinary Americans know that. Hey, look. There’s an extraordinary within each one of us. We must awaken it and unleash it. Until next time. Bye for now.