Co-founder of ReVision Energy Phil Coupe credits much of his success to reading the news.
“You’re going to hear me talk a lot about newspapers and about reading newspapers and reading a lot of current events, because I feel like that has probably been one of the most powerful kinds of influence,” Coupe said.
Coupe, BC ’90, joined Boston College students at an Ethics and Lunch event, sponsored by the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, to discuss his life’s work and business philosophy. Coupe shared his personal experience building a successful life from the ground up—a journey of perseverance, he said.
“I’ll never quit, I’ll never give up, and I’ll do whatever the hell it takes to achieve the outcome that I want,” Coupe said.
At the luncheon, Coupe answered questions varying from the characteristics of his company to the deeper roots of how one can achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.
Coupe’s first job out of college was working as a reporter for the Dorchester Reporter, a Boston-based weekly newspaper, but he said his interest in business was sparked when he was assigned to write an article about a purified water wholesale company called DrinkMore Water.
He became so passionate about the subject that he asked the owner to work for the company and received a position doing heavy lifting and cleaning floors, he said.
“The guy was impressed by my hustle and the willingness to do just about whatever it took to succeed, and so he invited me to join his business and get an ownership stake,” Coupe said.
Success takes time and patience, Coupe added, but hard work is the best way to turn dreams into reality. Coupe and three other business executives eventually founded a solar company in 2003, ReVision Energy, which now spans across northern New England.
The early days of ReVision Energy were foundational to what the company grew to become, Coupe said. Since the day the solar company was formed, it has grown and developed.
“You could argue that it’s one of the biggest and most successful solar companies,” Coupe said. “I don’t want to brag about it too much. It’s not about ego.”
For Coupe and the other co-founders, it has never been about a competition of who can become the best, he said. Rather, their mission is simply “to make life better by building our just and equitable electric future.”
As a company, they have also gone to great lengths to avoid a “winner takes all approach,” which Coupe said is one of the biggest problems in the energy industry today.
While looking back on his experience at BC, Coupe reassured the audience that college provides the perfect opportunity to craft their futures and accomplish the lives they desire.
“The best antidote is to work your tail off,” Coupe said. “We can almost always see a path to working a little harder and hopefully nudging a better outcome.”
