Abstract
In 2011 three young entrepreneurs, Jakob Assmann, Florian Henle and Simon Stadler, set out to revolutionize the energy market by offering a radical solution for customers to switch from non-renewable fossil fuels to renewable energies. Through their start-up Polarstern, they aimed to offer the first comprehensive sustainable energy package, derived from 100% renewable resources and at competitive price points to compete with the handful of large companies, which dominated this industry. The added global social dimension of their service provided a clear point of differentiation but communicating their innovative service to customers proved to be very challenging. The founders had to be entrepreneurial in their marketing approach to gain the trust of potential customers and to encourage their switching from their existing energy providers.
| Authors | Julia K. Binder |
| Institution | TUM School of Management at Technical University of Munich, Germany |
| Competition Year | 2016 |
| Place | First Prize |
| Track | Social Entrepreneurship |
| Key Words | Sustainable entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, sustainable marketing, entrepreneurial marketing, energy industry |
| Courses | Sustainable/ Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable/ Social Marketing, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Business and Society, CSR |
| Target Audience | Advanced undergraduate students, graduate students |
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