Episode 386 - The Hustle Behind SunFund with John Altomonte
As energy costs and utility rates continue their relentless upward trajectory, the transition toward sustainable alternatives like solar power has evolved from a luxury into a financial necessity. While the upfront capital required for solar installation can be substantial, the long-term dividends—ranging from energy independence to significant monthly savings—far outweigh the initial expenditure.
In the latest episode of Hustleshare, we explore how to navigate this transition with John Altomonte, the CEO and Co-Founder of SunFund. We dive deep into how his organization acts as a strategic catalyst for renewable adoption, providing the infrastructure and financial models necessary to make clean energy a reality for more households and businesses.
EPISODE TIMELINE
00:01:06 - John on believing in yourself as an entrepreneur
00:04:03 - John's hustle – SunFund's zero-upfront solar pitch
00:07:16 - The team's baseball history: Ateneo vs. La Salle rivalry
00:10:32 - Baseball's biggest lesson: you fail more than you succeed
00:14:15 - John the scientist: environmental science and his climate calling
00:17:28 - Hardest lessons: learning sales, marketing, and finance from scratch
00:20:23 - How to stay even-keeled when doubt constantly swings back
00:24:15 - How SunFund was born after five to six years in energy consulting
00:26:35 - Over-reliance on coal and fuel imports; Malampaya fields depleting
00:29:23 - Early traction: commercial pilots across Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao
00:33:09 - How SunFund raises and deploys capital; always the client's payee
00:38:14 - SunFund's pipeline is too large to manage; recent $1M financing close
00:41:57 - Net metering red tape: LGU, engineering dept., distribution utilities
00:44:46 - Hybrid system and battery costs; buyout option anytime in contract
00:47:39 - Four co-founders who complement each other; known since childhood
00:50:33 - SunFund's big vision: reimagining the next-generation Philippine utility
00:54:41 - Energy vulnerability: coal imports, depleted hydro, limited geothermal
00:55:34 - Solar as distributed, decentralized, and cheapest power ever produced
QUOTE/S FROM ALTOMONTE
“I think the biggest thing I learned early on was the importance of believing in yourself. Genuinely, it sounds so corny, just believe in yourself, but it's so true. um Without self-belief, you don't end up having the humility to learn from these lessons, but I self-believe you're not able to take a new skill, learn from it. You know, so really just believing in myself, believing that I could jump into a new sector and learn everything about that sector, jump into entrepreneurship and learn everything about entrepreneurship in my spare time with enough, you know, diligence, with enough discipline, with enough hard work. um That, you can learn all these things and become good at them. Like not just pass, but I'm actually become good at them. And you know, that happened over so many years and, you know, building the right team alongside it. If you don't have that self-belief, it's going to be really hard for you as an entrepreneur. But I'm curious how you maintain that because let's just call it what it is.”
Resources:
LinkedIn (John Altomonte) -https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-altomonte/
Linkedin (SunFund) - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sunfundph/
Website (SunFund)- https://www.sunfund.ph/
Links/Sponsors:
OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/
PLDT Enterprise: https://pldtenterprise.com
- MSME Fiberbiz - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-fiberbiz
- 5G SIM Only - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-smart-postpaid