Explain what wtec does like you are telling a neighbor over the fence.

We make smartengine, the technology that turns an ordinary building into a smart, sustainable one. It runs on low-voltage lighting and sensors, so the lights overhead do a lot more than light the room.

Lighting is the most pervasive system in a building and the one nobody thinks about. Why is that the right place to put the intelligence?

Because it is everywhere. Every fixture is already a powered device sitting in every room of the building. So why not kill two birds with one stone? You light the building and collect a ton of data over the same infrastructure.

What is the most misunderstood thing about IP-based building infrastructure?

That it is expensive and complicated. That is the assumption people walk in with, and it is the one we spend the most time taking apart.

What does a customer actually care about that never shows up in the sales deck?

That their lighting just works. Nobody wants to be thinking about their lights on day two, or day two hundred. The goal is as close to zero issues after install as possible.

What is a bet wtec is making right now that most of the industry would not?

Keeping it simple. We do what we do very well, and we are not interested in drifting off course and chasing a dozen different directions. Focus is the bet.

What is one piece of marketing, yours or someone else's, that you think about more than you should?

How we educate the market. There is still a lot of explaining to do in this space, and I think constantly about how we teach more people what is possible and turn that into new inbound interest.

If you could delete one buzzword from the smart building world forever, which one goes first?

Internet of Things. IoT goes first.

Who is someone in this industry more people should know about?

There are too many to name just one. I would point people to the Building Intelligence Group instead. Most of the people worth knowing in this industry are part of that group.

Coffee or tea, and how do you take it?

I drink a lot of both. Coffee black, tea straight.

First job ever, and what did it teach you?

Industrial engineer at FedEx. It taught me to define the problem before anything else, and gave me the tools to go solve it. I still work that way.

One tool, app or gadget you cannot live without?

Spotify. There is always music or a podcast going.

A show, book or podcast you keep recommending to people?

Ted Lasso.

German engineering and American commercial energy in one company. What is the funniest cultural collision you have seen?

I lived and worked in Germany for many years and speak the language, so it is hard to pick just one. Most of them come down to the same thing. Americans like to shoot from the hip, wing it and fail fast. Germans love a long, thorough, well (over) engineered solution. Put both in one room and you get some great moments.

What are you chasing next?

New channels to market in the industries we already serve, and expanding into new ones.

See smartengine in a working office in our video tour of wtec smartengine at Rémy Cointreau USA's New York office. Follow Tim on LinkedIn and learn more about smartengine at wtec.io. Smartengine wtec has been a Chasing Creative client since 2023.