Karl’s story
CEO and Co-Founder, Karl Brown, started Instyle Solar with a humble $2,500 investment in 2014. Just seven years on, the business has installed over 20,000 rooftop systems across Australia and surpassed $150 million in revenue.
With more than 14 years in business-to-business and corporate sales, Karl’s confidence in solar as a beneficial and viable product has helped him grow the business to a team of over 100 team members, servicing most states in Australia. An advocate for putting the homeowner in control of their electricity usage, Karl cracked the code to making solar simple and empowering thousands of Aussies to reap the environmental and financial benefits of solar energy.
A devoted husband and father-of-two, Karl is widely recognised as an industry leader.
In recent years, Karl has been awarded Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Australian Young Entrepreneur Trailblazer of the Year. He was also a finalist in the CEO Magazine Executive of the Year and the My Business Awards. Most notably, Instyle Solar was named the third fastest-growing company in the Australian Financial Review’s Fast 100 List for 2020.
Karl has a unique ability to think outside-the-box and differentiate from his competitors. In 2019, Instyle Solar began a partnership with rugby league legend, Johnathan Thurston, launching the Laugh in the Face of Your Energy Provider campaign to introduce solar in more Australian households.
Karl also spearheaded the move to a retail environment, partnering with American retailer Costco and securing Instyle Solar as the first solar company to be available for purchase and installation from a retail store.
Most recently, Instyle Solar announced a major multi-year partnership with NRL’s Penrith Panthers. The collaboration will see training facilities switched to solar power while promoting the benefits of green energy amongst the community.
In a highly competitive industry that has seen many operations fail, Karl’s experience, leadership and mentoring has guided his young, energetic team to a market-leading position. The tremendous success and growth of the company is a testament to his drive to making solar simple – helping Aussies understand their electricity bill and how solar works, and ultimately, save money on their quarterly power bills.