32 items to be SOLARIAN.

The other day, someone I had a coffee with for the first time casually said, “Everyone describes Solarian so differently—whatever you did, well done.” I was very impressed by this sentence. Back in my little thinking corner at the office, I thought about the past. What exactly did we do to create that perception? This post might feel like a ‘Solarian 101,’ but it also includes some valuable lessons that contributed to pvX’s growth. So, I wanted to write it down.

At the very beginning, our intentions never changed, we were always sure of what we were doing and we didn’t play anyone’s game.

#1 One of Solarian’s very first meetings—I was passionately explaining our vision when the company owner interrupted: “Bring us projects, take your commission.” End of conversation. We were shocked, but realized they weren’t a good fit for us and politely stepped away.

#2 During our scale-up, many international firms wanted to use us as subcontractors in Turkey and nearby regions. We had a good reputation, no language or travel barriers. But we always aimed to be the best as Solarian—not a subcontractor, but a partner. Even when the world’s largest audit firms approached us, it never changed. As a subcontractor, your work is hidden. As a partner, you’re recognized. Today, we are local partners to five global auditing firms.

We focused on one thing and tried to master it.

#3 All our long-term partners asked: ‘Will you also enter wind energy?’ In early stages, focus is everything. In maturity, discipline and consistency matter more. We kept saying we wanted to be the best in solar, and we did just that. Later, we pivoted to software—pvX was born to solve something Solarian couldn’t. Integrating tech into our DNA became a big growth step.

#4 Growing expertise builds trust. In 2025, a company invited us to a tender. Only 5% matched our scope, but they wanted to work with us so much that they modified the tender just to include us. That’s trust. We didn’t win—but the gesture meant a lot.

We always stayed hands-on, no matter how much the company grew.

#5 2017, the year we were founded. We tested every device everywhere. One time, we measured the grounding of fence wires in a hotel parking lot. I think we got a five-minute chat and a cup of tea in return.

#6 2018. A shot from our first +50MW audit. In interviews, I always ask: ‘How’s your relationship with IV devices?’ Pushing a button is not the same as using it.

#7 2018. WSP’s only solar project in Turkey, for KRK Holding. We did commissioning tests. That job made us their regional partner.

#8 2019. During the peak of TV series Çukur. From left to right: Berat (Co-Founder), Erdoğan (GM), me, Orçun (Co-Founder). We’ve traveled nearly everywhere in Turkey.

#9 2021. A time of rapid growth. We were focused on building the team with the right people. This photo says a lot.

#10 2021 again. We moved to a bigger office. When I say we stayed hands-on, I mean it.

#11 2022. Yes, I’m blowing on the device so it doesn’t overheat. These devices weren’t ready for Solarian speed. No fan—just breath. 250 strings in 4 hours. Try to beat that.

#12 2022. While people go to Seychelles for honeymoons, we went for audits. I had lunch by the device to not miss sun hours. The most fascinating power plant I’ve seen.

#13 2023. Capturing EL images at night. We love what we do. Tea is sacred. Night EL is not easy—it’s nothing like lab tests.

#14 A shot from one of our 10-day trips where we took turns driving.

We planted many seeds, waited patiently for them to grow.

#15 Before we had any income, we did free thermal inspections at 28 solar plants in 18 cities. Our form didn’t ask if the plants were operational—some were still in construction. Lesson learned.

#16 We always gave three times the effort we received. We were exploited a lot, but stayed focused and moved forward.

#17 I’d say we offer 10% of our services free every year—to enter new markets, earn trust, and build portfolios. At the beginning, that rate was 50–60%.

We made mistakes, learned from them, and always owned the consequences.

#18 Our first audit. Rooftop, east-west layout, HIT panels. We accepted the job, bought a device with the advance, did the measurement, and found all strings looked bad. Turns out the device couldn’t read HIT panels. We bought another one, redid the work, and discovered I had flipped sensor directions. We measured a third time. We funded everything ourselves—probably spent 5x what we earned. But we found the truth, learned the lesson, and moved on.

Staying an expert is harder than becoming one. You must always keep learning. We valued that deeply. We never feared sharing. Every tech email or call got a response. Because we were confident. Focused on the future, not the day. Still are.

19Since day one, we’ve written in-depth articles on solar. Not blogs—articles. No copy-paste. Real calculations, unique insights. Search ‘solar panel testing’ or ‘solar owner’s engineering’ and we’re at the top. If not, it’s likely a paid ad. A flashy article can get 100k views in a week. A deep one can reach 100 million in 5 years. We always chose the latter.

The image below shows the status of an article I wrote in 2017. University students still write to me while studying for exams just for this article.

#20 Do you know what it means to blow on an IV device? Orçun and I did 250 strings in 4 hours. Might be a world record. Later we hacked the device with a battery-powered fan and hit 500/day. The vendor was stunned.

#21 Once we saw a competitor technician struggling to transfer data—doing it one file at a time. We showed him how to batch-transfer. Saved his company ten days of work. They’ll never know.

We cared deeply about team chemistry and energy.

#22 The team is everything. (See video below)

#23 We always aimed to grow organically. Never used subcontractors—not even once. Just like at pvX. That’s rare, but for us it was non-negotiable.

#24 In the past 1.5 years, we reviewed over 1000 CVs and interviewed 225 people. I was involved in all of it. We didn’t delegate because building the right team was more important than experience. Culture is harder to teach than knowledge.

We tried to enjoy every moment—never saw it as ‘just work.’

#25 Most ridiculous question: ‘How many hours do you work?’ It was never about hours. Life begins to orbit around what you love. The trick is not disturbing the ones closest to you. I think we managed that—because we genuinely enjoy what we do.

#26 A video from my honeymoon. Back when people were surprised by the impact of heat on solar panels. Solarian wasn’t well known yet. I packed A3 prints, changed outfits for the video. It took 2–3 hours. But it was fun.