Ep 20 Navigating the Energy Market with EnergyLink's CEO Darren Novich
In this episode, we explore the unique connection between marketing and the energy industry, spotlighting insights from Darren Novich, CEO and founder of The EnergyLink, LLC. Darren walks us through his path from energy trading to launching a brokerage focused on helping clients navigate the complexities of energy contracts. We talk about how marketing plays a key role in raising visibility and building meaningful industry relationships—especially in a space where trust and expertise are everything. Darren also shares why personal connections and networking still matter, even in today’s digital-first world. This conversation highlights how smart marketing can not only grow a business but also strengthen client relationships in a highly competitive field.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- 00:07 - Introduction to Aqua Talks
- 03:36 - The Journey into the Energy Industry
- 06:08 - Transitioning to Marketing Strategies
- 10:41 - The Importance of Networking in Business Growth
- 12:30 - Building Personal Relationships in Networking
- 16:24 - Success Stories and Customer Engagement
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- This podcast episode emphasizes the significance of cutting through the marketing noise to connect with audiences meaningfully.
- The hosts, Larry Aldrich and Maddie Dudley, provide insights on effective marketing strategies for diverse industries.
- Darren Novich, a guest speaker, shares his extensive experience in the energy sector and the establishment of The EnergyLink.
- Engaging marketing services can substantially enhance a company's visibility and customer engagement in competitive markets.
- The importance of face-to-face networking is highlighted as a crucial element for business growth and relationship building.
- Aqua Talks encourages listeners to explore innovative marketing strategies and actionable insights for their own ventures.
GUEST BIO
Darren Novich is the CEO and sole owner of The EnergyLink LLC, a Dallas–Fort Worth–based energy consulting firm. A graduate of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, Darren blends strategic business insights with deep industry expertise. Under his leadership, EnergyLink offers tailored business services across the energy sector, driving innovative solutions for clients.
Before founding EnergyLink, Darren accumulated extensive experience in energy markets and analytics—experience that continues to shape the firm's vision and approach. He has cultivated a strong professional network, with over 500 connections on LinkedIn and more than 2,000 followers, reflecting his standing in the field.
SHOW LINKS:
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Aqua Talks, marketing strategies, energy marketing, destination marketing, public relations, B2B marketing, energy broker, networking in marketing, actionable insights, marketing innovation, social media exposure, client relationships, trade publications, energy industry expertise, marketing partnerships, customer engagement, marketing for government contractors, marketing tactics, personal relationships in business, energy trading solutions
Transcript
Welcome to Aqua Talks where marketing meets bold game changing ideas.
Speaker A:Join your hosts, Larry Aldrich and Maddie Dudley as they explore the art and science of cutting through the noise, capturing attention and fostering meaningful connections with your audience.
Speaker A:Whether you're a destination marketer, government contractor, or simply passionate about the transformative power of marketing, Aqua Talks offers engaging discussions, fresh insights and actionable strategies designed to inspire and inform.
Speaker B:So welcome back to Aqua Talks.
Speaker B:My name is Maddie Dudley.
Speaker B:I am the PR Director at Aqua.
Speaker B:This is a podcast for marketers.
Speaker B:Whether you're just getting started out or you're a pro already in the industry, this is a podcast podcast powered by Brensys Technology.
Speaker B:I am joined by Larry Aldridge, my co host.
Speaker C:Hi, I'm Larry Aldridge, President CEO of Brensys Technology and Aqua Marketing Communications.
Speaker C:Today we're speaking with Darren Novich, the founder and owner, president of the Energy Link.
Speaker C:Darren, how you doing today?
Speaker C:Thanks for joining us.
Speaker C:Looks like you're traveling back from somewhere.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:How you doing, Larry?
Speaker D:Good to see you.
Speaker D:Yeah, I'm just.
Speaker D:We went out to visit one of our customer facilities today, potato chip factory down in Dallas and I was just heading back to the office so.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's a little sunny out here, so I got to keep my shades on.
Speaker C:I see that.
Speaker C:So tell us a little bit about the Energy Link.
Speaker D:Yeah, the Energy Link.
Speaker D: I started the energy link in: Speaker D:Prior to that I was in the supply business for natural gas.
Speaker D:I was a energy trader.
Speaker D:So I had a lot of experience working with natural gas and invoices and costs associated with natural gas and energy.
Speaker D:I saw an opportunity to provide a service on the retail level as a broker.
Speaker D:Energy broker.
Speaker D:There were a lot of companies out there that were having to negotiate their energy contracts, but they didn't have the in house expertise.
Speaker D:So we were able to fill that void by having them utilize our service.
Speaker D:My expertise in the markets and this way they didn't have to worry if they, they didn't know where the current energy rates were trading or what terms in the contract they can negotiate.
Speaker D:We provided that level of expertise and we continue to provide that level of expertise and value to our customers where they don't have to be energy experts and take on all that risk and headache that goes along with negotiating energy contracts.
Speaker D:They could just rely on us.
Speaker D:So the company's about 17 years old now.
Speaker D:We've been around for 17 years, so been a good ride and adding a lot of value to a lot of customers portfolios.
Speaker C:So I know a lot about you, but I want you to share a little bit with our listeners and with Mattie.
Speaker C:I've known you since you were 18 years old.
Speaker C:We went to basic training together.
Speaker C:You know when you got, when you, yeah, that was a while ago when you finished your degree at the University of Florida, Gainesville and then you went into the energy industry, energy trading.
Speaker C:So give us a, give them a little bit about your background of how you got started in energy.
Speaker D:Well, as a, I think I was a junior at University of Florida and I knew that I knew I needed to do like some type of internship to get business experience and went on their career website for the university and found a internship for an energy company and it was in sales.
Speaker D:So I started in sale sales, selling natural gas solutions and service to customers in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker D:That was our target market at the time, but that was my introduction into the market, well, the sector I should say.
Speaker D:So I quickly realized that, you know, natural gas is going to be a necessity for a long time.
Speaker D:It seemed like a good career choice, just energy in general.
Speaker D:So once I did sales for maybe a year, then I, I saw a in house job posting for a trading position to be an energy trader.
Speaker D:And I knew that's where I would learn a lot and grow my career and understanding of the, of the market.
Speaker D:So I, I applied for that position and that's where I started trading energy and traded energy for several years.
Speaker D:I learned all the markets, how to, how to transport energy from one state to the next.
Speaker D:It's sort of like the, you know, they're like stocks.
Speaker D:So you know, you're buying and selling the commodity, the natural gas and then you're, you're having to transport that commodity, take delivery of it and transport it to the end users.
Speaker D:I knew all the ins and outs of the industry.
Speaker D:I studied tariffs.
Speaker D:Every utility has a tariff like a rule book on how to, how to move energy from, from one location to another.
Speaker D:So if I bought the gas in Houston, I would have to ship it to Atlanta, Georgia or Florida.
Speaker D:And there's a lot of industry detail and understanding to do that.
Speaker D:But it seemed like a really attractive market for the long term for something that would be sustainable, needed.
Speaker D:So that's what really attracted me and why I stayed with it.
Speaker C:We've been working with you for some time as a marketing partner.
Speaker C:I myself has worked with you in the past as a marketing partner and again we're venturing into and have been working with you as a marketing partner.
Speaker C:I know you've told us, I know your story.
Speaker C:You told us Your story again, on top of that story of who the energy link is where marketing experts.
Speaker C:Mattie is a public relations director and expert.
Speaker C:Tell us a little bit, can talk a little bit about how you see us or more and marketing helping you get your message to your clients and new clients, getting your story out there.
Speaker D:Yeah, so we have, we have a great story and a great offering.
Speaker D:We provide a lot of value for our customers and for a, for us.
Speaker D:We're, you know, we're expert at our core services, our core offering.
Speaker D:But I quickly realized that we're not experts at getting that message out, getting that story out.
Speaker D:So for us it was kind of a no brainer.
Speaker D:We were trying to do like some marketing in house or had worked with other marketing companies, but they didn't really provide as much value.
Speaker D:So that's where I saw the opportunity to engage your services.
Speaker D:But now it's, you know, we're getting much more exposure from a social media aspect and getting, getting our story out there and we're getting noticed.
Speaker D:We're seeing a lot of activity on the social platforms that we've, we subscribe to.
Speaker D:So it's, it's been a, it's night and day, you know, from when we, where we were prior to our engagement.
Speaker D:So it's, it's been, it's been a great experience and we're getting a lot of value out of it and we're hoping that trend continues.
Speaker C:Yeah, there's a lot of other things that we'll be working with you on.
Speaker C:And as you and I discussed, we're taking a step by step approach.
Speaker C:There's a lot of different plans out there.
Speaker C:For example, we haven't gotten to the public relations portion of it that can be down the road while we have Matti here.
Speaker C:So from a public relations standpoint, if you had questions you wanted to ask a public relations expert, does anything come.
Speaker D:To mind from a PR standpoint?
Speaker D:Yeah, I think if we're, if there's certain industry publications that would, that would be of interest, that I think would be of interest where we get more exposure, maybe more of a targeted message from certain, certain publications.
Speaker D:That's probably where I would, I would want to see how would we go about doing that from identifying those publications and then creating, taking our message to those publications.
Speaker D:That would probably be where I would want to direct my attention to.
Speaker B:Yeah, I've had the luck of working in B2B and B2C.
Speaker B:I mean currently we focus on destination, but we're also in federal private space.
Speaker D:Space.
Speaker B:But before I've worked for every different type of industry and a lot of B2B companies have the same question about trade publications, which is that's where my target audience is.
Speaker B:How do I get placement within those?
Speaker B:So whether it's thought leadership or some sort of unique story about the industry, it's really, it's just like you said earlier, you guys have a great story, so it has better chances of getting coverage, but it has to be something newsworthy.
Speaker B:Something like buzzy has to be going on for placement.
Speaker B:And identifying publications is through keyword searches through Google.
Speaker B:I also have a platform called Muckrack that I utilize and look up specific like beats that reporters cover.
Speaker B:So I'll find a magazine that I've never heard before in the energy space and be able to find all of the reporters that write for it there too.
Speaker B:So it's a process, but it's, I don't know, it's kind of fun for me.
Speaker B:It's like a little scavenger hunt.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:You do a lot of trade shows and I know you just got back from one.
Speaker C:How, how important is networking to the growth of the energy link?
Speaker D:Wow.
Speaker D:Network face to face is everything.
Speaker D:I know, I know we're in this technology mode, right?
Speaker D:AI and every digitized across the board.
Speaker D:But you know, maybe I'm old school.
Speaker D:The face to face is always going to be, oh, you have to, is always going to add value.
Speaker D:And so if you look at my business and the, when I first started it, trade shows and networking and relation, personal relationships, that was everything.
Speaker D:That's how I was able to grow the company and establish myself as an expert.
Speaker D:I, you know, I mean back then, it was 17 years ago, but we still had a lot of technology available to us, you know, email and all that.
Speaker D:So I just wouldn't, wouldn't have been able to get a lot of, a lot done as far as closing deals and everything.
Speaker D:If I would have, if I would have just relied, if I wouldn't have had the opportunity to actually network or network with people and attend those trade shows.
Speaker D:But yeah, face to face networking is everything.
Speaker D:And like I said, maybe I'm old school, maybe that'll change.
Speaker D:I don't see it changing anytime soon.
Speaker D:But you know, we're going to keep going down that path as we keep finding success.
Speaker C:We do a lot of networking, we hit the road a lot.
Speaker C:We do a lot of shows also.
Speaker C:I wouldn't call that old school.
Speaker C:I mean that personal relationship is really important.
Speaker C:We try to get out there and meet A lot of potential clients, DMOs, we meet vendors.
Speaker C:Maddie and I are going to Chicago next week for Destination International to get, like you said, to get that, build those personal relationships, meet everyone in the industry and continue to grow.
Speaker C:Aqua and Brentis by.
Speaker C:By face to face.
Speaker C:That's still the main and the number one way to network.
Speaker D:So with that, regardless of how much.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, regardless.
Speaker C:You gotta.
Speaker C:I mean, regardless of the technology, you still gotta get out there and you gotta shake hands and smile and take pictures.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And then put it all on social media.
Speaker B:Mm.
Speaker B:It's a combination of all of them.
Speaker C:Yeah, the combination of all that.
Speaker C:So congratulations with the Energy Link and everything that, I mean, you've been doing.
Speaker C:Moving forward with the Energy Link.
Speaker C:I've seen it come a long way.
Speaker C:Like you said, 17 years I was there.
Speaker C:I believe I'm the one that helped you with that logo.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker D:Yeah, that was love to see.
Speaker C:What you're doing and where you've been going.
Speaker C:You've come a long way.
Speaker C:I'm very proud of you.
Speaker D:Thank you.
Speaker C:And very happy to be able to work with you as a marketing partner again.
Speaker C:And as we continue to move forward, we're looking forward to continuing to help you, the Energy Link, do some big things and continue to help Cedar Energy Link grow and grow with us in particular.
Speaker C:And so we usually finish off with.
Speaker C:Tell us something exciting, give us a good success story.
Speaker C:I know you just renewed one of your largest clients over the last week, so you want to give us a little bit about a good success story, if you have one better than that.
Speaker D:Yeah, I mean, we.
Speaker D:Let's see.
Speaker D:There's a lot of success stories.
Speaker D:I think our.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker D:I think just in general, like a general theme in our success stories would be that a lot of.
Speaker D:A lot of new relationships that we established, whether it's an introduction or, you know, we may come across a facility that was purchased by, you know, was owned by one of our customers and purchased by another entity.
Speaker D:When we first engage, you know, a lot, there's a lot of skepticism as far as, you know, who are these guys?
Speaker D:Or we can do it better or there's something a better option out there.
Speaker D:But I think once we actually work with them and sit down with them and discuss their options, you know, they.
Speaker D:That's where the, the rubber meets the road, where there's a lot of value.
Speaker D:So I, I can give example, like even this, this facility we just visited a year and a half ago, we were introduced to them and they kind of had their mind made up as far as, you know, what they were going to do and you know, they didn't feel they needed our services.
Speaker D:But as we got talking to them a little bit, you know, they started realizing that we are the subject matter expert in this industry.
Speaker D:So they started letting down their guard a little bit and allowing us to provide input and advice and guidance.
Speaker D:So go full circle.
Speaker D:When we were sitting down with them today in the boardroom, you know, after we did the tour, you know, they gave us great praise, you know that we were doing a great job and they're very happy they engaged our services.
Speaker D:So when you see, when you hear a customer, anytime you hear a customer say great things about you, unprovoked, unsolicited, that's to me, that's a success story, right?
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Thank you for being with us.
Speaker C:We enjoyed the conversation.
Speaker C:We look forward to more.
Speaker B:If you're interested in learning more about Darren, please go to aquatacs.com you can find more about the podcast there as well as our socials links to Darren's as well.
Speaker B:And we will see you next time.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker A:You've been listening to Aqua Talks, where marketing innovation takes center stage with bold ideas and actionable insights.
Speaker A:Ready to take your strategies to the next level?
Speaker A:Visit aquataks.com to book your free consultation and explore resources that empower you to thrive in today's fast paced marketing world.
Speaker A:Until next time, stay bold, stay inspired, stay imaginative.
