Al Subbloie has always looked for smarter ways to save—starting with the name of his company.
"I wanted a 'cool' name that was only three syllables and a URL I could buy for $35 instead of $5 million," the Budderfly CEO tells GlobeSt.com. He got exactly that—and built a business whose purpose centers on the same idea: saving money and the environment.
Budderfly helps smaller businesses cut energy use and costs through an energy-as-a-service model that turns efficiency upgrades into recurring savings. Founded in 2007, the company drew the attention of private equity firm Partners Group, which took a majority stake in 2022 and committed more than $500 million in additional growth capital. According to Subbloie, Budderfly has raised over $1 billion since its founding and now employs just under 500 people. It serves 8,500 locations and reported revenues exceeding $250 million in 2025.
"We live in a world where energy is a scarce resource, scarcer today than it was 10 years ago," Subbloie says.
"It does bad things to the air, and we waste about 30% of what we use. And yet we have all the technologies and capabilities to fix the problem."
Budderfly puts those technologies to work. Its energy-as-a-service approach allows customers to modernize their systems—HVAC, lighting, refrigeration, and now even water—without upfront costs. Customers pay a fixed rate for energy based on historical usage, typically over a 10-year term, though some agreements stretch to 12 or 15 years. The results are immediate: lower bills and, over time, a share of the savings Budderfly captures.
The model is built around scale. Budderfly often works with franchise operators of well-known brands, where efficiencies multiply quickly. Once a few locations are upgraded, future retrofits move faster—often completed in a matter of hours once equipment arrives.
Subbloie describes the company's strategy as removing friction from a global challenge.
"Solve the macro problem by getting a model that's almost got no friction to do it," he says. "Make the pain all our pain, not the customer's pain—including the spending of the money, the scale, the ability, the procurement—then go after the bigger market, which is the small operator."
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