We recently connected with Vickie Wen and have shared our conversation below.

Vickie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with something countless entrepreneurs have had to figure out on the fly – how have you dealt with the rise of remote work?

My organization (RES) operates in a hybrid model, with most of our sales and marketing team working remotely. This approach significantly reduces costs while allowing our sales team to optimize their time effectively—whether meeting clients in person or managing outreach from home. Additionally, remote flexibility enables us to recruit talent from different regions, expanding our client reach. Sales team members can visit nearby clients without requiring a physical sales office, ultimately improving conversion rates while keeping overhead costs low.

The key to managing a remote sales team effectively lies in maintaining seamless communication and structured training. We implement a weekly sales stand-up, weekly one-on-one check-ins, a standardized PO process, and clear OKRs to ensure alignment and efficiency.

However, a major challenge is the lack of team bonding. Many team members, particularly in sales, have expressed difficulty in building deeper connections with the operations team, who must be on-site to manage warehouse activities. To address this, we conduct monthly and quarterly in-person training sessions, allowing sales representatives to better understand operations while fostering stronger relationships across the organization.

Vickie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Vickie Wen, the Co-founder and CFO of Reverse Energy Solutions, where we are revolutionizing solar panel recycling with our mobile dismantling factory, cutting logistics costs by 90% and making renewable energy more sustainable. Our innovative approach and commitment to sustainability have earned us recognition and support from Techstars, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, and Greentown Labs, helping us accelerate our mission and expand our impact. What sets us apart is our cost-effective dismantling technology and strategic partnerships, ensuring solar recycling is both scalable and economically viable.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My co-founder and I met through the Taiwanese Junior Chamber of Commerce, a platform that fosters connections among Taiwanese young professionals living in the U.S. What started as a casual conversation quickly turned into something much bigger—we were chatting about our work, and he shared that he was in the e-waste industry and looking for a business partner for a new venture. The idea immediately resonated with me, as I saw a unique opportunity to combine my financial and business expertise with a mission-driven approach to sustainability. I was so inspired by the potential impact of the business that I quit my corporate job and joined the team, and that’s how Reverse Energy Solutions was born.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For a long time, I believed that everything had to be perfect before moving forward—whether it was a business plan, a product launch, or a pitch to investors. I thought that if we just refined our solution enough, success would follow. But I quickly learned that waiting for perfection often leads to missed opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://res-us.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickie-wen/