Dave Perrill of Compute North
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Dave Perrill (co-founder and CEO) of Compute North, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Compute North – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
My co-founder and I were trying to find hosting options for our large fleet of Bitcoin mining machines. Throughout this process, we were unable to find anyone that was credible, low-cost, and could move quickly. Due to this, we were compelled to develop our own site, and we set up a facility in West Texas. Through this, we quickly realized that were was a large market that needed our services, and Compute North was born.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
Like any new endeavor, it’s never a straight line. Raising capital in such a nascent and new market has been a challenging effort until recently. Not everyone understands what we do, and explaining the nuances of Bitcoin, energy markets, and the like is hard. We’ve pivoted several times along the way, but could not be more excited about what the future holds for Compute North.
What does the future hold for Compute North?
Compute North sits at the apex of three megatrends. First, we are solving a large problem with the introduction of renewables into energy grids and the intermittency and challenges that this creates. Secondly, the Bitcoin and decentralized finance sector continues to grow leaps and bounds. Lastly, the need for larger-scale, low-cost computing for artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, and more continues to grow every day. As such, we are beyond excited in our vision to provide the lowest computing in the world on a global scale.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Minnesota?
Minnesota has been great to Compute North. Admittedly our actual facilities and operations are all out of state (Texas, Nebraska, South Dakota), but we continue to find great talent for our corporate office in the Twin Cities.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
You have to have grit. Every day there are going to be problems and things that are just downright hard. The strongest quality you can have in starting your own business is being optimistic and having the perseverance to see through the problems and come out strong on the other end. Just don’t give up.