S2:E14: Rejection, Resilience & Reinvention: Troy Helming’s Billion-Dollar Founder Playbook

About Troy Helming

Troy Helming is a serial entrepreneur, clean energy pioneer, and the founder & CEO of EarthGrid — a next-gen infrastructure company using plasma-powered technology to revolutionize underground tunneling. Nicknamed the “Solar Ninja,” Troy is a former NCAA All-American athlete turned renewable energy visionary, having founded two of the largest clean energy companies in North America. His ventures have contributed to over $30 billion in energy infrastructure.

He’s also competed on American Ninja Warrior four times, proving his philosophy of failing forward and living with radical purpose. From building biodiesel plants to founding a trillion-dollar tunneling startup, Troy’s journey is a case study in resilience, reinvention, and relentless focus.

Episode Highlights:

Getting rejected by investors over 2,400 times would break most people. For Troy Helming, it was just another rep in the gym — a mental ninja course no different than the one he trained for when competing on American Ninja Warrior.

Before founding EarthGrid, a tunneling tech company powered by literal lightning, Troy was grinding through the renewable energy space — building wind farms, launching solar companies, and even constructing a biodiesel plant with his bare hands. But what really forged his resilience wasn’t the boardroom — it was falling off obstacles, over and over, and getting back up anyway.

In this episode of Business Unchained, host Bobby Mascia sits down with Troy to explore how grit, biohacking, and staying curious can lead to billion-dollar ideas. From getting his furniture repossessed to raising $63M for EarthGrid, Troy opens up about the peaks and valleys of entrepreneurship — and why balance, purpose, and humility are his ultimate edge. Troy discusses his athletic background in rock climbing, gymnastics, and cheerleading, and his transition from telecommunications to renewable energy. He highlights the challenges of developing solar and wind projects, particularly the lack of transmission infrastructure

He shares how watching his mom battle cancer changed his view on health, how being “unemployable” pushed him into his first business, and how one wild story from a former Navy SEAL sparked the invention of a technology that could redefine global infrastructure.

Whether you’re in a fundraising season, rethinking your work-life balance, or dreaming up your next big thing, this episode is packed with perspective, power, and plenty of plasma. Let’s dig in.