Global biz a family startup for Leasider

Miriam Tuerk didn’t to go into business with her husband on purpose. It just turned out that way.

For six months in 2011, John Tuerk and Miriam’s long-time co-worker, Mark Windrim, had worked on developing a new technology connecting solar panels with smart grids.

The two called upon Miriam for her expertise to help get the business off the ground, and before she knew it she’d dedicated herself to the project.

“I got sucked in slowly,” she joked in a late-March interview.

The three founded Clear Blue Technologies, specializing in controllers that allow solar and wind energy to power things like security systems and street lights so they can run off-grid. They started selling their product in late 2013 and have already expanded to have a global base of clients.

Next, Tuerk says, is bringing her company’s technology to places like Africa, India and Myanmar.

“We’re trying to deliver better, more reliable infrastructure globally to markets that need it,” she said.

In Myanmar, she noted, officials are trying to get power to remote villages. One of her team’s goals is “to improve the lives of those who are needing it at a much lower cost, and more quickly.”

The three each have their own area, allowing them to work well together, Tuerk says. She is the company CEO, John runs power and applications and Windrim is chief technology officer.

“It’s good dynamics between the three of us,” she said. “We work by consensus.”

As for keeping home life and work life separate, Tuerk says she and John have use a similar philosophy in the workplace that they always have at home.

“My husband and I both love to cook in the kitchen together — I have my recipe and he has his recipe,” she said. “If I’m doing dessert and the appetizer and he’s working on the main course, it works fantastic.

“That’s how we work in the company.”