Try GOLD - Free
THE POWER PLAYER
Inc.
|September 2020
How I leveled the playing field to give women and minorities more opportunities in the energy industry.
Nooshin Behroyan
Paxon Energy & Infrastructure
THREE-YEAR GROWTH 15,072%
Nooshin Behroyan established Paxon Energy & Infrastructure, a Pleasanton, California-based energy services company, in the wake of a divorce, and after seeing firsthand how poorly some companies in the industry treated employees. Paxon is now a 180-person firm with $27 million in 2019 sales. Behroyan herself has become a mentor and advocate for women, people of color, and veterans looking to enter the energy industry.
My ex-husband and I owned a company that ran gas stations. Two and a half years after I’d filed for divorce, it dawned on me that if I just left everything and started on my own, I probably would be back on my feet a lot faster than trying to go through the legal system.
I already knew the oil side of the energy business. In 2013, I took a consulting job and learned the utility side as well. I started Paxon in 2016. At the time, I was 32 years old, and a single mother of two kids.
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Inc..
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Inc.
Inc.
USE AI TO IMPROVE YOUR ONBOARDING PROCESS
According to some estimates, organizations have just 44 days to persuade employees to stick around for the long haul.
2 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT GEO
GEO, AIO, SEO—the initialism to describe this new marketing era is still up for debate.
3 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
CLAY NATION
HOW LEAD-GENERATION SOFTWARE FIRM CLAY BUILT A $5 BILLION COMPANY SELLING SAAS WITH A SOUL.
12 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
DON'T BET AGAINST HER
CULTIVATING MAJOR INVESTORS, CREATING A SCALABLE TECH PLATFORM, LOBBYING REGULATORS: KALSHI'S LUANA LOPES LARA WANTS TO FINANCIALIZE ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE.
11 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
Karen Dillon
The right way and the wrong way to prepare your kids to run your company someday.
3 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
HOW TO SECURE DEBT FINANCING
For business owners who don't want to trade equity for funding, debt can be a smart (but sometimes expensive) alternative to venture capital.
2 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
NEW TO CONSULTING? HERE'S WHAT TO CHARGE
The growing number of corporate layoffs is giving rise to a consulting boom, powered by experienced professionals frustrated by the lack of opportunities or eager to strike out on their own.
1 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
AGENT OF CHANGE
MEET MAY HABIB, AN UNDER-THE-RADAR VISIONARY WHO QUIETLY BUILT THE GOLD STANDARD FOR ENTERPRISE AI, AND A CLIENT LIST THAT'S THE ENVY OF SILICON VALLEY.
8 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
Managing people has never been Weirder.Here are the new rules to get it right
From remote work to AI to the habits of Gen-Z, the workplace is changing fast. To help you navigate it all, Inc.'s Ask a Manager columnist, Alison Green, shares her wisdom on how to be an effective leader in 2026 and beyond.
21 mins
Spring 2026
Inc.
Lighting the way
Many companies aspire to bring manufacturing back to the United States. With one of the largest collections of 3D printers in the world, Ian Yang's Gantri just might pull it off.
10 mins
Spring 2026
Translate
Change font size