I’m extremely binary. I’m either all in or all out. If it’s a 9 to 5 job, then you’re not all in. You’re in only halfway and that’s not me.

When Lyndon Rive was 17, the entrepreneurial bug stung hard. So much so that he never shook free of it.

While still in high school, he enjoyed his first big business success distributing homeopathic medications across his native South Africa. The startup provided the capital Rive later needed to bootstrap a desktop services management company that he co-founded with his oldest brother in the US.

Rive came to the US for the first time in July 1998 when he flew to San Jose, California, to participate in a competition as part of the South African national underwater hockey team. Something about the local vibe clicked immediately.

“Everything was crazy,” said Rive, recalling being totally smitten by the atmosphere permeating the Northern California tech scene. “You could feel the energy.”

It was then and there Rive decided he wanted to be a part of the action, just like his two brothers and his cousin, Elon Musk, before him. Three months after returning to Pretoria, he packed his bags for California to start a new life.

It has been a rewarding decision as Rive became one of the most visible proponents of clean energy as the CEO and co-founder of SolarCity, the nation’s biggest solar energy services provider.

Q: You were born in South Africa. What stands out in your memory growing up there?
Pretoria was a great place. Back then, it was very safe. South Africa itself is a beautiful country, and the people are amazing.

Q: Your mother was an entrepreneur. Talk about the businesses she was involved in.
She had a dance studio, a clothing store, a real estate business, a health center, and a small college for teaching people reflexology and massage — and she ran these all at the same time.

Q: She was a real slacker, I see. And your mother also encouraged you to start your first company when you were still in high school.
She was using this product in her business. Her business was in Pretoria, and distributing the product across South Africa was my job. It worked out well. It didn’t take long before that business was earning more than all her other businesses combined in the first year.

Q: Why do you think it became so successful?
We had a multilevel distribution strategy where it was all referral-based. In South Africa, the communities are strong. So, if you have an advocate for your product in the community, then everybody will start buying it. That system worked pretty well and it gave the business a massive boost.

Q: It also nearly got you tossed out of high school. What was the backstory there?
I was halfway through the 11th grade and my workload from the business had increased to the point where I decided to not attend classes and just keep working. The Dean did not like that and told me that I had to go to school. So, I showed him my financials and said, ‘Look at how much money I’m making right now. You want me to leave this business so I can finish high school, go to university, and then try to get a job where I’ll make one-third of the money that I make right now?’

Q: And it worked?
We made a deal. I would come in and take the exams. If I pass, I pass. If I don’t, I fail. I passed. We were all surprised.

Q: You arrived in the US for the first time in 1998 as part of the South African national underwater hockey team for a tournament. What impression did it make on you?
The vibe in the Bay Area was incredible. It was all about dot coms and eyeballs, and it was just amazing. The traffic on 101 was even worse than it is today. You could feel the energy where the Bay Area was this massive hub for attracting incredible talent from all over the world to this location. It just felt great. And it was such a beautiful place.

Q: Was it hard to leave your home for a new country?
No. I had been planning to leave South Africa for the previous four or five years. My girlfriend — now my wife — had been hearing about my plan for such a long time that she didn’t think it would ever be real. But after I returned to Pretoria in July 1998, I packed up all my stuff and arrived back in the US in October.

Q: Your first startup in the US was also a family affair.
My brother and cousins were here already. My cousins started a company called Zip2. My oldest brother, Russell, had an idea to create a company that managed PCs remotely and essentially take over that function. But he didn’t have the capital to start the company. I had the capital from my other company and I liked the idea. I wasn’t super-passionate about computers, but I saw the business opportunity, and the idea of working with my brother sounded like a lot of fun, too.

Q: That became Everdream, which you later sold to Dell. How did the idea for what became SolarCity come about?
I was driving to Burning Man in 2004 with Elon (Musk). It’s a long ride, so we had a good amount of time to talk. We were talking about the importance of sustainability, of using clean energy, and where we are going. Elon recommended that I look to start a solar company.

Q: What excited you about the idea?
The primary aspect was about converting humanity from using fossil fuel to renewable energy. We burn dead animals and trees for our energy source and it feels wrong. We have the choice of burning dead stuff — which we know we’ll run out of — or we could just capture energy from the sun. Also, I’m very much into the water and you can see the effect of climate change in the ocean a lot faster than you can see it from the air. Go visit a reef that you visited five years ago and you’ll see major deterioration because the water is heating and becoming more acidic.

Q: Instead of taking the entrepreneurial route, do you think that you could have ever held down a “regular job” working 9 to 5?
No way. I’m extremely binary. I’m either all in or all out. If it’s a 9 to 5 job, then you’re not all in. You’re in only halfway and that’s not me.

Q: How do you think your immigrant experience factored into your success here?
I think it takes a certain amount of bravery to leave your native land. So, anyone who’s willing to risk it and pack up and roll the dice, well that DNA in itself is an amazing filter and is what leads to many immigrants creating amazing companies.

Q: Do you still feel like a visitor or is the US now home?
I’m 100% American, although I may not sound that way. But I am. Most Americans don’t always see it this way, but America is the best place in the world. It really is. The only thing Americans care about is what you can do. Relative to the rest of the world, it’s the only place where it doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re willing to work hard and you have something that people value, you’ll be successful.

Q: Are you a movie buff?
I love movies. I treat myself to a movie when I’m on the treadmill — that’s the only way I get onto the machine; otherwise, I don’t have time. I tend to like action movies. I don’t like movies that make me feel sad or scared. My favorite movie was “Slumdog Millionaire.” And the first “Matrix” movie was mind-blowing.

Q: What’s your favorite quote that you try to live by?
“Damn, it’s Friday, yes it’s Monday.” It’s my quote. The theory being that you’re always excited for Mondays when you can get back to solving problems. For most people, it kind of shuts down on Fridays. The point that I want to make is if you spend all your time at work, you’ve got to love your work.

Q: Is there one individual who you most admire?
That’s easy. It’s Elon. The guy’s devotion to solving the issues that humanity faces is on another level. Everyone admires his intelligence and capability, but I think people forget his personal sacrifice. And the personal sacrifice he makes to solve these problems and get humanity to a better place is just incredible. People just look at him and see this successful person and think, ‘Oh, that’s the life.’ Few understand the deep sacrifices he has to make every single day to achieve the goals that he’s trying to achieve.