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ZAK LEFEVRE, CEO, CHARGELAB -
CHARGING PAST THE EV TIPPING POINT

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Zak Lefevre
SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

ZAK LEFEVRE, CEO, CHARGELAB -
CHARGING PAST THE EV TIPPING POINT

 

 

 

It’s official. Electric vehicles are out of the R&D and early adopter phase and racing towards mainstream adoption. In 2022, EVs account for about 8% of all vehicles sold in America, but in the next 10 to 15 years that figure could approach 100%. But there are plenty of roadblocks ahead most notably, our EV charging infrastructure. Charging today is a fragmented and frustrating experience, full of disparate hardware, unreliable networks, inconvenient locations, and wonky mobile apps. Zak Lefevre, Co-Founder and CEO of ChargeLab, is creating a smarter, more seamless way to charge our EVs. His team is building an intelligent, open-source software layer that sits on top of any EV charger, giving customers the flexibility to use whatever hardware they want with a simple, consistent, and elegant user experience. Zak joins the podcast to discuss the current EV charging landscape and the major challenges that lie ahead in creating an expansive and reliable EV charging infrastructure. He explains how ChargeLab’s technology aims to be “the Android of EV charging systems” that will provide a critical software infrastructure for the future of refueling. He also shares stories from his experience as a founder navigating the VC-backed tech landscape and argues why it’s never too early to think about product distribution.

 

We're still really early on; of all the vehicles sold in the U.S., only 8-10% are electric. But we're going to get to 100% within the next 10 or 15 years. When we look back on 2022, we'll think of it as the tipping point.

Zak LefevreCEO, ChargeLab

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE TO LEARN:

  • Why we’re at the “knee” of the exponential curve of EV adoption, with massive innovation in EV charging technology to come over the next decade
  • Why charging an EV is more like charging your smartphone than filling up your gas tank, requiring a vast network of different charging types, methods, and locations
  • The differences between Level 2 and DC Fast Charging, and when you’d use one type of charger over the other
  • Different use cases and customer bases for ChargeLab’s EV charging software, including individual drivers, EV fleets, electrical contracting firms, and building operators
  • How a partnership with ABB, one of the world’s largest EV charging hardware manufacturers, is expanding ChargeLab’s user base and customer insights
  • Advice on establishing a healthy and balanced co-founder relationship
  • Why every founder must learn the tropes of the VC-backed tech landscape, then figure out which ones to avoid and which ones to use to your advantage

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