Rachel Corn, GoPowerEV: “A significant contributor to climate change is fossil fuels, and one of the best solutions is electric vehicles”
Table Of Contents−
- What’s your elevator pitch?
- What made you launch a startup?
- What problem are you trying to solve?
- Can you talk us through your journey so far? What’s a major milestone you’ve reached?
- Who are your main competitors and what distinguishes your startup from them?
- What would you say to potential investors reading this interview?
- Related coverage on sustainability
We’ve all had great ideas for a new business. Few of us turn those ideas into reality, and even fewer succeed. In this TakeOff series, we interview the founders and early backers of startups that are already showing proven success. What, we want to know, is their secret? Here, we interview Rachel Corn, Chief Growth Officer of GoPowerEV.
Rachel explains exactly what GoPowerEV does shortly. And if you’re wondering what being a Chief Growth Officer involves, Rachel heads up the company’s go-to-market functions, including sales, marketing and business development.
There’s a reason why GoPowerEV wanted Rachel on their management team: she brings years of experience in scaling startups from the ground up. Prior to GoPowerEV, Rachel led an Autotech company as the CEO, where she was responsible for developing the product, growing the team and supercharging sales. An MBA from Harvard Business School doesn’t harm either…
What’s your elevator pitch?
GoPowerEV provides the most economical solution for multi-family and apartment property owners to offer electric vehicle charging to residents in their own spaces. The solution is turnkey, including full installation, management and support, so the property manager does not have to get involved in the day-to-day operations of charging.
The offering is a premium amenity that can be used for additional revenue for property owners. Electric vehicle penetration in the US is growing exponentially. With the introduction of new low-priced electric car models, many predict penetration will exceed 50% by 2030.
What made you launch a startup?
We have lived in apartments and have seen apartments where residents cannot purchase an electric vehicle because there is no place to charge. The problem in multi-family homes, as opposed to single-family homes, is complex in that the load is limited and budgets for construction are small. Until we started building our product, there were no suitable-made solutions that fit the needs of owners of multi-family properties.
What problem are you trying to solve?
In general, the problem we are trying to solve is climate change. A significant contributor to climate change is fossil fuels, and one of the best solutions is electric vehicles. However, the 40% of people in the US that live in apartment buildings are limited in their ability to buy electric vehicles because they have no place to charge. We have created an affordable, accessible, and scalable solution for apartment buildings to offer convenient EV charging to residents.
Can you talk us through your journey so far? What’s a major milestone you’ve reached?
We launched our first installation at the beginning of 2023. We now have over 1,000 parking spaces under contract. This has been an amazing journey of growth. We have won large deals against public EV charging competitors, more commonly seen on freeways, because our solution is better suited to multi-family than they are. Additionally, we have been vetted and reviewed by top engineers and advisers at utility companies, and faculty at Stanford University.
Who are your main competitors and what distinguishes your startup from them?
The main competitors are companies that come from the public charging space. They typically install large units with costs in the range of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit. While those units are very well-suited to public charging, they are not suited for apartment buildings because they require all the residents to share and fight over a few common chargers.
We have developed a solution that is much less expensive and serves every resident in their own parking space, and as such we have won deals over them pretty easily. We are a fraction of the cost of public chargers and are a turnkey solution that serves all the needs of property managers.
What would you say to potential investors reading this interview?
This is a great opportunity to invest in a company that is making a positive impact on the planet. We have a proven track record of success and a quick timeframe in which we have been selling our product.
There are strong regulatory tailwinds in the EV charging industry. EV adoption will only grow and is likely to have an exponential pace going forward as the price of new cars decreases. This is an opportunity to get in with a company that has a strong product-market fit and excellent traction.
Related coverage on sustainability
Tim Danton
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