Software Solution: "Airbnb for Electric Vehicle Charging" — Heather Hochrein, CEO of EVMatch
Led by Heather Hochrein, EVMatch provides a software platform that enables both a peer-to-peer EV charging system (analogous to Airbnb for electric vehicle chargers) and facilitates apartment building charging sessions through automatic scheduling and access control.
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What does EVMatch do, whom do you serve, and how do you get paid?
We are a software platform that provides access to privately owned EV charging stations with the ultimate goal of increasing the feasibility of EV ownership. Our platform was initially created to provide a peer-to-peer network of homeowners who have individual level 2 charging stations and can provide access to this infrastructure to their neighbors and community members in exchange for additional cash. In this sense, we say that we are the “Airbnb of electric vehicle charging stations.” Moreover, we have begun to provide reservation-based software for apartment complexes and church facilities to help these facilities manage EV charging sessions.
We have three revenue streams. Our primary revenue stream is a service fee that we charge to customers when using the peer-to-peer network, in much the same way that Airbnb customers pay a transaction fee when they book a reservation. Our secondary revenue stream is an annual subscription fee (i.e., a SaaS offering) that we charge to our commercial customers for the reservation management service. Finally, we earn a commission on the resale of level 2 charging hardware.
Of these three revenue streams, which do you see being the dominant business line moving forward?
We are seeing tremendous growth on the SaaS side of the business with the majority of this growth coming from multifamily residential properties that have found our unique reservation, access control, and integrated payment processing features to be particularly attractive at the price point at which we offer them.
It would seem that apartment dwellers are particularly well served by your service, right?
We provide multiple benefits to individuals living in apartments. We are able to serve them within the community or when they are traveling out of town with our peer-to-peer network. We are also able to serve them within their home complex with the provision and scheduling of EV charging sessions. Finally, we are able to maximize the usage rate of charging stations by allowing apartment complexes to regulate both the time and price at which the public can access these charging stations.
As an EV charging station provider, how has Tesla, and perhaps the recent hype around Tesla, impacted your business?
Certainly, Tesla and its success have largely benefited our business. In particular, we have seen that the demographic who purchases a Model 3 is more likely to use our service than the demographic that purchases a Model S or X. On the other hand, occasionally we have seen investors link Tesla to the overall adoption of electric vehicles, and I think this creates a potential blind spot. The reality is the Tesla ownership experience, particularly as it applies to EV charging, is vastly different from that of other EV brands. As a consequence, I think the usefulness of a peer-to-peer network such as ours may be less obvious to someone with this Tesla-centric focus.
How has a federal commitment to EV adoption under the Biden administration, even if it has not yet been implemented through policy, impacted your business?
There has certainly been an increase in funding opportunities, both through the Department of Energy, as well as at the state level, especially in California. However, I would say the biggest impact has been in the broad sense of momentum and confidence in the space that has unlocked more private dollars to be invested to help grow the industry. There is a sense that we are going to truly tackle climate change, partly through transportation, the biggest source of US GHGs.
In terms of the larger EV adoption curve, it would appear that one of the primary obstacles that EVMatch is helping to address is the notion of range anxiety. Is that a primary motivation, and how do you think about this problem?
It is absolutely a primary motivation. Range anxiety is a combination of relatively short-range batteries in the existing fleet of electric vehicles and insufficient public charging infrastructure. While we believe the former will be addressed by gradually improving battery chemistry coming out of labs working in conjunction with automakers, we are actively working on the latter. While we do not directly build charging stations, we work to maximize their usage rate, making this infrastructure more accessible to all. It is also clear that the EV charging infrastructure must continue to be built out, and we expect that as this continues our role will only continue to expand in terms of the smart software management of these facilities.
What was your path prior to EVMatch?
I grew up in a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California. The town was economically centered around a large sawmill and the resource extraction industry. In this sense, the natural beauty of the environment was pitted against these industries. From an early age, I realized that I wanted to change this relationship such that economic viability could be aligned with environmental conservation. I studied environmental biology at UC Berkeley. After graduating, I entered the energy efficiency industry and quickly came to view climate change as my professional motivation. I started EVMatch out of graduate school at UC Santa Barbara where I worked on the business model for about a year and a half. I worked with three other students on this project and was crazy enough to pursue it full-time. That was about four and a half years ago.
With the benefit of experience, what advice would you have provided yourself 10 years ago?
I think I would have told myself to think bigger, bolder, and be more audacious. As a female CEO, I think this advice is probably relevant to many young girls out there pursuing their interests and dreams. Don’t hold yourself back. You’ve got to believe that you are capable of more than you may think.
Where do you see yourself and EVMatch in 10 years?
I would like EVMatch to be a multinational company serving drivers and the EV adoption curve more broadly. However, I think there is a large role to be played outside of the simple deployment of more charging stations with significant potential in demand-side management. Whether we are still an independent company or a subsidiary of a larger company, I think there is substantial potential in these veins.
Do you have habits that keep you focused or motivated?
I try to get outside in some form or fashion whenever I can, whether that be a short walk through the neighborhood or a larger hike or ski trip. I think connecting with nature is incredibly important.
Do you have any book recommendations?
I would recommend All We Can Save which is a collection of essays and poetry that highlights women’s voices in the environmental movement. I’d also recommend Acting With Power by Deborah Gruenfeld, who is a social psychologist at Stanford Graduate School of Business. The book delves into power in society and how we can better harness it to achieve our goals. While the book is not solely for female CEOs, I’ve certainly found it to be very useful in my professional career.
Do you have a podcast recommendation?
As an energy nerd, I have to have the Energy Gang, which provides great weekly updates on technology and policy developments within the energy space. I’d also recommend How To Save a Planet, which takes a practical approach to solutions to the climate crisis with interviews with technologists and scientists.
Do you have a quote that keeps you focused or motivated?
“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit.”
This quote reminds me that we are continually building towards our ultimate motivation every day. I think it might also apply to the behavioral shift around climate change where we can build better habits as individuals.
How can listeners support the mission of EVMatch?
It’s always helpful to check out our website and see the EV services we offer. If you are an EV driver, I would encourage you to download our mobile app, which is in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. If you don’t own an EV but are in the market for a new car, I’d encourage you to check out some EV models and really consider what EV adoption could look like for you.
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Note:
THE TORCH is an interview series from Entrepreneurs for Impact. We profile CEOs and investors mitigating climate change. Our goal is to highlight their work and inspire others. As we deal with multiple crisis, from Covid and racial injustice to climate change and economic recession, we need some of this positive light in what seem like dark times. Onward and upward.