GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Fort Worth, Texas to meet up with Edward Morgan, the founder of Revitalize Charging Solutions, a company that offers EV charging stations for both residential and commercial use.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country faces uncertainty, small business owners continue to persevere, pushing the economy forward with their unrelenting drive and determination.

We've set out for our 12th consecutive season, talking with a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they've learned to adapt, innovate, and even completely reinvent themselves.

♪ This is Start Up.

♪ The EV charging station market in the US is rapidly expanding to support the growing number of electric vehicles on the road.

Government incentives and funding programs aim to accelerate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure nationwide.

With significant growth projected in the coming years, the market presents opportunities for innovation and investment to facilities to transition to the more sustainable transportation system.

Today, I'm heading to Fort Worth, Texas to meet up with Edward Morgan, the founder of Revitalize Charging Solutions, a company that offers EV charging stations for both residential and commercial use.

I'm excited to meet up with Edward and learn more about this company.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ What is Revitalize Charging Solutions?

EDWARD: So, Revitalize Charging Solution is a charging manufacturing company.

Our goal and our mission is to make sure drivers can go anywhere they want to go from point A to point B safely by using our charging infrastructure.

And to help America, you know, become green again, reduce carbon emission in the air, and to get this needed infrastructure on the ground.

GARY: A billion questions, but I'm gonna backpedal and go back to the beginning and learn about you.

EDWARD: I'm a person from New Orleans, Louisiana.

That's where I grew up.

Grew up in housing projects.

And, you know, I've always been kind of a hands-on person.

I've always been curious of, you know, putting things together.

GARY: Were you the kid that was taking his radio apart and putting it back together?

EDWARD: That's correct.

So, I loved soldering things.

So, I was in the Navy... GARY: Wow.

Okay.

EDWARD: Reserve for eight years.

And then wound up going to electronic school.

I have a degree in electronic engineering.

And then back in 2015, I thought about starting my own EV charging company.

GARY: Back in '15?

EDWARD: I mean '13, sorry, 2013.

GARY: That's early.

EDWARD: Yes, very early is when people would be like, "What is an EV?"

Right?

"What's an electric vehicle?"

We would go up to, you know, folks to try and sell this, the charging.

And it was like, you know, it was the chicken and egg, right?

GARY: It was early.

EDWARD: It was too early.

But we didn't give up.

I started Revitalize Charging Solutions full time in 2015.

GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: So, I left my full-time job.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: And I started this business full time.

I bootstrapped the company and there it was.

GARY: What even goes into starting a EV charging solution company?

Like what is the first step?

EDWARD: So, for us, it was really understanding the industry.

Kind of, you know, we had experience with, you know, electric and engineering, but this was new.

GARY: Yeah.

EDWARD: So, first step for us was a lot of research and development, understanding how the charger works, understanding some of the, you know, how the cars work, understanding the protocols between the two.

And because you're dealing with high voltage, so you want to be safe and understanding some of the safety parameters and requirements.

So, it was the biggest part, the first step was more of a lot of research and development.

Learning the technology, learning the hardware and the mechanics all around it.

GARY: Where did you start selling?

How did you start selling?

EDWARD: Yeah, so, the interesting thing for us is back in '15, you know, like probably most small startups, you're looking for someone that can kinda work with you for a proof of concept.

So, we were lucky enough to work with the city of Fort Worth that we did our very first pilot with the city of Fort Worth, where we did our very first 200, our level 2, 240 volt, 40amp charger.

GARY: So, Fort Worth was your first customer that placed an order for your- EDWARD: They were our first pilot customer.

GARY: Pilot customer.

EDWARD: They didn't purchase an order.

GARY: Oh okay.

EDWARD: Make an order, but they were our first pilot, which was great for us because, at that time, you need to be able to prove out that the equipment you built works.

Right?

GARY: You need that research about it.

EDWARD: That's correct.

GARY: After you got the beta test, essentially, with the city of Fort Worth, how did that end up going, by the way?

EDWARD: Actually it went pretty good.

So, the initial pilot we were supposed to run was six months, but it wound up going a year.

GARY: Oh cool.

EDWARD: And then from that, we were able to get our early adopter users.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: We were able to learn a lot from that.

For example, you know, as we put that out, we started kinda getting press and so that kinda helped.

GARY: Yep.

Of course.

EDWARD: And then, you know, we were able to get early feedback.

And so that gave us an opportunity to tighten the unit up, tune it up, make modifications based on customers' input, not our own.

That's when it took off for us.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: And so, today, we work with cities.

We work with the city of Arlington as one, we help them with their fleet.

And we work with utilities, retailers, apartment complex, and then we went to the consumer market a few years after that.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: Tell us your name.

And what do you do?

AL: My name is Al Mantell and I'm the fleet manager for the city of Arlington.

GARY: Why did you guys choose to go with Revitalize?

AL: They're local.

He does do a good product.

The owner is very involved, so that's helped us a bunch.

I can't speak on everyone else.

I just know the machine he's got here has worked very well for us.

I've not had no problems.

And even when we do, I just call him, pick up the phone, and he's right available.

And that's kind of the reason why we like using him because I think all of them are gonna have problems.

But he's available.

It's like, boom, I can pick a phone and he's here.

GARY: So, at the end of the day, Revitalize and going electric for a city seems to be making sense.

AL: Exactly.

As long as we can get a vehicle that's got enough miles for the day, we're good.

♪ GARY: Let's break down the real-world benefits of owning an electric vehicle versus a traditional gas-based combustible engine.

EDWARD: So, one, gas.

So- GARY: Obvious.

Yeah.

EDWARD: Prior to driving electric vehicle, I was spending $600 a month in gas.

GARY: Yes.

EDWARD: So, I'm roughly spending 30 to $40 a month in electric, additional electric.

So, it reduces carbon emissions in the air, so less pollution that's emitted by the car itself.

Maintenance.

So, there's really no maintenance outside of tires and windshield wipers.

There's no engine at all.

And so, there's not a lot of maintenance like your traditional transmission maintenance.

GARY: Less parts to go wrong.

EDWARD: Less parts to go wrong.

GARY: Yeah, did you create this charging station or was it modeled after sort of existing station?

EDWARD: No, so we created this from scratch.

GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: So, we do our own design level work.

GARY: Awesome.

EDWARD: And then we take that product and we then take it to UL certification or UL to get it certified for safety.

GARY: Got it.

EDWARD: So, we make sure every charger we build goes to that next step of safety.

GARY: And the technology is advancing so quickly.

I'm sure that batteries are getting stronger, longer range.

Charging stations are probably getting faster.

EDWARD: That is correct.

I mean, you're starting strategically starting to see charging stations put in locations, highways and byways, for folks that are traveling.

10-minute quick charges, 20-minute quick charges.

GARY: Yeah.

EDWARD: You can technically, you know, charge a car from up to 80% in about 30 minutes right now... GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: Utilizing the DC fast chargers.

And then strategically, the level 2 chargers are put in destination locations where you're shopping, retail space, stuff like that- GARY: In a parking lot.

EDWARD: That's correct.

GARY: Let's talk manufacturing.

EDWARD: Sure.

GARY: Where are you making this?

How long, roughly, does it take to make a charging station?

EDWARD: We make it here in Fort Worth, Texas.

GARY: It's produced domestically?

EDWARD: Yes, that's correct.

GARY: Awesome.

EDWARD: We are Buy America certified, so we use all steel from America.

GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: It takes us about, on the public facing chargers, which is the level 2s chargers or the DC chargers, takes for the level 2s about six to eight weeks.

Now, we do make those in bulk.

We do between 50 to 100 of those at a time.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: The DC units have a six- to-eight-month lead time.

GARY: Wow.

So, it takes a minute to build these.

EDWARD: Yeah, those are much bigger units.

They can support up to 350 kilowatts of power.

GARY: So, you really have to control your... Have an idea about your inventory 'cause that's a long supply chain.

EDWARD: Yes.

So, what we try to do is we do a... We make some, sell those and replace the ones that we made.

So essentially, we try to create a balance between having too much inventory and not enough inventory.

GARY: Yeah, the sweet spot.

EDWARD: So, one of the things we try to do is make sure that, you know, we're not carrying an oversupply inventory, but we're carrying enough to meet those lead times.

GARY: Gotcha.

EDWARD: And so that's how we're structured.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: What made you start working with this company?

EDWARD C.: I got an electric car, and it changed my world.

And I just knew that that was the opportunity of the future that we hadn't tapped yet.

GARY: What differentiates this charging station from others that are out on the market?

EDWARD C.: Well, it's a dual charging unit that actually operates a lot faster than most chargers on the market.

It's here, is locally owned, so we were able to produce a lot faster as well.

GARY: What do you love about working with this company?

EDWARD C.: Oh, I love the...

It's every day is something new.

You know, we're on the cusp of, you know, you may go into a job every day to where you know exactly what you're doing, you know, but here, it's things changing every other month, every other quarter.

GARY: Is it the technology?

EDWARD C.: The technology is advanced.

And, you know, once you're able to get ahead of the curve, it's a beautiful thing.

GARY: And what kind of person is Edward to work for?

EDWARD C.: Oh, Edward's an amazing guy.

Excellent coach, excellent mentor, you know, someone that you should definitely have in your corner.

GARY: Make sure he slips you a $50 for that after this interview.

EDWARD C.: Yes, sir.

(laughs) ♪ GARY: Let's talk about money and funding this.

EDWARD: Sure.

GARY: I mean, this doesn't sound like an inexpensive venture by any stretch of the imagination, right?

EDWARD: That's correct.

GARY: So like, how were you able to acquire the finances to get the company started?

EDWARD: I actually bootstrapped.

GARY: You did it yourself?

EDWARD: Yes, I left my full-time job, cashed out my 401k.

GARY: Heck yeah.

EDWARD: Cashed out my pension, and for six years, I bootstrapped the company on my own.

So, we do have investors now.

But yeah, it was a good ride.

I would do it again.

I'll be very honest with you.

I would do it again.

Maybe slightly different, but I would do it again.

It was a joy to do and, you know, I was lucky to have the funds to do it.

GARY: At what point did you have to take on an investor?

And why?

EDWARD: So, we took out an investor in probably back in 2018.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: Because we were growing.

It was just at that point, we were growing, we were scaling.

We needed more inventory.

You know, we had to get more certifications.

Certificates are very expensive.

It can cost you up to $50,000 for a UL certification or more.

GARY: Oh my gosh.

EDWARD: Yes.

So, we had to get through certifications.

And then we wanted to get to expand into new markets, expand into the consumer market.

So, we had to do those things.

So, that required additional funding that will help us do those things.

And then we also brought on additional team members as well.

GARY: At what point did you open it up for sales?

You know, not only to consumers, but also public, like... And how did you actually start selling them?

Do you have a sales team or- EDWARD: So, believe it or not, we have zero sales team.

GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: And zero marketing up until now.

GARY: Zero marketing?

EDWARD: Yeah, we had no marketing up until like last month.

GARY: How the heck are you selling these things?

EDWARD: It was just word of mouth.

Now when I say we had no marketing, we wasn't paying for marketing.

We had marketing, you know, press... GARY: Press.

EDWARD: And, you know, when you do something great, people put you in the magazines.

We were in a few magazines.

Last year, we were recognized as a from start up as a top 10 technology company in Fort Worth.

So, all of that press, people kinda get to know who you are.

And we just started growing organically.

We've done some charger infrastructure in Oklahoma.

We have chargers in Illinois.

So... GARY: Nice.

So, is it national at this point?

For the most part?

EDWARD: Yes, it is.

So, we sell our residential charges even up into Canada right now.

GARY: Wow.

EDWARD: Yes.

GARY: Talk about the process of residential customer acquiring a charging station, buying an electric vehicle.

How complicated is it?

Am I gonna have to bring out an electrician and install extra voltage into my house?

Is that gonna be expensive?

Like what goes into it?

EDWARD: So, as far as the cost, I mean, electricians everywhere are slightly different, so costs can vary.

But from a- GARY: You do need it professionally installed?

EDWARD: We recommend that.

We recommend anytime you're working with an electrical panel that you have a certified electrician to install.

GARY: Right.

EDWARD: We've seen, on an average here in Texas, some of our partners, you can get a charger installed for roughly 400 bucks.

That's, you know, putting a new circuit breaker, the wire, and installing the physical charger itself.

GARY: And the charging station itself costs how much for a resident?

EDWARD: So, for our residential charging station, $1,080.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: Talk about the installation and the purchase of it.

TAMARA: So, the purchase of it, I got referred to this company, and a friend told me about it, and I was like, okay, I need that at home, because the charger that comes with the car, it was taking, like, two days to get to a full charge.

GARY: Oh, wow.

TAMARA: And so, since that's been installed, like, I can literally come home, plug in before I head to the next place, and I'm already charged up and ready.

GARY: Was it complicated getting it?

Getting it installed?

Like, what was that process like?

TAMARA: No, they actually contracted a electrician.

So electrician came out, did the wire work and installed it, and it was done in a day.

GARY: And you would recommend that charger, I would assume?

TAMARA: Oh, yeah, it's fast.

Like, I can...

I'll be charged fully in a couple of hours.

I love the fact that I can come right home, plug in, and, yeah, I'm good to go.

♪ GARY: How big can this company get, and what's your vision for expanding?

To me, it seems like it's limitless at this point.

EDWARD: You know, so growth is kind of our challenge at this point.

So, we're actually in the process of building or expanding our footprint.

GARY: So, growth is your biggest challenge?

EDWARD: Yes.

GARY: Let's break that down a little bit.

EDWARD: Obviously, the more you sell, right, the more other logistical parts that happens.

Right?

GARY: Yes.

EDWARD: From the additional people you need to actually meet that volume of sales, the space, storage, inventory, all of those things play a major part in the scale, right?

GARY: Do they go up equally?

EDWARD: No, they do not, unfortunately.

And because we're in this industry, we can't just hire, you know, like, a normal person that maybe don't have a background in engineering or electronics or stuff like that.

Some of the things that we do in the company, we can, and some of the things we can't.

And so, it's finding the right skill mix as well.

GARY: Yeah.

EDWARD: And then with that scale becomes... You know, because of that scale, now we have to build a bigger factory to be able to accommodate all of that growth.

So- GARY: Is this a good problem to have?

EDWARD: It is a good problem, but it's also a challenge.

And the challenge is, you know, trying to contain all of the moving pieces.

GARY: Sure.

And you got to pump the brakes a little bit on fast growth while you build up your factory, build up your infrastructure.

And in that meantime, it's scary because you never want to turn people away.

EDWARD: That's correct.

But the problem is you can sell fast.

And if you can't, you know- GARY: Produce fast.

EDWARD: Produce fast, then you create... Is just as bad as not selling at all.

In my opinion.

GARY: It's a bottleneck.

EDWARD: Right.

GARY: Yeah.

Or worse.

EDWARD: That's correct.

GARY: So, where are you at in that growth process right now?

EDWARD: So, we're selling a lot, so...

But we're in the process of building a facility.

GARY: Congrats.

EDWARD: So, we are going to almost quadruple the size that we're working in now.

GARY: Wow.

How are you financing the new facility?

EDWARD: So, we are working with some banks that will help us, that's helping us get over that hill.

We are also leveraging some SBA stuff as well.

GARY: What motivates, what drives you, man?

Why are you doing this?

EDWARD: You know, I have a passion for what we do.

I truly believe that it's my duty to be a part of helping America go green.

But my family, you know, we suffer from sinuses and that's due to all of the, you know, things you see in the air, right?

All of the pollution and that's been dismissed into the air from vehicles, from internal combustion vehicles.

But I also wanna help America build the necessary infrastructure needed to make this new transportation sector grow.

And so, I think we're at the right place at the right time.

We have the right equipment to do it.

And that's our mission, is to make sure that that can happen and customers can get from A to B. GARY: Make a statement to people out there that are on the fence about buying an electric vehicle or sticking with their traditional gas running car.

EDWARD: I always say don't knock it till you try it.

Right?

Hey, just go down there, find out as much information as you can about them.

Test drive one.

It's great to be able to touch, feel and see it.

And then I think you'll have a different opinion about electric vehicles once you kind of do your due diligence and homework.

GARY: I never in a million years would have thought, you know, as an independent person to build a charging station.

It seems like a herculean feat, like out of my mindset.

Like what advice would you have to somebody else that has an idea of getting into a complex sort of niche segment like this?

EDWARD: So, I want to be clear, right.

It wasn't just me by myself.

I started the company, but I had a bunch of people that would support.

Right?

You know, what happened great for us is we were able to get a part of an accelerator very early.

GARY: Okay.

EDWARD: Where people who was much more smarter than we were... GARY: So, get in a room full of people with big brains.

EDWARD: Yes.

Exactly.

And they will help you navigate you know, the startup world, as I would call it.

And plus, also, getting around other like-minded individuals that kinda have the same goals.

And, you know, sometimes 'cause when you're down and when you get to that low point, you know other folks are also going through it.

I mean, look, the reality is there's a lot of times I wanted to quit.

You know, I was like, "Well, I can go work back "at my full-time job and making more money and don't work as hard."

Right?

GARY: Yeah.

EDWARD: The reality is, look, I don't get up every day and do what I do because I expect to get rich.

I get up every day and do what I do because I believe in what we do.

It really feels good being the owner of your own company, but it feels even better really looking at what you're doing to help something change the way people get around, right?

The way they drive... what they drive and how they do it, and being a catalyst to helping them do it.

Right?

That's what moves me.

That's what makes me want to be here every single day.

First one here and the last one to leave.

GARY: Spending the day with Edward and his team, I quickly realized how little I knew about EVs and EV infrastructure.

Between rampant misinformation, range anxiety, and a general lack of understanding around EVs, many people have been reluctant to give up their gasoline.

But if we want a greener and cleaner planet for future generations, we're all gonna need to keep an open mind about clean energy.

And Edward and Revitalize are definitely doing their part by offering consumer charging stations, making it more accessible and convenient to own an EV.

We may be closer than we think to a future where electric vehicles play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change.

But it's going to take a collective effort, and companies like Revitalize are on a mission to make the transition just a little bit easier for everyone to accept.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Revitalize Charging Solutions.

♪ Next time on Start Up, we head to Fort Worth, Texas to meet up with Skylar and Vanessa Brooks, the owners of The Blok Climbing Company, a premium indoor bouldering gym and climbing community.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Would you like to learn more about the show?

or maybe nominate a business?

Visit our website at startup-usa.com, and connect with us on social media.

♪ ♪ We've got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ A long road ahead of us ♪ Got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ Before we pay our dues ♪ We've got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ A long road MAN: That's good, there you go.

GARY: Oh!

That was not easy!

♪ I'm sittin' in a cave, and we're shooting b-roll.

♪ ANNOUNCER: The future is not just going to happen, you have to make it and GoDaddy Airo can help you get your business online with an AI-generated name, logo and website.

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BambooHR supports your HR strategies by automating operational tasks, leaving you with more time to concentrate on what's most important to you and your business.

Learn more at BambooHR.com.

BambooHR, a proud supporter of Start Up.

JAKE: Fellow is just a mash up of two of the things I really love: coffee and I really love product design.

We're trying to create something that didn't exist and we're just getting started.

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Amazon, a proud supporter of Start Up.

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Learn more at colonialpenn.com or by calling 1-800-372-8383.

Colonial Penn is a proud supporter of Start Up.