Meet Quincy Lee Founder of Electric Era

Invest in startups like Electric Era alongside Climate Capital here.

Founder: Quincy Lee

Motto: Electric Era was founded to make EV fast charging ubiquitous and affordable.

Year Founded: 2019

Stage: Series A

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Climate Capital: How did you get into Climate?

Quincy Lee: I got into climate when I re-focused on Earth as key to humanity’s continued future. During the 7 years I worked at SpaceX, I spent so much time sending technology away from our home planet. While watching a rocket launch, I realized that we need to address carbon emissions on Earth to survive climate change. Combustion engine vehicles are a major source of greenhouse gasses, so if we can electrify our transportation systems, we have a fighting chance. Where are all those EVs hitting the road going to charge? How will there be enough charging stations that people feel comfortable buying and using EVs? I founded Electric Era as the answer to these questions.

Climate Capital: What are you building?

Quincy Lee: Electric Era is building the world’s fastest, most advanced, and most cost-effective electric vehicle charging solution. Our product, the PowerNode Platform, vertically integrates AI software with battery storage hardware to optimize on-site power usage and avoid the need for costly and time-consuming grid upgrades.  We designed the PowerNode Platform for convenience stores, because this is where many drivers will be looking to charge their vehicles. We’ve made a reliable platform that gives drivers an unmatched customer experience, pushing forward the electric vehicle transition. 

Climate Capital: What is next?

Quincy Lee: Where Electric Era is heading next is massive-scale deployment at convenience stores all across the United States. We’ve got a lot of sites queued up, and are hard at work to implement those projects. We want to be the go-to partner for convenience store owners looking for an EV charging solution, and make sure we continue providing excellent information and support throughout every stage of the process from consideration, to permitting, to installation and, as the years go by, increasing the number of chargers at each station in response to drivers’ demand. 

Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?

Quincy Lee: The core elements of the culture we are building at our company are motivation, ownership, humility, collaboration, curiosity, and resilience. One that we’re thinking a lot about right now is humility. Ego comes last at Electric Era. We remind ourselves every day that it takes our whole team to accomplish our mission, and that we work best when we work off each other’s strengths.

Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?

Quincy Lee: Key challenges as we scale the company mostly revolve around keeping the nimble, adaptable approach we had when we were first starting. At this stage where we currently are, it’s often tempting to get really excited about an approach, and say “We’re going all-in on XYZ!” Ultimately, though, we need to remain flexible and adjust our plans on the fly when the situation calls for it. We do this by frequently checking in with each other and making sure we’re headed in the right direction. And again, we don’t attach ego to these ideas and strategies. We’re just always making sure we’re doing what’s best for the company. 

Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?

Quincy Lee: The main insight I’d want to share with other founders is that the moment your idea starts to develop into a real, viable business, is worth all the late nights, doubt, and stress of founding a startup instead of working at a big company. To anyone making the leap I did, I would encourage them to not give up. I am so grateful when I come into the Electric Era office every day and it’s bustling. People are on ladders adjusting machinery, they’re on the phone with customers, they’re brainstorming with each other, and it’s on some level all due to one idea. Yes, your original idea will change over time–that’s natural–but you’ll be amazed at what it will become. Stick with it!  

Climate Capital: How can the broader climate community help you on your mission?

Quincy Lee: The broader climate community can help Electric Era on our mission by accelerating and clarifying processes for claiming funding incentives for EV charging stations. The US government, states, and utilities have some amazing rebate and grant opportunities in the works, but they are not always currently available or easy to find. If you’re offering financial assistance to businesses looking to install electric vehicle charging stations on their property, please make it known! We’re in contact with hundreds of convenience stores who would jump at the opportunity to install EV charging equipment if they could readily access the policies designed to offset the cost of these projects.