A plane that doesn’t fly is a disaster in terms of investment. An electric charging point, not so much. But why not rent out the charging point when it’s not being used by its owner--if that’s even possible?
This is the question that two former Amazon executives in Luxembourg, Romit Choudhury (from 2015 to 2021) and Philipp Carls (2018-2022), intend to answer with El-Monde, an application that allows you to find a ‘private’ charging point close to you, without having to go to public charging points or the charging points of specialist private groups. And all this from Luxembourg... even though the company project was registered in Estonia, according to the application’s data.
Choudhury, a serial entrepreneur with global ambitions, inspired by his management experience at two of the world’s most successful companies, Amazon and Google, and Carls, an investor and former Amazon executive who has also worked for Walmart and Symantec, are about to announce that they have raised $200,000 from friends and family--love money, as it is known in the startup world, and which comes just before the first seed funds.
“El-Monde makes the charging experience simple, seamless and enjoyable for millions of electric vehicle drivers,” they explain. “By offering more convenient charging points to millions of EV drivers, they can now recharge away from home during their leisure time (golf, skiing, tennis), on holiday (Airbnb) or during a workout (gym). At the same time, El-Monde has developed a practical, turnkey business model that extends revenue opportunities to thousands of small businesses previously left out of the electric vehicle ‘bonanza.’”
Los Angeles-based Dan Rodrigues says: “El-Monde is a mutual benefit for owners of electric vehicles in transit and for owners of charging points, be they golf courses, Airbnb rental companies, ski resorts or tennis and fitness clubs.” Not only does El-Monde provide real-time information on available charging points, it also offers a full installation and revenue tracking service for small businesses that want to offer their customers the convenience of on-site charging, eliminating downtime. What’s more, some businesses can generate an additional five-figure annual profit or more.
“We felt the time was right, with over 6m electric vehicles in the US and an annual plug-in car market share approaching 10%, for El-Monde to democratise the electric vehicle charging experience,” comments Choudhury. “At the heart of El-Monde is a role as a practical network facilitator for the EV ecosystem, offering both increased convenience and revenue sharing. Even with limited funds, we are experiencing explosive growth and building a compelling investment story.”
As of Thursday, more than 1,700 charging stations were accessible in Europe on the highly fluid interface, including 88 in Luxembourg, whether at Novotel, Mama Shelter or various hotels in every corner of the country.
This article was originally published in .