It’s electric is on a mission to bring curbside EV charging to cities across the U.S. and advance the adoption of electric vehicles. Pulse 2.0 interviewed it’s electric co-founder and COO Tiya Gordon to learn more about the company.
Tiya Gordon’s Background
What is Tiya Gordon’s background? Gordon is the co-founder of it’s electric and holds 20 years experience in design, leadership, and operations across a range of disciplines for some of the country’s top firms and institutions. She is now venturing to spend the next 20 years on projects that use design to wage war against the Climate Crisis. Gordon’s work has received the industry’s top accolades, including The National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; the SXSW Innovation Award for Urban Infrastructure; the Inaugural Cannes Gold Lion for Creative Data; the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival; the designation of second most innovative design firm in the world and the Sustainability winner of the 2023 Innovation by Design Award by Fast Company.
Formation Of it’s electric
How did the idea for it’s electric come together? Gordon shared:
“2023 was the hottest year on record with transportation being the third largest contributor of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. But transportation is also a sector where the choice to drive electric will create a collective difference. Our mission is to make charging easy, convenient, and affordable not only for drivers, but for cities, providing the pathway for everyone to go electric, supporting the adoption of electric vehicles as a key component in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Gordon explained:
“it’s electric’s Level-2 charging posts eliminate the need for utility permitting, connection and coordination by connecting behind-the-meter to draw spare electrical supply from adjacent buildings. This allows them to be installed at zero cost to property owners or cities. it’s electric then shares revenue earned at each charger with the property owners, bringing both clean transportation infrastructure and economic benefits to all communities. Additionally, it’s electric offers the only UL-certified detachable cable EV charger, reflecting the company’s commitment to customer experience and innovation, with a focus on safety and product quality.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Gordon and the team face in building the company? Gordon acknowledged:
“It’s not controversial to say that 2024 has been categorized as a challenging year in which to raise capital. The same was true for us when we raised our pre-seed in 2022. But for investors (generalist, climate, impact) looking to invest in seed-stage companies with clear indicators of growth where they can get in early, our demonstrated traction provided them with a very compelling option.”
“Examples of this includes our win of the contract for the City of Boston as a pre-seed company where we beat out incumbents in our space that included Tesla, adding to track records where we also shone against established giants including winning the Fast Company Next Big Thing in Tech as well as the Innovation By Design Award, where we competed against both Pepsi and Nike winning in the category of Sustainability.”
Evolution Of it’s electric
How has it’s electric’s technology evolved since launching? What differentiates the company from its competition? Gordon noted:
“it’s electric has been named as one of the products that will define technological innovation for the rest of this decade and beyond.”
“We’ve crafted a public charging solution to address the infrastructural and environmental justice barriers cities face in the deployment of electric vehicle charging. Instead of requiring costly and time consuming new utility connections, it’s electric’s Level-2 charging posts connect behind-the-meter to draw spare electrical supply from adjacent buildings; allowing them to install at zero cost to property owners or cities. it’s electric then shares revenue earned at each charger with the property owners bringing clean transportation infrastructure and the benefits of the green economy into all neighborhoods. With a critical focus on frontline and Justice 40 or disadvantaged communities, it’s electric is bringing affordable, equitable, curbside, EV charging to the millions of city drivers across the United States who cannot charge at home as they park their cars on the street.”
“The two leading barriers for EV adoption in the US are the cost of EVs and access to charging. It is our model of providing free chargers that revenue share back to communities that closes the gap for the current disparities in where charging can be found. Highly scalable, it’s electric is the world’s public charging system powered by buildings.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Gordon cited:
“In July, it’s electric announced it was selected by the city of Boston to expand access to curbside EV charging. This contract is a result of Boston’s groundbreaking search to establish a public-private partnership that will help the city demonstrate a successful, scalable model of deploying EV charging stations in the public right-of-way, and build momentum towards additional investment from the private and public sectors.”
“Supported by Mayor Wu’s office and the Boston Transportation Department, it’s electric will equitably deploy hundreds of chargers over the next five years, with the opportunity to deploy more across the Boston area as utilization grows. This partnership reflects our commitment to accelerating EV adoption with our scalable curbside charging solution and ensuring that every community has access to clean, sustainable transportation options.”
“it’s electric is also a 2024 Keeling Curve Prize winner. The initiative honors climate organizations worldwide that have shown exceptional innovation and commitment to addressing climate change in their respective fields. The prize pool is $500,000, with each winner receiving $50,000.”
Funding
When asking Gordon about the company’s funding details, she revealed:
“it’s electric just raised a $6.5 million seed round, bringing its total funding to date to $11.8 million. The raise, led by Failup Ventures and Uber Technologies, and with participation from Halogen Ventures, The Partnership Fund for NYC, Pulse Fund, Newlab, Gratitude Railroad, Tale VP, Equity Alliance Fund, LACI Impact Fund, and The Helm, will support deployments across seven cities in the United States in 2024, including Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Jersey City, and San Francisco. With fresh funding, it’s electric’s curbside charging infrastructure will also help support Uber’s goal of helping rideshare drivers go electric.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Gordon assessed:
“The global electric EV market was valued at approximately $185 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $980 billion by 2028, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.5%.”
“Additionally, the Department of Energy re-released their requirements for 1M public L2 chargers by 2030. This demand is driven by government estimates that 25% of drivers lack access to an off-street parking space. This translates to 70 million vehicles in the U.S., who currently spend about $140 billion on fueling their vehicles every year that will require charging infrastructure to convert to electric transportation. This represents $10.5B TAM by 2026.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Gordon concluded:
“it’s electric is scaling our team, both in leadership and in the creation of satellite offices, enabling us to deploy chargers across seven cities in the U.S., including Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Jersey City, and San Francisco. We remain laser-focused on our mission to make charging easy, convenient, and affordable not only for drivers, but for cities, providing the pathway for everyone to go electric.”
