This is Jesse Pujji and today we’re breaking down ChargePoint, the clear US market leader in the United States for electric vehicle chargers. We discuss the challenges of a commoditized business, how ChargePoint is leading the EV land grab, and why the US is at a particularly interesting point for EV adoption.

This episode first aired on August 19, 2022. Our guest is Mark Tomasovic, a principal at Energize Ventures and a previous guest on our show. Please enjoy this business breakdown of ChargePoint.

Show Notes
[00:00:00] – Introduction
[00:02:16] – [First question] – What ChargePoint is
[00:03:26] – Their size, scale and revenue today
[00:04:21] – The history of ChargePoint and the EV charging sector
[00:06:25] – How the industry has evolved and important metrics to understand
[00:08:18] – Who the main players are in the EV charging infrastructure layer
[00:10:46] – The role auto manufactures play and their relationship with this world
[00:12:05] – Tesla’s closed wall network and ChargePoint’s open network
[00:13:05] – Competitive advantages in the EV charging landscape
[00:15:45] – Whether or not sales and marketing is unique to ChargePoint
[00:16:47] – Other unique arrangements that will unlock the pace of their land grab
[00:18:37] – The various lines of P&L and how to think about them
[00:19:34] – The three levels of chargers and costs associated with them
[00:21:52] – What goes into their gross profit margins and cost of revenue
[00:22:50] – How their gross margin compares to their competitors
[00:23:41] – What they’re trying to accomplish with their high R&D spend
[00:24:49] – What they’re investing in and betting on for the future by spending cash
[00:25:38] – Expectations of future growth for the next couple of years
[00:26:46] – Growth over the long-term trajectory and the car to charger ratio
[00:29:14] – Their main flywheels that give them a competitive advantage
[00:30:53] – The big buckets of customer segments and end point leverage
[00:32:09] – What the life expectancy of a charger is
[00:33:13] – The regulatory environment writ large
[00:34:39] – Bull case for ChargePoint over the next five to ten years
[00:37:36] – Reasons why ChargePoint might not succeed over the next five to ten years
[00:38:58] – Lessons for builders and investors when studying ChargePoint
[00:39:51] – Learn more about ChargePoint; energize.vc

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