We were lucky to catch up with Rich Grandy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rich, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
About 3 years ago my business partner, Duke and I were trying to think of an idea for a business. We had both just come from an automotive agency. We thought about starting an EV car rental service (think of Turo but EV only). W worked on this for several months, planning logistics of how this would work, tracking the cars, payment, etc. then Covid came and all but shut down travel and, well, we had to think of an alternative. It then morphed into a b-2-c idea for drop shipping (more or less) EV chargers for homes. we started this up all on our own, completely out of pocket, and it slowly took off. From there, we decided to get into the B-2-B side of things, slowly establishing relationships with commercial EV manufacturers and from there it’s basically organically grown, but I’d say we still have a long way to go.
Rich, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Duke and I both have a background in digital marketing so building out the business wasn’t difficult. The largest problem with any startup is capital. We didn’t really pay ourselves the first 2 years at all, which isn’t uncommon in any startup, but we are seeing steady growth year over year. We expect this year to be our biggest year now that we have established relationships with both customers and manufacturers. What we really pride ourselves in is customer service. We know that the EV landscape is ever-changing and is very confusing to alot of people, so we make it our goal to provide the best service we can offer. Customer service has taken such a hit since Covid and people really deserve a good customer experience.
Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?
I’d say our scariest moment so far was one of our first large sales. Closing this sale meant that we would be able to pay ourselves back for the majority of our expenses we’ve incurred and pay off expenses for the rest of 2022. Unfortunately during Covid there were extensive supply chain issues and companies require 6-8 weeks to build out orders, but this client needed to meet deadlines within 3 weeks, Fortunately we had developed an exceptional relationship with the manufacturer and at the 11th hour we were able to get the charging stations built, shipped and delivered all on time. There were several late nights that we worked to get this order fulfilled.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
A while back I discovered an entrepreneur by the name of Anthony Frisella. He runs a supplement company. His story is very similar to others; didn’t get a paycheck for 2 years, slept on the mattress in the back room of his store, etc, etc. He has a podcast on fitness and business motivation that can be very direct, but he is always on point.
He teaches us that if you think you’re working hard, you can always work harder. You have to keep pushing. Also, you WILL make mistakes. It’s part of the process, just learn from them and move on. And you WILL feel like you’re an imposter as an entrepreneur, but you are changing who you are; you’re evolving and uncomfortable, which is a good place to be in. I think most importantly is that there is no finish line, celebrate your wins and get back to work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ecokruz.com
- Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecokruz/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ecokruz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecokruz/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl50POBtekCaFz3ydSTHxMw
Image Credits
Photo’s courtesy Bosch, SemaConnect, Blink and Wallbox