Siân AventElectric Miles, a 2021 finalist of The Pitch, is a management service app aiming to develop the world’s most intelligent Internet of Energy (IOE) electric vehicle charging solution. They strive to help users save energy costs, be more efficient, reduce consumption, and help combat climate change.
We spoke with Arun Anand, founder and CEO of Electric Miles, about the company’s journey, what he’s learnt, his experience of The Pitch, and what he’s been doing since the final of the competition last year.
From concept to reality
It was in 2017, with the growth of electric vehicles such as Tesla, that Arun saw an opportunity to create a service to help users of electric vehicles (EVs). Having owned his own EV, Arun understood the frustration of not knowing how to best optimise the charging of it.
“I was always guessing, am I charging at the right time? Is it the right time for the grid? And slowly realising that, really, what we are doing is just kicking the can.”
As a result, Arun decided to create his own solution to the problem. After a period of research and development, he created his own proof of concept with his own EV and homecharger within his garage. Once this was a success, he had a pilot with his own home charger manufacturer, before scaling to multiple other charger manufacturers. The product was then officially launched in 2019.
Thankfully for Arun, the government announced a ban of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, indirectly causing a surge of sales in EVs. This was in 2020 and it was great timing, leading to an even greater need for a service like Electric Miles.
“That was the turning point, it was a game changer.”
Gaining customers and getting sales
Coming from a history of sales, Arun knew it would be best to first focus on the commercial aspect, recognising the importance of brand awareness to achieve sales.
“If you have a great product, but you have nobody to buy it, the product is useless… How would that product make money? Or how are we going to sell it?”
Following his own experience as a consumer, Arun had the advantage of knowing the pain points of owning an EV. While he recognised that brand awareness was significant, he also understood how important it was that the product can actually help someone.
“You know, you can make it prettier, you can make it better. But the fundamental thing is: is it solving some major problems?”
Taking part in The Pitch
Electric Miles successfully managed to get into the final of The Pitch last year. As well as delivering great exposure for his startup, Arun personally found that the competition helped him grow in confidence in his pitching abilities – after getting practise doing these online during the pandemic.
“It’s so much easier pitching behind the computer when you can read notes.
“[The Pitch] definitely helped me in my confidence when I speak without anything written down, and it’s just my own flow of thought.”
As discussed in our recent blog post, Electric Miles managed to successfully gain a seed investor from The Pitch audience, contributing to their £800,000 fundraising round.
What now?
Following the closure of their fundraising round, Electric Miles are now working towards their next funding round, which will be an institutional VC (venture capital).
After working remotely for some time, Electric Miles have also recently moved in to a new London office, and are continuing to grow their team.
Does The Pitch sound like it could be a good step for your business? Applications for this year’s competition are open now! Make sure you enter for the chance to grow your network, pitch to investors, and be in with a chance of winning £5,000.
The application form can be found here.
Karina Kundzina
