5 Strategic GTM Lessons from ChargerHelp!’s Journey in Climate Tech

When infrastructure doesn’t exist for your solution, build it yourself. That’s the unconventional wisdom emerging from ChargerHelp!’s approach to the EV charging maintenance market. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, founder Kameale Terry shared insights that challenge traditional GTM assumptions, particularly for founders building in regulated industries.

1. Make Regulatory Strategy a Core Competency, Not an Afterthought

Most startups view regulatory engagement as a later-stage concern. ChargerHelp! turned this convention on its head by making government relations their first hire. “In climate, you will get squashed by laws in climate tech. So you have to be prepared for that,” Kameale explains.

This early investment paid dividends. The company successfully co-sponsored California’s EV Charging Reliability Act and advocated for a 97% uptime requirement in federal funding guidelines. Rather than treating regulation as a constraint, they used it as a catalyst for market creation.

2. Evolve Your Market Education Strategy

ChargerHelp!’s approach to market education reveals a sophisticated understanding of how markets mature. “In the beginning, I had to spend a lot of time showing the industry that the stations didn’t work,” Kameale notes. As awareness grew, they shifted focus: “Now our next kind of messaging strategy is like, okay, now that you know that it doesn’t work, here are the complexities. And then two, once again, here’s how we can be helpers in solving it.”

3. Build Infrastructure That Creates Competitive Moats

When ChargerHelp! discovered that their needed workforce didn’t exist, they didn’t just train their own staff – they created an entirely new job category. “Prior to our company starting, there was no job title called EVSE technician. We actually created that job title with the Department of Labor,” Kameale reveals.

This workforce development initiative culminated in a partnership with SAE International to create the industry’s first EVSE technician certification program. The strategic value becomes clear when Kameale explains: “We’re a technology company, we’re not a service company… We had to hire field service technicians and train them on their own because that labor force did not exist.”

4. Use Data to Drive Industry Standards

With 18,000 field service interactions across 17 states, ChargerHelp! has built the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S. This data advantage isn’t just about improving current offerings – it’s about shaping industry standards and creating barriers to entry.

“Charging stations are computers,” Kameale explains. “For fast chargers, there are many different, what we call handshakes, which essentially interoperability of software that has to properly work in order for one charging event to happen.” This deep understanding of system interactions positions them to influence industry standards and practices.

5. Recognize When Market Pain Points Are Ready to Scale

Understanding the evolution of market pain points is crucial. “I think we’re just at the cusp of it right now. Like, strong product market fit,” Kameale observes. “In the beginning, the customers that were experiencing the most pain understood our product… But a lot of folks wasn’t experiencing tremendous pain yet.”

This insight highlights the importance of timing in GTM strategy. Early adopters may validate your solution, but achieving broad product-market fit often requires external catalysts – in this case, new legislation forcing broader market engagement with the problem.

ChargerHelp!’s journey offers valuable lessons for founders building in emerging categories. Their experience suggests that success often requires looking beyond traditional GTM playbooks to build the infrastructure – whether workforce, regulatory, or data – that enables your product to thrive.

The key takeaway? Sometimes the biggest opportunities require building more than just a product. By taking a comprehensive approach to market creation, ChargerHelp! isn’t just solving a problem – they’re shaping an industry.