The Second Act - Magazine - Page 12
THE ENTREPRENEUR'S
OUTLET
In 2016, Lefevre cofounded
ChargeLab, which makes
software that runs about
80% of popular EV chargers
through partnerships with
ABB, Siemens, Phihonng and
Delta Electronics.
Written By
BRITTANY HAMBELTON
Z
ak Lefevre has been starting businesses longer than
most of us have been choosing our own bedtimes.
He started his first venture when he was only 12 years
old, flipping random items on eBay. Today, he’s the CEO of
ChargeLab, an electric vehicle charging software company.
Of course, he didn’t go straight from online retail into the
EV software industry. Lefevre has started several ventures
on his path to success. “The first business I ran that did over
$50,000 in revenue was during my first year of undergrad,”
he says. “I started a student painting franchise when I was 18
and ran that business throughout my undergrad and even a
few years after graduation.”
He then transitioned from construction to his first tech
venture. That business only lasted about four months, but
it proved to be a stepping stone for his most significant
success yet: ChargeLab. Unlike his first foray into the tech
world, which never grew beyond five employees, ChargeLab
has grown from 10 to 20 to nearly 50 employees. It’s to no
surprise; this has, at times, been challenging.
“For me, every subsequent venture has been about reaching
a larger scale,” he says. “This inherently comes with new
challenges.”
While Lefevre has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, his
motivation for starting each of his ventures have changed
along the way. He began his student painting franchise
because it seemed more interesting than getting an
internship at a bank over the summer.
ZAK LEFEVRE
CEO, ChargeLab
Next 36, 2015
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