#202 Battery Swapping, Scaling Globally, 4x Founder, Universal Battery Modules, & More w/ John de Souza (Ample Inc)

Today, our guest is John de Souza. Co-founder of Ample Inc. A startup betting that battery swapping is the future. If you're at all like me, you're thinking that sounds bat shit crazy. Well, listen to today's episode, and you'll realize it's the opposite. It's the only logical conclusion to EVs. We can't gloss over this -- John is special. This is his 4th major startup endeavor, and it's clear that it is because he brings a level of maturity and wisdom that very few founders do. He could have ridden off into the sunset, but he decided to stay in the arena because it's what he does. I guarantee you will learn a lot from John today. I'm not even going to thank you for tuning in today because you're doing yourself a favor by listening to this episode.   ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Become a paid Subscriber to get access to the Slack CommunityTopics (free preview time stamps are slightly different) 03:26 John's Career & Entrepreneurial Origins05:20 The Inspiration for Ample09:06 Battery Swapping13:51 OEM Partnerships16:15 A Universal Battery Module18:38 Integration w/ OEMs & Production Lines22:54 Deployment & Scale23:22 Business Model & Global Expansion24:47 Ample's GTM Strategy: (Partnering with Uber and Commercial Fleets)28:07 Efficiency & Cost Control: In-House Battery & Swapping Station Production—(end of free preview)—(get the full episode by becoming a paid subscriber on our Substack today! https://cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe LinksJohn de Souza | Ample Inc.Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedInFollow CleanTechies on LinkedIn@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.Support the showIf you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.70+ Placements5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)90-day placement guaranteeIt's really hard to say no to that. Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company. We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank. Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]