Dare to Disrupt Episode 35: Electrifying Urban Mobility with Revel Co-founder Paul Suhey

Paul Suhey is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Revel, where he drives the company’s mission to accelerate electric vehicle adoption in U.S. cities by focusing on fast-charging infrastructure.

In this episode, Paul shares Revel’s journey from its beginnings as an urban electric moped sharing startup to a company focused on building the EV charging infrastructure for the largest cities across the US.

At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Michael Slesarevich joins the conversation. Michael is a first-year mechanical engineering student and the founder of Shade Shift, an electrically controlled variable tint film for vehicles. He recently participated in the Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank Idea TestLab, and is a member of the Penn State Car Club. Michael and Paul discuss overcoming the challenge of securing that first investment, as well as how Revel views would-be competitors as potential future customers.

Episode Chapters 

0:00 – 3:43 Growing up a “glorified nerd,” attending boarding school 

3:43 – 8:14 Embracing the bigness of Penn State, Gravitating towards the hard thing  

8:14 – 11:30 Getting into the complexities of the energy sector 

11:30 – 14:41 From pinball in a corporate machine to big picture discussion leader 

14:41 – 16:50 Choosing launching Revel over grad school 

16:50 – 18:02 Revel’s mission: electrifying urban mobility 

18:02 – 21:50 Evolving methods of sourcing capital  

21:50 – 22:29 Handling the frenzy of launching a startup 

22:29 – 26:44 Pivoting from electric mopeds to EV charging and rideshare 

26:44 – 31:05 Addressing the challenge of novelty in building EV infrastructure 

31:05 – 32:36 Seeing a lot more blue in the future 

32:36 – Start of Student Section  

32:36 – 35:40 Understanding the value propositions to drivers and riders  

35:40 – 36:15 Prioritizing charging stations vs. Rideshare service 

36:15 – 37:31 Viewing competitors and customers 

37:31 – 40:30 Getting that first investment 

40:30 –41:35 The importance of the blue   

Download full episode transcript

About Paul Suhey

Before co-founding Revel in 2018, Paul worked at Gerson Lehrman Group in New York City and ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He graduated with honors in chemical engineering from the Penn State College of Engineering and the Schreyer Honors College in 2014.

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Dare to Disrupt is a podcast about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, and the stories behind their success. Learn more.