If you had ventured into the world of Electric Vehicles (EV) over a decade ago, your opportunities would have been fairly limited. We all know of Tesla or Rivian or NIO, just to name a few and their seemingly meteoric rise in both accessibilities of their technology but also adoption. According to IBIS World, industry revenue for EV is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 11.1% to $29.6 billion (USD) over the next five years through 2026. This is where EV Angels of London, Ontario finds itself.  

Focused on supporting Canadian adoption of EV products, the firm launched by brother team, Daniel and Sean Hart in the Winter of 2020 has recently made investments in EV Network (EVNet for short), allowing customers to buy, or rent certified used electric vehicles at more affordable rates. “We were introduced to EVNet through the electric vehicle network where we actively discuss changes and outlooks in the market. What they were doing fit our outlook for supporting businesses that are trying to create access to a product that costs way above most people’s price level. Plus, in their case, most people purchase used vehicles anyways so the marker possibilities of supporting them worked,” explained Daniel Hart, Partner at EV Angels.  

The firm itself isn’t all investment though; placing careful language around ‘partners’ whereas EV Angels support the ongoing challenges of their portfolio. Both Sean and Daniel come from diverse backgrounds and successes, Daniel having been involved in the successful growth and sale of technology start-ups Masterkey and Airlist while working aboard in the UAE. “I was living overseas and decided to come back to Canada so I could spend some time travelling; this was prior to the pandemic and obviously derailed those plans. I landed in London where I had completed my degree at Western, making London home again,” detailed Daniel.

Working together, the team at EV Angels has grown quickly since their launch last winter. “We have been able to leverage our past experiences in technology start-ups, electrical engineering and consulting to be strategic in how we operate and where we focus our time.” While this is not unique to growth engines like angel groups or fund-based accelerators, their focus on EV-specific businesses has forced them to understand the unique complexities of an industry chalked full of intricate challenges.

“We started talking with EVNet in December and signed the deal with them in April, so it was really a few months into the business, and we’ve seen new alignments come to fruition as we’ve continued onwards…it seems like we’re on a rocket ship right now and I’m very excited and proud of that.”  

While EV Angels might be new to the start-up world, their team is anything but. Posed to focus on getting Canadians driving electric, they’ve come a long way in a very short amount of time in achieving this mission. “At the moment, our primary focus is on electric vehicles. We are aware of other renewable options to customers in the market, but for now we are honing in on this.” 

For EV Angels, the future is looking electrified while they continue to actively support and grow in the coming months. With a market looking to grow quickly, the opportunities to do so are looking fruitful. While time will tell if Hart’s young venture will support the next Tesla, Rivian or NIO, the chances of this happening are looking fairly charged.