The Frame: The Infrastructure Insider Method

Where we decode the systems, strategies, and business mechanics of underrepresented founders.

Today’s Briefing

How Kameale Terry built the company fixing America's broken EV chargers by betting on a workforce that didn't exist yet.

This is a masterclass in finding the neglected layer and owning the maintenance problem everyone else ignored.

Here's a stat that should terrify every EV investor:

1 in 5 charging attempts fail.

The federal government committed $7.5 billion to EV charging infrastructure. States and private companies added billions more.

But nobody built the maintenance layer.

61% of failed charging attempts aren't software bugs or user error.

They're broken equipment with no one to fix them.

The industry projected 6 million clean energy jobs by 2035. Only 12% of workers have the skills to fill them.

Charger manufacturers are great at installation. They sell hardware, collect checks, and move on.

The result?

Range anxiety isn't about battery technology anymore.

It's about trust. Can you actually rely on the infrastructure?

Kameale Terry spent a decade watching this problem grow from the inside.

Terry didn't start as an outsider trying to break in.

She was inside.

Director of Programs at EV Connect, deploying charging infrastructure across the U.S., Australia, and Canada.

She ran Electrify America Phase One. The Southern California Edison Charge Ready Pilot. The New York Power Authority portfolio.

She had the playbook everyone else was missing:

Which chargers failed. Why they failed. How long it took to get someone on-site.

Her insight was simple but devastating:

Deploying chargers is a tech problem. Keeping them working is a workforce problem.

The industry was selling hardware. Nobody owned reliability.

In 2020, she and co-founder Evette Ellis launched ChargerHelp!

Today: $17.5M raised from Blue Bear Capital, Exelon, Energy Impact Partners, and Aligned Climate Capital.

15,000+ charging stations serviced across 17 states.

But the real play isn't fixing chargers.

It's building the invisible infrastructure that makes mass EV adoption possible.

How does ChargerHelp! own a problem nobody else wanted?

Layer 1: On-Demand Maintenance Network

They built a distributed technician network across 17 states.

Dispatches repairs like Uber dispatches rides.

Response time beats traditional HVAC/electrical contractors by days, not hours.

Layer 2: EMPWR Software Platform

Every service call generates data.

The platform predicts failures before they happen.

ChargerHelp! sells reliability intelligence back to manufacturers and station operators.

The service call isn't the product. The data is.

Layer 3: Workforce Development Pipeline

Can't hire what doesn't exist? Train it.

Terry created the EVSE Reliability Technician Training program.

No 4-year degree required. Targets underserved communities.

In 2024, she partnered with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator to launch the nation's first multi-manufacturer EV charger training hub.

Location: South Los Angeles. Her home turf.

In 2025, she spun off the training division into SmarterHelp, an independent workforce development company.

The flywheel: More repairs → more data → better predictions → higher-value contracts → fund more training → more repair capacity.

She doesn't just capture value.

She’s cultivating the industry.

Terry's playbook reveals four principles any founder can apply:

1. Find the Neglected Layer

Every infrastructure investment creates a maintenance gap.

Sexy: building new things. Unsexy (and essential): keeping them running.

Tomorrow's action: For any industry seeing massive capital inflow, ask: "Who's responsible for uptime?" If the answer is unclear, that's your opportunity.

2. Turn Operations Into Data

ChargerHelp! doesn't just fix chargers, they instrument every repair.

Every service call becomes a data point. Every data point improves predictions. Every prediction increases contract value.

Tomorrow's action: Whatever service you provide, ask: "What intelligence am I generating that I could monetize?"

3. Build the Workforce You Need

Terry couldn't hire EVSE technicians. They didn't exist.

So she created the certification. Runs the training. Hires the graduates.

Closed loop. No dependency on external talent pipelines.

Tomorrow's action: If you're blocked by talent scarcity, stop waiting for the market. Design a 90-day training program for the role you need most.

4. Make It Personal

Terry is from South Central LA, ranked in the 90th percentile for pollution burden in Cali.

Her mission: clean air in her neighborhood through mass EV adoption.

When the mission is personal, execution is relentless.

Tomorrow's action: Connect your company's work to something you'd fight for even if you weren't getting paid. That's your moat against burnout.

Kameale Terry identified the gap everyone else ignored:

Infrastructure isn’t installation. It’s reliability.

While VCs chased chargers, she owned uptime.

While the industry only focused on setup, she was there when things break.

Unconventional outcomes are a function of unconventional methods.

That’s the bet that most people can’t make.

But if you made it this far, I know that you can.

Until next Thursday,

AP