Welcome to My Next Electric!

This Substack’s all about what’s going on in a place called My Next Electric — where curious people are having fun switching from vehicles and appliances that run on gas to those that run on electricity.

Our fun, fast course on going electric

You can hang out with us on Substack as long as you like, but the real My Next Electric journey begins with our fun, fast course on how to electrify your stuff. In 180 minutes, you’ll learn enough and meet enough curious people like you to create a rough plan for electrifying the gas-powered machines you use every day over the next few years. Helping you avoid that panic decision of replacing your next broken down gas machine with another gas one’s a big priority for the course.

We’ll start with your vehicles, no matter how many wheels they have. It’s real talk on what buying, driving, charging and selling electric is about.

Then we’ll talk heaters for air, water and clothes drying; stoves; solar and battery storage; cars as backup power; and breaker boxes.

It’s a hoot.

Our first six cohorts have been a blast. People dig what we’re doing, and when something doesn’t work, we find a better way. Fast. The course will run almost every month in 2023. You can attend in person in New Orleans or on the internet.

Did I mention it’s crazy affordable, between $10 and $40, depending on the format?

What alumni get

There’s so much good stuff for alums that you’re missing. Seriously, this is what the My Next Electric community really special. Here’s what you get once you sign up!

1. Lending library: Try before you buy. Explore sharing economics - using electric vehicles and appliances together instead of having them sit around unused for most of their lives.

2. Breaks on alumni-approved gear: We’re finding the best stuff for living a fun, electric life. We get breaks for alumni on some of it. Sometimes, I get a commission which I will always split 50/50 with you.

3. Ask for help: One of the coolest things about our community is how generous folks are. Alumni get access to our hive mind for faster problem solving and bigger brainstorms.

4. Experiments: I’ll be asking you to help me on fun new stuff like mini-DARPA Challenges, mini-X-Prizes, even crowdsourced debugging of emerging electric solutions. This could get weird. Wonderfully weird.

5. Alumni events in New Orleans, LA, USA: We’re based in New Orleans; it seems silly not to throw a party here once in a while. We’ll make sure there’s a fun way to dial in from anywhere, but you’ll always get to come if you’re alum.

Who’s writing and uploading too many GIFs

My name’s Matt Candler (bio, linkedin). (photo: Edmund Fountain) I’ve been building and riding electric motorcycles and bikes for 16 years, driving electric cars for 8, and electrifying my home in New Orleans, LA for 3. Here’s one of my bikes. (photo: Harlin Miller)

On learning science and a course that really works for you

I’ve spent even more time building learning spaces and tools than motorcycles, and I’m committed to iterating based on the latest in learning and coaching science. My inner middle-school math teacher is trying to bring you the best learning experience you’ve ever had; he might share how that’s going from time to time.

Electrify. Giggle. Repeat.

I love clever slogans. 👆that’s ours. I don’t know how clever it is, but I like saying it.

That’s what we’re doing here. Electrifying one thing at a time. Giggling about how fun it is — including how much fun it is to save money. Repeating.

Together.

I’m honored you’re here. Thank you, Matt