My Next Electric 100!

To celebrate 100 people joining this community, I'm launching a newsletter.

What to expect

This newsletter’s all about what’s going on in a place called My Next Electric — where curious people have fun switching from vehicles and appliances that run on gas to those that run on electricity. Here’s our GIF logo vibing:

A fun, fast course on going electric

My Next Electric is a course on how to navigate the complicated process of electrifying the gas-powered machines most of us use every day — starting with our vehicles, no matter how many wheels they have. We also talk heaters for air, water and clothes drying; stoves; solar and battery storage; cars as backup power; and breaker boxes. It’s a hoot.

Given a process this complex, individualized, and potentially snooze-inducing, we keep things simple - make everybody’s NEXT electric step a FUN one. You don’t need to finish the race, just ENJOY your NEXT step. Even Especially if it’s your first.

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. It’s usually 3 hours over the course of a week or two.

A community of curious people having fun electrifying

My Next Electric is also a community; this newsletter’s for everyone in it!

• Alumni: You’ve made this community real. An alumni-only update’s headed your way soon!

• People signed up for future cohorts: You’ll get more specifics on cohort stuff, but I want you to know what’s going on community-wide.

• My Next Electric-curious: If you found us on Substack or signed up on at mynextelectric.com, welcome. I hope you’ll join the course sometime soon, but feel free to lurk as long as you like!

If you have taken the course, THANK YOU.

For years, I’ve coached founders of new organizations to “just ship it.” This year’s been a daily walk down the all-you-can-eat-humble-pie buffet line; it is hard to ship something you know could be better. And it’s hard to ask generous people for even more after that, for feedback on how to make it better and cheaper for other people. Geoffrey Moore was right; he said something along the lines of “find early adopters and treat them like gold.” YOU. ARE. GOLD. TO ME.

Thank you. For all you’ve taught me. For giving me a reason to build it even better from here. And for sticking around for what’s next; it’s going to be a trip.

If you haven’t signed up, I double-dog dare you.

This is me daring you (and a plus one) to just do it.

1. Our special two-session cohort in January’s only $40. Starting in February, our basic course is going to $10. Most alumni paid more, for a lower quality course. Show them the love/respect they deserve and fill up these next cohorts.

2. There’s so much good stuff for alums that you’re missing.

   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 doing the writing and excessive GIF uploading

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