Uptown Charlotte's 7th Street Public Market is now home to BatteryXchange's newest tech product, Apollo.
BatteryXchange, co-founded in 2018 by Desmond Wiggan and Aubrey Yeboah, is a rental platform that provides rentable, portable batteries to cell phone users. The startup launched Hercules at Packard Place last year, a kiosk machine with 24 portable batteries and a 23-inch interactive digital display for branding and customer engagement.
Just yesterday, Wiggan said the newest product, Apollo, a kiosk with 48 portable batteries and a 44-inch screen, was installed at the market.
"A big part of entrepreneurship is executing the things you say you're going to do, and I've been yearning for that feeling," he said. "We're excited. There's a renewed motivation within the team."
Wiggan said the team took its time deciding on the location of its first Apollo kiosk, eventually deciding on 7th Street Public Market.
"We loved their support and model around helping small businesses that are just starting out," he said. "You've seen companies like Not Just Coffee and Rico's Acai use the 7th Street Market to expand, and we saw synergy in that."
"It being located uptown was another plus, because of the foot traffic (that area) sees, even in a Covid climate," Wiggan added.
To rent a portable battery, a user first needs to download the BatteryXchange app, available on both Apple and Android operating systems. From the app, users can then scan a QR code to get the battery. The rental is free for up to four hours and can be returned to any BatteryXchange kiosk locations.
"This is our vision, building this new kiosk machine where there's an automated process," Wiggan said. "It allows you to have autonomy to travel around and know you don't have to worry about your phone charge."
Now that Apollo has a home, Wiggan said the team is targeting additional coworking locations and essential worker spaces for additional kiosk placements.
