When students at Winston-Salem State University return to campus this fall, they'll have unlimited access to portable battery tech created by local startup BatteryXchange.
BatteryXchange was co-founded in 2019 by Desmond Wiggan and Aubrey Yeboah. The startup is a rental platform that provides rentable, portable batteries to cell phone users, Wiggan said.
He said the plan was in motion for months, and the startup inked a deal with WSSU last week. They are in the process of getting five kiosks installed throughout the campus grounds.
"We started off in the bar and restaurant space but always knew we could be of value to universities; We were on the lookout for other channels where we could add value," Wiggan said. "Over the summer, we reconnected with individuals (at WSSU) we’d met over the years who said they were interested in bringing our product to campus."
Wiggan said they talked with students about the different situations they've encountered while on campus with a low or dead cell phone battery.
"A lot of students, especially females, talked about the safety and security aspect of it," he said. "One student told us her mom worries because of the climate we’re in and not knowing what could happen on a college campus."
Wiggan said having access to the kiosks' free portable batteries will serve to ease those types of worries and add a convenience factor for students who spend all day on campus without the ability to charge their phone.
"One thing we’ve wanted to showcase is the ability for individuals to pick up and drop off (batteries) at other locations," he said. "I’m really interested in learning about user behavior, because that allows us to see where the high traffic areas are, where we might need more kiosks."
BatteryXchange launched the Hercules kiosk at Packard Place last year, a machine with 24 portable batteries and a 23-inch interactive digital display for branding and customer engagement. In January, the startup's newest product, Apollo, a kiosk with 48 portable batteries and a 44-inch screen, was installed at 7th Street Public Market.
Over the last six months, the startup has won a $50,000 NC IDEA seed grant, $8,000 through Black Man Ventures' pitch competition and, most recently, landed a capital investment from Charlotte-based Defiance Ventures.
Wiggan said they're working toward a long-term goal of maintaining a presence on college campuses throughout North Carolina, and eventually, the country. He said BatteryXchange is in the process of working out agreements with other universities throughout the state and is targeting several in the Charlotte region.
"This is the first university partnership of many. We’ve always known this is a space we can dive into, and now we're finally able to get into those niche spaces where we know these students are going to spend most of their time on campus," he said. "I think the biggest thing for us is that this is a potential channel for 79 universities and colleges in North Carolina."
