Self-service power for every event
Two years ago, Jan and Jean founded Check and Charge: a provider of smart, self-service power towers that let event visitors easily rent a power bank to charge their phone. Since this summer, they have been working with GoCredible for their payment processing, and their power banks can now be found at more and more major festivals. During ADE, they are on-site every day as well, including at No Art, Hemkade 48, Elrow, straf_werk, and AMF in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. We spoke with them about their adventure, challenges, and ambitions.
How did Check and Charge get started?
Jean: “Three years ago, Jan was on vacation in Iceland, where they saw a vending machine in a bar that let you rent power banks. When Jan came back, they enthusiastically told me about those machines, but we did not do anything with it at the time. Until later, when it came back to us: should we do something with this?
We found the business case was challenging. Several companies in the Netherlands had tried it already, without success. Then we thought: where does this concept work? It turned out to be events. We wanted to do it sustainably right away, even with hydrogen and everything, but that was a bit too ambitious. So we started with the basics: our first power tower. It was at ‘Parels van de Stad,’ a festival in Amsterdam. The thing was huge, extremely heavy, with power banks on four sides, and awkward. We could barely fit it into a truck. But it worked. And that was enough to keep developing.”
What was that first festival like?
Jan: “We placed the tower and sat next to it, just to see how people would use it. The first person used the screen to check if their hair looked okay, and we briefly thought it might be a flop. But then the first transaction happened, and after that it suddenly took off. I will never forget that moment.”
What is your background?
Jan: “We both studied Business Administration. I worked in the industry before, because I also founded an event platform, so I already had some contacts. But honestly, our network mainly grew by just doing it. The event industry is a small world and you keep running into the same people everywhere. That is how we grew quickly over two years.”
What were the biggest challenges?
Jean: “Logistics. Our first product was completely focused on design. It looked like a British phone booth, but blue, and everything broke during transport. We had not considered door sizes, forklifts, or weight at all. It looked great, but it was not practical.”
Jan: “We simply did not have experience with that. Fortunately, after that we spoke with people from the industry. They helped us make the product truly professional and scalable.”
Jean: “We also spent a lot of time talking to users. We often stood next to our towers to see how people interacted with them and where they got stuck. That gave us a lot of insights.”
When did you know you had a truly scalable, strong product?
Jan: “Honestly, at the very first event. It was great to see that people really used it. When you see someone taking a photo in the crowd with your power bank hanging from their phone, you know: this works.”
Jean: “For me, it was at Verknipt, when there was a real line at our tower for the first time. That is when I thought: okay, we can roll this out at scale. And when we started operating abroad as well, we saw the concept works everywhere.”
How did you end up at GoCredible?
Jean: “We had already seen at gas stations that you can also authorize payments. We wanted our terminals to handle it just as smoothly: first reserve a deposit, then charge the correct amount. Multiple PSPs said they could do that, but in practice it worked differently. Payments showed up as three separate transactions on the bank statement. That was unclear for us and raised questions from users.
Then we got in touch with Teun at GoCredible. Teun immediately understood what we meant and offered the solution: authorization with a token. Simple, clear, and a single transaction on the bank statement.”
Jan: “Teun’s enthusiasm was contagious. Teun really thought along with us, even when it got complex. That gave us the confidence to keep going.”
How do we strengthen each other?
Jean: “We are both young companies that are growing, so we understand each other well. Communication is direct, and we are not just a number in a queue. Because our product is custom-built, there was still a lot that needed to be developed technically. GoCredible handled that in a very flexible way. That customization is exactly where we strengthen each other.”
Why is it so important for festival visitors to be able to use their phone?
Jan: “Everyone knows it: your phone dies, you cannot find your friends anymore, you cannot pay at the bar, and you cannot navigate home. We wanted to solve that. With our self-service power bank stations, you can rent a power bank in seconds, including cables. Plug and play. You can return it at any Check and Charge station on the site, so you do not have to go back to the same spot. And the system runs 24/7, even at night on festival campsites. Ideal.”
How does it work, exactly?
Jan: “You walk up to one of our towers, pay with your phone or debit card, and a deposit is authorized. Then a power bank comes out of the station and you take it with you. When you are done, you click it back into one of the stations. We automatically settle the hourly rental fee against the deposit. Done.”
Jean: “And thanks to GoCredible, it all shows up as one clear transaction on your bank statement.”
Where can people already find your power banks?
Jean: “Basically anywhere people come together: trade shows, festivals, campsites, day and night parties, basically all set-up and break-down events. Our power towers can be used both indoors and outdoors, they can take a hit, and they are fully self-service. Ideal for venues that are built temporarily, or locations that are already there but want to offer an extra service.”
What does the future look like?
Jan: “In a few years, we hope to be fully active abroad: Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Scandinavia, or the UK. And still at those same great events where it all started.”
Contact
Curious where to find the power towers, or want to learn more?
Visit www.checkandcharge.com or email j.stoop@checkandcharge.com
Jan and Jean can also be reached via LinkedIn.
Want to learn more about what GoCredible does in the event industry?
Visit www.gocredible.nl/events or get in touch to see how we can support your business.