Christian Ruoff, 39
BS mechanical engineering ’07
Founder and CEO, Charged (St. Petersburg, Florida)
My Greatest Accomplishment: Founding Charged, a media company that produces print and digital trade magazines, news website and conferences for the electric vehicle (EV) industry. We serve more than 50,000 — mainly engineers who work for the automakers that design and manufacture EVs. Growing this company for 10 years is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was a typical startup story: At first, you’re super excited about some idea but quickly realize most of your assumptions were wrong. And, in the early years, it seemed like every day there was one setback after another. But I knew that for a startup to work, you can’t have a backup plan. You have to go all-in and just grind it out every day until you find some traction, and then build on what’s working until you have a real business.
Christian Ruoff
How Drexel Helped Me: I often joke that I went to engineering school because I hated book reports, then I started an engineering magazine which turned out to be a never-ending book report. Honestly, I had no idea what engineers actually did for a living when I choose the major — I didn’t really know any engineers growing up. I was pretty good at math and science in high school, and reading novels for English class was torture, so a few people recommended engineering as my major and it turned out to be a great fit for me. Drexel’s co-op program was invaluable. I still can’t believe it’s not standard at every university. Graduating with 18 months of real-world experience is great, of course, but more importantly, the co-ops taught me what I did not want to do for the rest of my life. I co-op’d for a large engineering firm as well as the U.S. Navy; both were great jobs but not right for me. It’s very hard to quit a job you don’t love after you graduate because you have bills to pay. Co-ops are an awesome way to try on different careers without the pressure to stay at a job that isn’t right for you. My co-op experiences helped me realize I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and after I graduated I found an engineering job working directly for the owner of the business. I learned a ton from him and then I started a company a few years later.
My Greatest Source of Motivation: I listen to podcasts and read a lot of content by other entrepreneurs. It helps me manage my stress levels when I hear people discuss similar struggles that I am going through.
Where I Hope to Be in Five Years: EVs have gotten a lot of attention in the past year or two, largely due to the improbable success of Tesla, but I don’t think many realize how early we are in the global transition to EVs, or how inevitable it now is. It’s like we’re in 1995 of the internet revolution. The automotive industry is about to go through enormous changes, and in five years, I think I will still be creating content for the engineers who are designing and building EVs.
If My Life Were a Music Video, the Song Would Be: “Electric Feel” by MGMT.