Vlad Valchkou is Building CUUB: A Network of Portable Chargers for Chicago and Beyond
Our entire lives run on our phones, relying on apps for everything from navigation to payments and messaging. Usage is especially high among younger generations—Gen Z averages 6 hours 27 minutes a day on their phones.
But when screen time outpaces battery life, phones die before the end of the day and we’re left stranded without the apps and services we depend on. And yet there’s no public infrastructure to provide people with accessible charging.
After experiencing grab-and-go charging solutions when traveling across Europe and Asia, Vlad Valchkou knew that a similar solution could be transformative in the United States. So he set out to build CUUB, a pick-up-anywhere, drop-off-anywhere network of portable chargers.
Introducing CUUB: Building the Future of Urban Infrastructure
CUUB is a Chicago-based network of physical kiosks holding portable chargers. Customers can find nearby stations using an iOS app, rent a portable charger with the tap of a card, and return it to any other station—no registration required.
"A lot of the time people just don't have their chargers on them, and there's just no universal solution to charge your phone,” Vlad explains. “With CUUB, you can get a charger at a restaurant at lunch, then take a train to the other end of the city and return it at a bar that evening.”
After launching a pilot at DePaul University and building out a 35-location network in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, CUUB has raised $270k to build 3000 locations across the city over the next two years.
Vlad’s Journey to CUUB
Vlad grew up in Chicago and began his entrepreneurial journey early. While still in high school, he bought a drone and started selling aerial photography to real estate agents. By the time he was in college, he was building apps and websites, teaming up with a co-founder to build a music distribution platform for musicians, artists, and producers. The team shipped the product, and although it didn’t take off as they'd expected, the project proved to be an invaluable experience for both Vlad and Jovan, who would stick together to launch CUUB.
The vision for CUUB came after a 2024 trip to Europe and Asia, on which Vlad found power bank rental was already an established service. He returned home and decided to go all-in on building the same network in Chicago, dropping out of college and moving into his own apartment with $2,000 in savings.
After developing the first prototypes, Vlad and his co-founders, Jovan Plavsic and Nicholas Bradford, landed their first contract with DePaul University and designed a pilot to introduce charging stations to bars, cafes, and campus locations frequented by students. In the long run, they aspire to launch networks of charging stations across the country.
Vlad’s Advice for Fellow Founders
Vlad took major risks to go all-in on CUUB, dropping out of college and dedicating all of his savings to the project. But he admits that he couldn’t have done it without his co-founders, Jovan and Nicholas, who are just as committed as he is.
"When you have a team, and co-founders, who are as all-in as you are and have made the same sacrifices, it becomes extremely valuable for your team's exponential growth,” he explains.
To learn more about Vlad’s journey building CUUB, you can follow him on LinkedIn and visit cuub.tech.
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