Luck, guts, and good locations: Bart Lubbers on building Fastned

At the AI Pitch Competition finalists’ meet & greet, serial entrepreneur Bart Lubbers shared the story of how Fastned grew from a bold idea into one of Europe’s largest charging networks. His lesson for founders: success requires courage, creativity, and the ability to recognize value where others don’t. The Meet & Greet was part of the LEVEL UP event in Eindhoven, aimed at ambitious startups.

When Bart Lubbers introduced himself to the AI Pitch Competition finalists, he kept it simple: “I’m a father of four children, I’m a serial entrepreneur, I set up several companies, and my latest company is called Fastned.”

For many in the room, Fastned was already a familiar name. Its bright, timber-and-glass charging stations have become an increasingly common sight along European highways. But Lubbers’ story of how the company started was less widely known.

“It all began with a real problem,” he recalled. “My father drove an electric car in 2009, and he could basically just plug it in at home, drive a circle, and come back. There was no freedom. You couldn’t travel around.”

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From problem to network

An article about a small startup experimenting with DC charging sparked Lubbers’ interest. Together with co-founder Michiel Langezaal, he realized the opportunity wasn’t just in electronics, but in locations. “We found out you don’t actually invest in electronics; you invest in good locations. That’s how we started.”

Fastned launched in 2012, securing 201 locations in the Netherlands through a government tender. What began with a handful of people lobbying ministries has grown into a team of 400 across Europe. “It often starts with one or two people in a country convincing local governments that EV charging requires open tenders,” Lubbers explained. “And once you have the location, that’s the real value.”

Luck and energy

“You have to organize your work in a way that every couple of months you achieve something,” Lubbers said. “Otherwise, you lose faith, and you don't have positive energy anymore. If that's the case, you'd better go do the dishes; at least you know you’ve got a result.”

That pragmatic optimism shows in Fastned’s approach to design and energy. Stations are meant to look bright and welcoming, in contrast to the “dirty spaces” of traditional fuel stations. All power is sourced from renewables. “With every kilowatt hour we sell, we displace fossil fuel. We’re literally living out of the sun on our own continent,” he said.

Competing with oil giants

Asked why companies like Shell or BP didn’t build such networks themselves, Lubbers pointed to market dynamics. “They have permits for selling oil and gas; that’s what they do. Charging is a different market with different tenders. Probably they will do it in the future, but there’s room. Europe has 100,000 gas stations. Our goal is 1,000 charging stations. That’s just one percent.”

Fastned currently operates 380 stations, aiming for 1,000 by 2030. “It’s a huge market, and we will be one of the largest players. Why do we win tenders? Because this is the only thing we do. We are focused. And design matters.”

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People and culture

For Lubbers, the company’s “moat” isn’t just locations, but culture. “In every business, you can have money and certain capacities. The deciding differentiator is that you have a very committed team.”

Fastned’s team is young - the average age is under 30 - and given responsibility early. “We never give instructions, only context. That’s how you attract and keep good people,” he said. Social rituals, from strategy days to raising the disco ball at the opening party of each new station, cement the sense of community. “The most important thing is that you create shared experiences. That’s what people will look back on with pride.”

Funding without banks

Fastned’s financing journey also broke with convention. Traditional investors were skeptical, so the founders turned to the public. “We opened a web shop on our site where people could buy bonds for €1,000. The first weekend, it filled up immediately. That was the moment we knew this works.”

Since then, Fastned has raised many millions more through repeated bond issues and a stock exchange listing. “I advise everybody: don’t go to the banks. Do it yourself,” Lubbers said.

Asked about profitability, Lubbers compared Fastned to Amazon: scaling fast means reinvesting rather than booking net profit. “We have positive EBITDA now, but we’re still expanding. If we stopped expanding today, we’d be profitable tomorrow.”

Advice to founders

Lubbers closed with advice for the AI founders in the room. “On the board, I only ask two things: have guts and be creative. Because if you don’t have guts, and you’re not creative, you’re going to fail, even with the best plan.”

For the finalists chasing their own big ideas, it was a reminder that building the future requires more than technology. It also takes courage, persistence - and sometimes, a bit of luck.