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North East e-commerce entrepreneur launches cable selling startup

Durham man Darren Pegram has launched a startup ecommerce venture, selling cables for electric vehicles after spotting a gap in the market.

Launched last September, 4EV has already shipped cables to customers across the UK and Europe, with plans in place to set up sites in Holland, India, China and the USA.

The business began after founder and electric car owner Darren discovered there were very few places he could buy additional cables to charge his BMW i3 at a competitive price, so decided to begin importing cables himself and selling them online.

Starting a company isn’t anything new for 36-year-old Darren, who launched his first business while still at university. At a time when ecommerce was still a relatively new concept, Darren set up an online ink cartridge business in 1999

Darren said: “I had always planned on leaving university and finding a good graduate job with a national company, but I found I enjoyed running my own business and by the time I finished studying it had reached a size where I could earn more from that than working for someone else.”

Darren, who now lives in Darlington, continued: “I’ve tried a variety of online businesses over the years including selling tyres and setting up a community-based social network site. Some have been more successful than others but I’ve learned something from each one and I feel 4EV could be a great success story.

“My background isn’t in electric vehicles but in some ways I think that is an advantage – I’m just an ordinary person who saw a gap in the market and a chance to use my skills to plug that gap. My customers are just like me – electric vehicle owners looking for a high quality product but without paying over the odds.

“The beauty of e-commerce is you’re not tied down by geography – I can reach customers all over the world and eventually, that is my aim.”

And with an expected turnover of around £150k in its first year, it seems Darren’s ambitious plans may not be far from reach.

He said: “There is a developing trend for electric vehicles and I wanted to be part of that. My aim is for 4EV to be the number one alternative to manufacturer made electric vehicle cables and I definitely think that is achievable.”

Family support has always been important for Darren, his parents helped him get his first business up and running by posting out orders from their home in North Yorkshire.

Moreover, Darren’s wife Nichola now provides HR support for his businesses and his sister works in the customer services and warehouse management side.

It seems he may have even passed his entrepreneurial spirit onto his eldest daughter Mia. “She has recently started selling old toys on eBay so I think she’s going to be a chip off the old block,” said Darren.

You can take a look at 4EV’s range by visiting http://www.4ev.eu/

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