Drawn to Tacoma’s quality of life and great schools, Scott Case returns to his hometown to grow cleantech startup Recurrent

Following 12 years building cleantech startup EnergySavvy, then navigating the company through its acquisition in 2019, Tacoma native Scott Case set out to find his next venture. He knew he wanted to build on his passion for cleantech by advancing another solution that tackles climate change. “I’ve always been passionate about doing something actionable in my work, even if it’s a small part of the problem,” Scott shared.

In 2020, Scott co-founded Recurrent, approaching an industry that has experienced ample disruption as demand for electric vehicles moves into the mainstream. “We’ve seen a major transformation in the automotive industry with the adoption of electric vehicles,” said Case. “This is the first time in nearly 100 years that the industry has seen a transition like this.”

Today, 70 percent of U.S. car buyers are considering electric vehicles (EV) for a future purchase — but when shopping
pre-owned, most buyers don’t have access to the information they need to make a truly educated decision. “As a used EV
buyer, you should care how much is left in the battery as opposed to gauging vehicle health based on the odometer,” Scott said, “but until now, battery health has sort of been a black box.”

Scott launched Recurrent with his co-founder Kyle Rippey to provide more confidence to the growing number of buyers considering pre-owned EV. Recurrent’s solution uses advanced machine learning to help car shoppers gauge battery health and range before making their purchase, then provides them with monthly updates as EV owners. Recurrent
also leverages data from thousands of cars across the country to provide buyers and owners with insights into market trends, helping them understand where their vehicle ranks in relation to other cars on the road.

One year into this new venture, Scott moved back to Tacoma to raise his family and continue scaling Recurrent. When he set out to relocate in 2021, he knew the possibilities were endless as a fully remote company — but the strong school system for his son, affordability, and overall high quality of life made the choice to return to his hometown an
easy one. Leading the 13-person Recurrent team from his home office, Scott cites the diversity of experience among his team members as a key driver of the startup’s success. “We came in at the right time with the right sort of team,” said Case, “This team of data scientists, battery experts and software engineers is like no other team that anyone in the auto
industry has assembled.”

By making EV purchases easier to navigate, Recurrent hopes to accelerate the rate of adoption of electric cars in the U.S., ultimately reducing the automotive industry’s carbon footprint. “Our goal is to become a ubiquitous part of every EV transaction,” said Scott.

Learn more about Scott Case and Recurrent by following the company on Twitter and Linkedin. Follow Startup253 to keep up with stories from the local startup ecosystem.

About the Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board: Since 1978, the private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit EDB has been laser-focused on recruiting new firms to Pierce County, retaining those that are here, and helping all of them expand. The EDB supports companies to create new jobs and to grow the economy of the South Sound and Washington State, USA. In the past two decades, the EDB has worked with companies that have made over $1.6 billion in capital investments and created over 25,000 jobs.