Businessman He traveled to Monaco to watch the E1 plant, a all -electrical international racing series of the power plant, which takes place all year round in various places around the world. The league is in its nascent phase – only in the second season – with the main plans for expansion. While in Monaco, surrounded by picturesque views of the Mediterranean Sea, Businessman Interview Rodi Basso, CEO and co -founder E1, learned of the strategy, vision and business goals for this new series of ships. Here is the conversation that has been modified for length and clarity.
Businessman: Tell me about Genesis of E1 – what inspired his work and how did you identify the electric boat market?
Basso: The E1 series is a new sports platform that is based on the idea of protection and celebrations of the (marine) lifestyle for future generations of people living near waters, lakes, oceans, rivers or going to nearby coastal areas to enjoy it.
We come from the culture of motor sports, where (s) technological and data approach we saw how much it can change, not only in the sports industry, but also in a commercial environment. So together with Alejandro (Agag) (co -founder and chairman E1) we identified a gap in the maritime industry.
We wanted to create a new platform to demonstrate new solutions. And from now on, we will continue to develop this platform to really have an impact.
How would you describe the main business model E1? Where do the main flows of income come from and how do you see them, how they evolve?
Much world on strategy and business model. I am very passionate about this part. We will start our business on host fees. So we select iconic places where the race is financing. Then we own ships and provide teams (s) all logistics services, high -level boat maintenance, all telemetry and technology.
Teams pay us to obtain these services. And then, races, sponsors and media. Now, the more we go forward, the more the media notices that the numbers are already quite impressive when it comes to fans, viewers, digital media and transmitters – we are very satisfied with the results.
So let’s say that in the region 10-15 years I expect the media to become another large stream of revenue, race, with sponsorship.
Credit picture: Shiv Gohil | SpaceSuit media
You mentioned the hoses of cities. We are in a beautiful Monaco. How do you proceed in choosing the cities you want to work with and what makes the city suitable for the E1 brand?
As I mentioned, E1 is about a lifestyle near water. So we are looking for iconic places where everyone wants to visit. Soon we are in Doha, Jeddah, Dubrovnik, Italy, Miami and Lagos – squares, where there is a strong and deep sea lifestyle culture (or) at all levels at all levels.
We are not (targeting) one particular segment; We offer exclusive hospitality, but also a more open fan zone (where) everyone can free and feel a bit of a celebration and enjoy the show.
It is therefore important to be at iconic places where there is a lot of care for the future generation and the future of water mobility.
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Is there a dream city to which you would like to expand E1?
Asia is important. We want to be in Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India. There are many culture about a motor boat in Asia in general. So we come up with this new product and I’m very curious to see people’s reaction there. For me, North America is also very important for a simple reason that 75% of leisure markets are in North America.
We also have talents to own a team and many of them are based in America or are Americans – so This is another important part that can be expanded.
How does the E1 differ from another racing league, both in terms of fans’ demography and commercial viability?
First we started to see numbers and statistics and we (saw) a nice balance between fans of women and men who watched our product. Also in terms of generations, the center of gravity is between 25 and 30 years, which is another good result.
About race, we are talking to governments, we are talking to large businesses that are interested in more and we are, but in the meantime it is very important to talk to the future generation because we want to make sure we have fans in the future. So we have to attract them and somehow share with them what we learned about technology and also about the need for a blue economy.
Entrepreneur’s note: “Blue Economy” concerns sustainable use of ocean and water resources for economic growth, improvement of livelihoods and jobs, while maintaining the health of sea and freshwater ecosystems.
You brought the owners of high -ranking like Tom Brady, Will Smith, Marc Anthony, LeBron James and Rafael Nadal. Talk a little about how the celebrity factor plays in the E1 growth strategy as a global brand.
It is an incredible honor and privilege to have team owners. They inspire people (who) have always worked on Edge of Excellence in sports and entertainment – because that’s what we are about (about). They also occupy our ethos. We are also very pleased to be part of the E1 because they are interested in being part of an impressive project. At the same time, they are interested in the business side and go to a good business to invest, part and grow together.
Their presence is unique in our proposal, because by giving Twiger to all (their) followers, we address 1.1 billion people who can watch our content through digital media. And (owners) are active; They publish, interact and cooperate.
For us it is just (in) the second season, it’s massive.
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What are some of the biggest challenges you had to navigate when starting and scaling E1?
In terms of challenges, at the very beginning (we had) technical challenges in the definition of foil, understanding how the foils work, as well as finding pilots, because now we have 18 tablets, nine teams, one man, one woman and alternate. In the sports industry we are quite new and I am very proud that (pilots are) come from 11 nationalities. This is an inclubble asset for us.
We built an academy, and in the end you never know whether people will react or not, whether they were enthusiastic, and we were so pleased that we had (about) 20 applications (for pilots). And we were looking for only 20 pills, so he had a very good result.
Then it is a brand new design that is coming as a meeting of motoring, motor boat and sailing, and we wanted to get the best of these three environments and also attract people who love to be on the water and love races.
I think we chose the right people. We have an amazing team and the events develop and work well.
Entrepreneur Note: “Foil” red into a part of the ship that acts as wings underwater – lifts the ship from the water as it gets speed, reduces the draft and increase efficiency, speed and maneuverability.
Image Credit: Birgit Dieryck | SpaceSuit media
The main component of E1 is its ecologically conscious bent. Why was it important to you and how do you balance ecologically sustainable with commercial success and scabibility?
I have already worked in other companies; I am an engineer and I was the director of sales and marketing in Magneti Marelli and CEO of McLaren Technologies. (I have always worked on new drive systems, electric and everyone. I am (also) very passionate about the water because I come from the Subhern city in Italy – Napoli – and I live and breathe lifestyle of water from birth.
So I combined compreen and passion to build E1. And when building E1, I learned so much about how much we have to do for water. We are also proud that Carlos Duarte, an incredible scientist (s) by the Japanese prize in marine biology and engineering, tells us how much we have to do for the coastal areas, water quality, for the blue economy and how many opportunities there in terms of future jobs. So I’m very, very passionate about it. I do not like to call it a strategy, because if you do so, you have a manager of ticking fields. It is the way we are; It is a culture while developing this new sports platform.
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You talked about your background as an engineer. How are technologies and innovations – both in terms of the ships themselves and in terms of digital determination – to create business opportunities for E1?
Speaking of digital, the first thing that appears in my mind is the digital media, and today it is a huge way to reach people and communicate about the message. When I talk about innovations, it’s not just ships; We also innovated in our media product with some convincing AR and VR applications, which also for business development.
(We use) DRONES with the best possible resolution and video quality. We have (surrounded) 100 people working on content technology, all about digital. It is an important factor and the opportunity for us to constantly innovate in this area. My other (area) of interest is how we can use because it is not just a buzz, but it’s something that is happening.
I am very excited every time we can disrupt and distinguish between technology.
E1 is very young and in a sense it is like a startup. How do you lead a team when you think of the category, how do you go and what advice would you give to other future founders and general directors?
Well, with startups it’s always full, you know? Never a day. Everyone is talking about passion. Passion is for the vision of a spark for the idea, but then it requires a lot of hard work.
People like to say, “Work smarter, not harder” – good luck with it. There are a lot of hard work. You have to choose the right people and (give them) clear roles and responsibility. It is something I wish (for) all that I wish for (for) my sounds, because it is an incredible day when you really know each other much more under the print.
If this magic happens, you will be successful. So there are several factors, but it’s an amazing day that I will do again.
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