entrepreneur Traveling to Monaco to see E1 raceAn all-electrical international powerboat racing series that take place in various places around the world throughout the year. The league is in its newborn stage – only with key plans for the second season – expansion. In Monaco, surrounded by picturesque views of the Mediterranean Sea, entrepreneur To know about the strategy, vision and business objectives for this new boat-racing series, interviewed the E1 CEO and co-founder Rodi Baso. Here is the conversation that is edited for length and clarity.
entrepreneur: Tell me a little about the origin of E1 – what its composition inspired, and how did you identify a market for electric boat racing?
Basso: E1 series is a new sports platform based on the idea of protecting and celebrating (maritime) lifestyle for future generations, which either live near water, lakes, oceans, rivers or go to the nearby coastal areas to enjoy it.
We come from motorcystrole culture, where (with a technical and data-operated approach), we have seen how much it can distinguish not only in the sports industry, but also in the commercial environment. And so, in association with the AGAG (AGAG) (E1) co-founder and president), we identified a difference in the maritime industry.
We wanted to create a new platform to test new solutions. And from now on, we will continue to develop this platform to really make an impact.
How would you describe the main business model of E1? Where do the main revenue currents come from, and how do you see them developing?
We worked a lot on strategy and business models. I am very emotional about this part. We make our business the basis on hosting fees. Therefore, we choose reputed places where there is money for the race. Then, we own boats, and we provide teams (with teams) with all logistic services, high-level maintenance of boats, all telemetry and technology.
Teams pay us to get these services. And then, of course, sponsors and media. Now, the more we move forward, the more media will notice us because the number in the case of fans, audiences, digital media and broadcasters is already quite impressive – we are very happy with the results.
And so, let’s say that in the field of 10–15 years, I hope that the media will become a more large revenue stream, of course, with sponsorship.
Image Credit: Shiv Gohil | Spacesuit media
You mentioned the host cities. We are currently in beautiful Monaco. How do you go about selecting cities with which you want to partner, and does a city make a good fit for the E1 brand?
Well, as I mentioned, E1 is about the lifestyle near the water. Therefore, we seek iconic places where everyone wants to go and travel. We are soon in Doha, Jeddah, Dubrovanik, Italy, Miami and Lagos – where either the marine lifestyle (or) sailing is a strong and deep culture of lifestyle at all levels.
We are not a special section (targeting); We provide special hospitality, but a more open fan field (where) everyone can come for free and feel like celebrities enjoying the show.
Therefore, it is important to be in iconic places where there is great care for the future of future generations and water mobility.
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Is there a dream city that you would like to expand the E1?
Asia is important. We want to live in Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India. In Asia, there is a lot of culture about powerboating en general. So we come with this new product, and I am very keen to see the response of the people there. For me, North America is also very important for this simple reason that 75% markets for holiday boat are in North America.
We also have talents owned by teams, and many of them are located in America or are American – so It is another important part to expand.
In terms of fan both demographics and commercial feasibility, how does E1 separate from other racing leagues?
Well, first, we started seeing numbers and figures, and we (seen) a good balance to see our product between women and male fans. In addition, in the context of generations, the center of gravity is 25 to 30 years old, which is another good result.
Of course, we talk to governments, we talk to big businesses who are interested in knowing and getting ours, but in the meantime, it is very important to talk to the future generation because we want to make sure that we have fans in the future. So we have to attract them and somehow share everything with them that we have learned about technology, and at the same time, the blue economy is also required.
Entrepreneur Note: “Blue Economy” refers to economic growth, better livelihood and permanent use of oceans and water resources for jobs, preserving the health of the ecosystem of marine and freshwater.
You have brought high-profile team owners like Tom Brady, Will Smith, Mark Anthony, Lebron James and Rafael Nadal. Talk a little about how the celebrity factor plays in the development strategy for E1 as a global brand.
This is an incredible honor and privilege for the owners of the team. They are inspiring people (who) are always working on the edge of excellence in sports and entertainment – because we are also (about). They also represent our ethos. We are also very happy that they are part of the E1 because they are interested in being part of an impressive project. And at the same time, they are interested in the business side, and they can see a good business to invest, grow and grow together.
Their presence is unique in our proposal because by keeping all (their) followers together, we reach 1.1 billion people who can see our content through digital media. And (owners) are active; They post, they interact and cooperate.
For us, only (these) season two, this is a major benefit.
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What are some of the biggest challenges to launch E1 and navigate in scaling?
In terms of challenges, at the very beginning, (we have) had technical challenges in the definition of the foil, understanding how the foil works, and also find the pilots, because we now have 18 pilots, nine teams, a man, a woman and alternative. We are very new in the sports industry, and I am very proud to say (pilots) are coming from 11 nationalities. This is an incredible property for us.
We built an academy, and finally, you never know if people were going to answer or not, if they were excited, and we were very happy for 20 applications (for pilots) (for pilots) (for pilots). And we were looking for only 20 pilots, so it was a great result to start.
Then this is a completely new proposal, coming as a meeting point of motorcysts, powerboating and sailing, and we wanted to get the best of these three environments and wanted to attract people who love water and love racing.
I think we selected the right people. We have a wonderful team, and events are developing themselves and working well.
Entrepreneur Note: “Fils” refers to a portion of the boat that acts like a underwater airplane feathers – the boat out of the water because it attains speed, reduces the drag and increases efficiency, speed and mobility.
Image Credit: Birgit Diary | Spacesuit media
A major component of E1 is its environmentally aware Libra. Why was it so important for you, and how do you balance the environmentally durable with business success and scalability?
I was earlier working in other companies; I am an engineer, and I was a sales and marketing director at Magneti Marali and a managing director in McLaren Technologies. (I) I am always working on new propulsion systems, electric and everything. I am very emotional about water (also), because I come from a southern city in Italy – Napoli – and I have lived in a lifestyle of water since birth and breathe.
So I combined the ability and passion to build E1. And while building the E1, I learned a lot about how much we need to do for water. We are also proud to have an incredible scientist (with an incredible scientist (with) Japan Award in Marine Biology and Engineering, and he is telling us how many opportunities we have in terms of coastal areas, water quality, blue economy and future jobs. So I am very emotional about this. I do not like it. I do not like it when you do not get a strategy, because you do not have a strategy. It is a culture that is a culture when we are developing this new game platform.
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You talked about your background as an engineer. How are technology and innovation – in terms of both boats and digital engagement – was exploited to create business opportunities for E1?
If we talk about digital, the first thing that is pop up in my mind is digital media, and today, it is a big way to reach people and communicate our message. When I talk about innovation, it is not just about boats; We have also innovated with some compelling AR and VR applications in our media products that we also use for business development.
(We use) Drone with the best possible resolution and video quality. We have 100 people working on material technologies, and all of this is about digital. So, this is an important factor and we have to innovate in this field. My next (region) interest is how we can use AI, because it is not only a discussion, but it is something that is happening now.
I am very excited that every time we can disrupt and separate ourselves through technology.
E1 is very young, and in a sense, like a startup. When you are inventing a category, how do you lead a team, and what would you recommend other possible startup founders and CEOs?
Well, with startups, it is always complete, you know? Never a dull day. Everyone talks about passion. Passion is a spark for vision, for thought, but then, it works very hard.
People like to say, “Work is smart, not difficult” – Best wishes with it. It is very hard. You need to select the right people and (them) clear roles and responsibilities. This is something that I (for) want to everyone, that I want (for) for my sons, because this is an incredible journey when you really know a lot under pressure.
If this magic happens, you will be successful. So there are some factors, but this is a wonderful journey that I will do again.