We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Scott Colosimo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Scott, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Scott has had a fascination with bikes, cars and speed since an early age. He also grew up with a family that loved cooking, baking and art. Combine these early influences with a BMX bike and the freedom that suburban life affords a middle class, pre-teen in the 1990’s, and you have a uniquely American story in the making.
BMX is punk as fuk, or at least it was. It’s kids knocking down trees and moving tons of dirt to mold a small suburban wooded lot into a 2 wheeled oasis. We had nothing and everything at the same time. Nothing monetarily, but everything grew from our minds, and it wasn’t going to exit unless we built it.
These early influences are important to note, does a kid who grew up like this go through 4 years of college and sit at an office desk until he is old and gray? Well, yeah that’s what he does because that the path, right?
Let’s move this story along. Startup Number One, started in 2009, is Cleveland CycleWerks. Cleveland focused on affordable, beautiful and quality built motorcycles. The idea resonated and Scott scaled CCW globally until it was sold in 2020.
LAND was founded in 2020, as Scott and his team got heavily into electric vehicle R&D, the R&D quickly turned to finished product and with it a pivot out of gas and full speed ahead into our electric future.
The Aha moment did not come instantly, it was an iterative process, that developed along with the product and knowledge Gained.
That aha moment came in the form of a supplier failing to deliver our batteries into production. Having to take the battery development on, in-house allowed LAND to see the potential of owning a connected battery platform, and the hear of our Electric Vehicle future was secured.
Today LAND makes 2 wheel electric vehicles with connected, swappable batteries. As consumer demand grows, the platform will grow to offer more products and features to LAND’s consumers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Scott studied as an artist and designer at the Cleveland Institute of Art, earning a degree in Transportation Design. Upon graduation Scott has worked as a professor in the transportation
design department for over 10 years.
His focus has always been innovation, offering real benefit to the consumer and growing lifestyle brands. LAND is an extension of Scott and the teams interests.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Let’s focus on funding, as Scott has seen it from both sides. First boot strapping and organically scaling a company, then a pivot to venture funded business.
Both have their merits, neither are easy.
My first company, we put together a small amount of capital and a small team to get into production, and the rest of the business was really scrappy, and entrepreneurial to push global growth. I am glad that I did not take any investors on back then, as I had no idea what I was doing. After 12+ years of grinding, Scott has a successful exit from the bootstrapped company, but it was a modest exit. Startup one was my crash course in business, learn by failing.
Startup Two (LAND) – Learn, reflect, grow. Each business has its own place and time. I am lucky enough to have picked the right business at the right time. What that means is double and triple digit growth in our sector. They will be winners and losers. Raising substantial capital gives the LAND team a better chance of success.
Raising capital however is one of the hardest pivots I have ever taken in business. Money speaks different that product speaks; and I spent my life as an operator speaking product, brand, sales and marketing. Growing up in the midwest, I always felt like an outsider talking about my dreams, ambitions, and grand visions. Venture loves to talk big picture, vision and planning the future. Learning to embrace this strength I already had, put the structure, people and capital being it, and being the frontman for the vision has taken time for me to become comfortable with.
There are many paths to growth, choose yours wisely.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Making things, physical things has been out of fashion in the US since I was young. It is however what we are surrounded by in Cleveland, Ohio. It is what creates wealth for our city, it creates long term value, job growth and stability.
Making a physical product is difficult, it has to be as close to prefect as possible, the people who we have found that are in the manufacturing field are humble, hard working and results driven. Manufacturing level set’s your worth, it will always humble you when you think your team is invincible.
In other words, we do the hard shit, it’s good to do the hard shit in a world where everyone want a shortcut.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://landmoto.io/
- Instagram: @land_moto
- Facebook: facebook.com/Landmo.to
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdigital/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LANDEnergy