Success leaves clues Finance Strategies sat down with Eric Levenseller, founder of Levy Electric. He shared his thoughts on the past, present, and future of the company, as well as some of the wisdom he gained from running the business. Q: Who are you and what’s your background? I’m Eric Levenseller, Founder & CEO of Levy Electric Inc. Originally from New Jersey, I studied Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University before moving to San Francisco to work in several different product and engineering roles at tech startups. I left in 2018 to start Levy Electric and relocated to New York City where I saw the largest opportunity for new forms of mobility and a changing transportation landscape. Q: Who has been your biggest influence, and why did they have such a significant effect on you? I’d day my biggest influence over the last several years has been an angel investor and entrepreneur from the Bay Area, Naval Ravikant. Listening to him as I was first getting ready to start this venture provided invaluable insight into the path that lay ahead, both personally and professionally. Q: What is Levy Electric? Levy Electric manufactures and sells lightweight electric scooters used for commuting and recreational purposes. We sell primarily direct-to-consumer online in the US and Canada, and are now in 10 retail stores across the US including our flagship NYC location. Last year we also launched a rental fleet platform. We package our scooters along with our fleet management software that enable property managers (like Apartment buildings and Hotels) to offer electric scooter rentals to their tenants and guests. Q: What makes your company different from its competitors? What makes Levy stand out in the US market is our level of customer support. Since we are based here, we are able to offer our customers a high level of support on our products, along with a full inventory of replacement components. This isn’t something offered from buying a similar product directly on Amazon. We also have the only consumer grade electric scooter that features a swappable battery system. As a battery technology improves over the years, we are uniquely positioned to offer our customers and partners battery upgrades that will extend the range of their scooters without requiring the entire vehicle to be replaced. Q: What led you to start Levy Electric? I’ve always been a big fan of shared micro mobility. That exposure that companies like Lime and Bird have brought to e-bikes and e-scooters has been a great thing for cities around the world. However, I felt from the beginning that most people who were opting for this form of transit would eventually prefer to have their personal, lightweight electric vehicle. That’s what set us out to bring an affordable model to market that is geared towards personal ownership. Q: What has the experience of building the business taught you? In a new market like micro mobility, education is just as important as product development. Consumers need to understand how to safely operate and maintain these types of vehicles. In the beginning, gaining trust with our customers really came down to building a ton of knowledge and content around the use of electric scooters. As a new company, building that trust with customers can make or break you. And word of mouth marketing has been one of the main ways we have been able to organically grow this company. Q: Where do you see things headed for you in the next 5 years? We are heavily investing in our rental fleet hardware / software this year. Coming into 2021, we think most of our growth will come from enabling 3rd party operators to start their own rental fleets using Levy scooters. About Levy Electric Inc. At Levy, their mission is to bring uniquely designed & affordable transit options to everyone. Their lightweight electric vehicles offer ideal alternatives to move when you want, where you want. Learn more at levyelectric.com.Introduction
Who is Eric Levenseller?
Business
True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.
True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.
To learn more about True, visit his personal website or view his author profiles on Amazon, Nasdaq and Forbes.
