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Case Study

Green Motion: From entrepreneurial pioneer to multinational powerhouse

By Jim Pulcrano

10 pages

August 2023

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Reference: IMD-7-2456

Entrepreneur François Randin was successful, but searching for his next venture, wanting to build something sustainable. Suddenly he sees an all-electric sports car and decides to create an electric vehicle (EV) charging station company, even though the number of EVs on the road at the time is minuscule. He starts with software, moves to hardware, and launches… And then grows slowly until the day he discovers a new business model. He is successful in funding the start of the scaleup, but realizes that to really get to hyperscale (and fund his next idea), an adjacency, he needs really deep pockets. Raise more money, go for an IPO or accept one of the three acquisition offers he has in front of him?

Learning Objective

The case puts the reader in the shoes of the entrepreneur, from founding to sale of the business.
New markets are rarely obvious at the beginning.
Scaling likely requires a new business model.
Turning customers into partners.
Expansion via fundraising, public listing or acquisition by a major player?

Keywords

Business to Business, Disruption, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Sustainability, Electric Vehicle, Pivoting, Electrification, Affordable Energy, Clean Energy, Industry Infrastructure, Industry Innovation, Sustainable City, Sustainable Community, Climate Action

Settings

Europe, Switzerland
Green Motion, Energy, Automotive, Automobiles
2009-2022

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note

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