This month, we hear from JetCycle president Nicolas Picard, who spoke to us about the origins of the company, why building a good team around you is essential and their plans for the future.
How did you come up with the idea for the business?
JetCycle was the brainchild of a teacher-researcher at the Université Savoie Mont Blanc, who had the crazy idea of making people fly by leg power alone. I joined the adventure after 6 years of research and development to make it a reality.
Why does the industry need the solution you’re providing?
The marine industry is undergoing a twofold revolution, thanks to the democratisation of the foil on the one hand, and the more ecological trend in the sector on the other.
JetCycle is a clear response to these two challenges.
What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
What I like most about launching a new business is the teamwork with engineers, designers, marketing and communications people and others with a single common goal: to be pioneers and disruptors in our field.
What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning of your journey?
There were many challenges, but the most prominent ones were successfully positioning the product and raising the funds needed to launch the business. The marine industry requires heavy investment and there was no room for error!
Any bits of advice for entrepreneurs getting started in this space?
The main advice I always give to entrepreneurs who are just starting out is to build resilience and to surround yourself with the right people.
You can do this by joining high-performance networks like Yachting Ventures!
What’s the plan for the future of the business? Where do you see the company in 3-5 years?
We are currently launching our second product, which is more of an evolution of the first, and should enable us to penetrate the luxury and lifestyle segment of the water sports leisure market.
Our objective over the next 3 years is to become one of the market leaders in Europe in this segment, while developing our export business, particularly in Asia, the Middle East and the US.
