Interview with Massimiliano Colosimo, Head of International Sales
[Interview by Alix Giboulot - read the full article in the Ahooga Magazine.]
Massimiliano Colosimo is the definition of a jack of all trades, certainly a master of some as well. Talkative, always down for a laugh, he has occupied almost every role in Ahooga except assembly and customer service. And I’m not sure about customer service. His contagious passion and enthusiasm make him the kind of person you want to have in a young company.
Recently, Massimilano rode over 4.000 km on his Max, touring Europe to present our new bike to retailers. This written interview will unfortunately not convey his friendly voice and delightful italian accent, which always gives me a feeling of being on vacation.
ALIX: How do I even call you? Mass, Massi, Masio, Max – everyone I talk to has a different nickname for you.
MASSIMILIANO: (laughs) I have many nicknames, different people call me different things. At Toyota everyone called me Massi. Here most call me Mass.
ALIX: You have quite the parcours, starting out as an engineer in Toyota and now sales director at Ahooga, how did you transition from the technical to the commercial side?
MASSIMILIANO: After Toyota I opened a restaurant, then wanted to move to other challenges. The bike industry was booming so I wanted to found my own startup. I actually contacted a lot of our current suppliers like Shimano, Schwalbe, etc. to make my own bike. But bulk delivery times were so long that financing did not make sense. I would have needed investors to seed now for a result in 4 years. So I left that idea and Ahooga contacted me 1 week later to hire me as head of product. I got frustrated with some aspects of our sales process, so I decided to take the matter into my own hands. I was head of sales and marketing for a while, then specialized in sales. That’s where I am now.
ALIX: Let's rewind to bike startup. Did you always have a passion for bikes?
MASSIMILIANO: I'm passionate about business. Developing ideas, growing something. If there had been an ice cream boom, I would’ve been an ice cream man. But it was bikes. I first started cycling regularly in Copenhagen, with a 25km commute. Denmark is the happiest country in the world, and one of the reasons for that is surely its bike culture. I saw the benefits for myself, my fitness, my mood, everything. It was the opposite of my previous life in Toyota. I always hated watching the Giro and Tour de France. I only started watching now that I’m in Ahooga. Now I really like the industry, it’s fascinating. Human contact is still an added value here. The community is very strong, it’s not just about the features of the bikes. People don’t write that many blogs about cars. Bikers have all kinds of communities; bikes just make people happy. I fully embrace Ahooga’s mission, happier cities.
“Human contact is still an added value here. The community is very strong, it’s not just about the features of the bikes. People don’t write that many blogs about cars. Bikers have all kinds of communities; bikes just make people happy. I fully embrace Ahooga’s mission, happier cities.”
ALIX: It’s a good one isn’t it. That bike boom has slowed down now, we’ve had a post-covid market slump. What makes Max rise above that, what explains its success with dealers in your opinion?
MASSIMILIANO: Dealers have different types of reactions the first time they see Max. Usually the ones that immediately like it are already folding bike dealers. Our folding sequence is a nice alternative that also allows to integrate the battery. The comfort, they only experience it after they’ve shown enough curiosity to try it. It’s a great complementary product to their offer. Being a team of mostly ex-Toyota engineers helped us gain credibility with a new bike. I visited almost 400 shops. It was a huge trip. It was great, I was paid to visit Europe. Although once I almost got punched.
ALIX: What?
MASSIMILIANO: No I’m kidding. But one German retailer pretended to not speak English, I persisted in presenting the bike, with basic language and gesticulations and the frustration escalated. Dealers go through a lot and the trip was a test of patience sometimes.
ALIX: Then our analog model came into the scene. How was it received?
MASSIMILIANO: Pre-orders are raining. Both from E-Max dealers and new dealers. We grew quite a lot in sales and publicity this year, our niche was also in the spotlight. Max as a bike already has a fundamental advantage: it takes little storage space, and it’s one-size-fits-all. So dealers are not stuck with a cumbersome, incorrect stock. Now that we have an analog version that upgrades to electric, it’s even more appealing.
ALIX: So what will success look like for us in 2025?
MASSIMILIANO: I hope we keep a good balance between demand and production. Our assembly team is growing, but our orders and pre-orders too. Max is a bike for everyone, whatever you need to do, it will work for you. And it looks amazing. What we’re really competing with, is the traditional full-sized bike: Max has the same comfort with the added flexibility of being compatible with multi-modal commutes, apartments without garages, and theft risks in cities.