Startup Series: BasiGo
Inevitable
Climate Tech - What's the Biggest Challenge We Face?
"We are asked to compete against industries that have been in place for over 100 years. And we can do it, but the key is we have to get there," he says. "The real? The golden fruit is at the end of it."
Today's guests are Jit Bhattacharya, Co-Founder & CEO of BasiGo, and Alex Roetter, Managing Director & General Partner at Moxxie VC.
Jit has been a technology leader in rechargeable (lithium-ion) batteries for more than 12 years. He worked as the CEO of Mission Motors in Silicon Valley and was a senior manager at Project Titan — the secret electric car project by Apple Inc. More recently, he served as the chief technology officer of Fenix International, an off-grid solar home system company acquired by the French multinational electric utility company ENGIE in 2018.
Alex is an engineer, leader, investor, and aviator who loves bringing new products and services to life. Alex was formerly the President of Kitty Hawk (an eVTOL company) and was previously the SVP of Engineering at Twitter. Alex has over a decade of experience investing in and advising early to late-stage private companies, including Coinbase, Mainstreet, Nuro, Sauce Labs, Digits, Caption Health, and Certn. He is the co-chair of the Visible Hands VC Fellowship Advisory Committee and an observer on their Board of Directors. Alex started his career as a software engineer at Google and various other early startups.
BasiGo is an e-mobility startup looking to revolutionize the public transportation sector by providing public transport bus owners with a cost-effective electric alternative to diesel. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, our team is strategically composed of seasoned entrepreneurs who have spent over a decade working and innovating within electric vehicle technology, mobility in Africa, and renewable energy financing. The team is dedicated to creating an inclusive, sustainable mobility revolution in Africa. Moxxie VC invested in the startup in February 2022 during Basigo's seed round.
In this episode, I'm joined by investor and founder who added insights to the climatetech startup process. Jit discusses why EV buses are the future of public transportation, Kenya's reliance on renewable energy sources, and how he founded the company. Alex dives into investing in an international startup, how the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and why Moxxie funded BasiGo. This is a great episode to understand the founder/investor relationship in climatetech.
Enjoy the show!
You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@mcjcollective.com, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.
Episode recorded March 21st, 2022
To learn more about BasiGo, visit: https://www.basi-go.com/
To learn more about this episode, visit: https://mcjcollective.com/my-climate-journey-podcast/basigo
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
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