Big Ideas. Bold Ventures: LAND sparks Cleveland's EV Revolution

Posted by: Laura DeMarco on Thursday, May 30, 2024

Scott Colosimo could have launched LAND anywhere.

He chose Cleveland.

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After several years of living and working in Asia, the founder of Cleveland CycleWerks decided to launch his latest venture in his hometown in 2020: an electric motorcycle company with a focus on battery technology. The sustainability-focused EV company has become a national leader with its design- centric two wheelers powered by swappable batteries.

“Choosing Cleveland, and specifically Gordon Square, is a homecoming for me,” said Colosimo, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate.

“Cleveland CycleWerks was started during the time of the traditional wisdom of just ship it all to China. That was 2009. I graduated into the biggest recession the U.S. has ever seen. Imagine trying to launch your first startup into that space. So I went to China, started the first manufacturing business, and then most of our sales were focused on Korea, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

“We had an assembly operation in Indonesia, and we started manufacturing in India. I was traveling all over the world. What was great about that is I got to scale my first startup. What was not great about that is that we didn't develop a home base.”

From the other side of the world, Colosimo decided his hometown had what he needed to grow. 

“While we developed the company overseas, we didn't really develop a following or an expertise in the U.S. Fast forward, I have a couple kids, I get married, I bought a building and I was looking to plant some roots. 

“Cleveland has all the things you need to scale a startup outside of venture capital. We’ve got a lot of know-how in the manufacturing space. We’ve got a ton of tech hires, everything from software developers to hardware firmware. Cleveland has the raw ingredients you need to scale this kind of startup.”

The up-and-coming Gordon Square area had everything Colosimo wanted: large, industrial spaces, an appealing location and allure to attract young talent.

“There were a ton of these old industrial buildings that were that were for sale. … It's close to the lake. There are a lot of reasons we ended up moving here. We also realized if we want to hire top talent, we needed to be more urban, more central. This neighborhood, this area … being in Cleveland proper was important.

The switch from gas-powered to EV was driven by both market trends – and COVID.

Cleveland CycleWerks planned to launch a line of battery-operated bikes in March 2020. The pandemic brought that venture to a standstill, but the extra R&D time led Colosimo to what would become LAND. In 2020, he sold CycleWerks and launched his new business. 

“If you see the regulation affecting your small business more and more, and it becomes harder to compete, then a pivot is obvious. Regulations around exhaust emissions have become very expensive. We saw opportunity in the electric space.” 

With an emphasis on electric mobility and in-house production, LAND quickly sped to the front of the class. In just three years, LAND has raised more than $7 million in funding, allowing it to scale and meet demand. Their signature District eMoto, a tech-enabled two-wheeler that melds the concepts of eBikes, eMopeds and eMotorcycles, can be used on- and off-road and can travel up to 72 miles per hour, with a 120-mile range. Ninety percent of its parts are made in Cleveland. LAND is producing 30 units a month now, with the goal of scaling up to 100 within a year. 

The company is also planning an expansion to Europe, where they already have a significant customer base. The Cleveland-based EV company is riding a bold course into the future. 

“We’re already here and we're already more competitive on the small, lightweight side, imagine where we'll be in five years,” says Colosimo. “We’ll start being able to go upmarket to long range commuters, adventure bikes. The upward trend for electrification is very clear.”