Paul Merz is a Swiss entrepreneur who has been active in the technology sector for over 10 years. In 2009, he founded MAJ Digital, a digital design agency, after self-taught training in the digital professions. In 2015 he founded Collecticity with two partners, a participatory financing platform for French local authorities. A motorcycle enthusiast, he became interested in the Motosacoche brand while visiting a museum. He discovers an incredible story and decides to write a historical book with a journalist, which will sell over 1,000 copies. He fell in love with the brand and decided to devote himself entirely to reviving the brand with a 100% electric range.
“I fell in love with Motosacoche in 2014 during a visit to a museum in Auvergne. At the time, I didn’t know the incredible history of this brand. I set myself the challenge of bringing it back to life…”
At the beginning of the last century, Henri and Armand Dufaux, the first two Swiss “start-up” entrepreneurs, as Paul calls them, invented a saddlebag-shaped motor that could be installed in the frame of any bicycle. The Motosacoche was born, and the invention quickly became an industrial success. Since then, they have continued to innovate, setting world records and winning the Bol d’Or and all the most prestigious competitions. Motosacoche has put Swiss industry on the map worldwide.
In 2021, the Motosacoche brand is reborn and reissues the revolutionary Type-A. While the design pays homage to the 1901 model, the materials and technologies developed for this reissue are totally in tune with the times and the challenges facing the company: repairable batteries with the longest autonomy on the market, equipped with a failure prediction system and an anti-obsolescence program, European sourcing pushed to the limit and a service that makes life easier for customers.
In addition to the headwinds it has faced and continues to face – economic uncertainty, geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions to name but a few – we discuss the difficulties of pioneering innovation and change in an industry when you’re just a small start-up with infinitely fewer resources than the big players; but also the opportunities such a position can offer. Paul gives us his vision of sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in general, as this is not his first venture: a very realistic and pragmatic vision, imbued with strong values and convictions.
“Motosacoche was once the canton’s largest employer. We want this company to have an impact on the local economy, creating jobs in Switzerland and relocating an industry that has grown massively in Asia. ”
Paul Merz
“Sustainability for me is above all about consuming as little as possible, so obsolescence is the absolute enemy. “
Extracts…
Because of their design and the values we uphold, our products are expensive to produce and therefore expensive to market. Ideally, once we’ve found a community of people who subscribe to this philosophy and these products, we’ll be able to produce a little more, industrialize the processes and make these products as accessible as possible.
“You have to take the world as it is and not as you’d like it to be in order to get it from point A to point B. You have to be very realistic in your approach to business, which is the best way to avoid frustration and bring about real change and lasting solutions. ”
