{"id":176713,"date":"2025-06-23T15:30:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/?post_type=news&#038;p=176713"},"modified":"2025-06-23T15:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:30:44","slug":"virvolt-entrepreneur-prize-2025","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/virvolt-entrepreneur-prize-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Virvolt: shaking up the electric bike market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Entrepreneurship, ecological transition, and industrial innovation \u2014 Yvan DE LA BAUME, I\u00c9SEG alumnus and winner of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/ieseg-entrepreneur-award-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2025 I\u00c9SEG Entrepreneur Award<\/a>, shares his journey with Virvolt, the company he joined as a partner in 2020. By converting traditional bikes into electric ones, Virvolt aims to make sustainable mobility more local, more affordable, and more accessible.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">Can you tell us about Virvolt and its main mission?<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-176884\" width=\"329\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2.png 794w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2-150x59.png 150w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Logo-Virvolt-bleu-sans-fond-3-2-400x157.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Virvolt was founded in 2019. I joined the adventure a bit later, in 2020. Initially, the idea was to open physical shops where people could convert their regular bikes into electric ones. But over time, the project evolved. We shifted from a retail-focused model to an industrial one. <strong>Today, we design and manufacture our own electric bike motors and operate in two main areas<\/strong>: electrification kits for existing bikes, and support for e-bike manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">What made you want to join the project?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d wanted to start a business for a while. Before Virvolt, I worked in a completely different sector \u2014 foodtech \u2014 in two corporate roles. I was looking for an entrepreneurial project that had a real purpose, and <strong>I\u2019ve always been interested in mobility<\/strong> <strong>issues<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I met Romain, the founder, kin of by chance, and we immediately clicked. That\u2019s how I joined the venture. R\u00e9mi came on board a little later. Each of us has his own focus: Romain oversees finance, R\u00e9mi handles operations and product development, and I manage sales and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">What\u2019s Virvolt\u2019s vision?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We observed that the electric bike industry is heading in the wrong direction<\/strong>: ultra-connected products, often imported from far away, and nearly impossible to repair \u2014 which goes against everything a bike should be: simple, accessible, and fixable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Our ambition is to become a motor manufacturer that breaks from that model<\/strong>. We design motors that are easy to repair, affordable, and built with interchangeable parts. Most importantly, we manufacture them in France \u2014 at Flins, in a former Renault factory. All our products are designed to be durable and repairable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We provide manuals, spare parts catalogs, and we\u2019re currently applying for the Longtime label, which certifies product repairability. Through our kits, we\u2019re also giving a second life to bikes that might otherwise be scrapped \u2014 it\u2019s a true circular approach.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-176873\" width=\"317\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/14_Virvolt-entrepreneur-ieseg-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 317px) 100vw, 317px\" \/><figcaption>Right side: Yvan DE LA BAUME and his associates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">How does it work, in practice?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We design all our products in-house. Then we source parts, as much as possible from France and Europe. When we can\u2019t produce locally, we source from Asia \u2014 but we\u2019re gradually working toward full relocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Assembly is done in France: our mid-drive motors are assembled in Flins, and our hub motors in Lyon. From there, the products are shipped either to bike manufacturers or to our own offices, where we prepare the kits for our retail partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We sell exclusively through professionals. However, individuals can buy a kit via our website \u2014 they\u2019ll just need to choose a certified retail partner for the installation. This ensures quality assembly. Our kits are available in about a dozen stores in Paris and around Lille, and we also work with French brands like Jean Fourche (based in Bordeaux) and Shwette Bicyclette (based in Toulouse).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">You won the I\u00c9SEG Entrepreneur Award this year. How will that help you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The award came with \u20ac8,000 in funding, which we\u2019re using to completely rebuild our website. Right now, the site only highlights our original B2C offering \u2014 the electrification kits \u2014 but we\u2019ve also developed a B2B line to support manufacturers in launching their own electric bike ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">What have been the biggest challenges at Virvolt?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our biggest challenge was finding the right positioning. Virvolt went through several pivots. We started out 100% B2C with our own shop, then opened five more. After that, we built a partner network \u2014 today, we have over 400 partners across France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually, we started designing and distributing our own motors. It required a lot of agility and adaptability, but we\u2019ve now found where we bring the most value \u2014 and that\u2019s where we\u2019re focusing our growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-ieseg-orange-color has-text-color\">How did your studies at I\u00c9SEG help you as an entrepreneur?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u00c9SEG is a generalist business school, so it gave me solid foundations in marketing, sales, management, and finance. As an entrepreneur, you have to juggle every aspect of a business \u2014 having that well-rounded background was a real asset.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Entrepreneurship, ecological transition, and industrial innovation \u2014 Yvan DE LA BAUME, I\u00c9SEG alumnus and winner of the 2025 I\u00c9SEG Entrepreneur Award, shares his journey with Virvolt, the company he joined [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":176869,"menu_order":0,"template":"","news-category":[180,163],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Virvolt: shaking up the electric bike market - I\u00c9SEG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By converting traditional bikes into electric ones, Virvolt aims to make sustainable mobility more local, affordable, and accessible.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ieseg.fr\/en\/news\/virvolt-entrepreneur-prize-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virvolt: shaking up the electric bike market - 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