This week Oliver brings you an exclusive interview with Salvatore Palella, CEO of Helbiz, which is about to list on the NASDAQ as the first shared micromobility player to go public globally. It’s a fascinating conversation about the current state of the market, how valuations are reached in the SPAC space, and what possibilities are enabled for micromobility by the public markets.
Specifically, they dig into:
- Salvatore’s background, including as one of the youngest professional football club owners in Europe.
- The origin story through to the current state of Helbiz, including where they started, how they operate and how many vehicles they have.
- They talk through the SPAC fundraising journey, and how Salvatore raised early capital for the company.
- They talk through the post-public market plans for the company including thoughts on mergers and acquisitions strategy.
- How they have viewed hardware.
- A discussion of their early forays into cryptocurrencies, and what Salvatore thinks the future will look like for advertising-driven micromobility.
- A discussion about the operational and behavioural differences between US & EU markets