Ottobre 1, 2024
Simon Mottram, the founder of Rapha, is a name synonymous with innovation in the cycling industry. In a recent interview that you can listen to here, Mottram shared his journey from accountant to cycling brand mogul, offering insights into entrepreneurship, brand building, and the passion that drives success.
Simon Mottram’s story begins in Yorkshire, a detail he proudly mentions despite his accent not betraying his northern roots. “I probably don’t sound like I’m from Yorkshire, but I still say Bath and Path, which for those in the UK will understand that makes me northern,” he quips.
Growing up, Mottram was exposed to entrepreneurship through his father, who worked for an entrepreneur. This early exposure, though not fully appreciated at the time, would later prove influential in his career path.
Despite his creative inclinations, Mottram’s journey took an unexpected turn when he became an accountant. “I was quite driven. I definitely aspired to do something. I didn’t know what it was,” he explains. This decision, partly influenced by his father (who ironically had discouraged Mottram from pursuing art), provided him with a solid business foundation that would later prove invaluable.
Mottram’s career began far from the world of cycling. After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Pricewaterhouse, he made an unusual pivot into design and marketing. “When I was at Pricewaterhouse, I used to subscribe to Design Week and Blueprint Magazines,” Mottram recalls, hinting at his future trajectory.
This unconventional background would prove crucial in Rapha’s success. Mottram’s experience in finance, combined with his passion for design and branding, created a unique perspective that would later revolutionize the cycling industry.
Mottram’s career took him through various fields that would later contribute to Rapha’s success. At Interbrand, he was part of a revolution in brand valuation, a concept that was just emerging in the early ’90s. “We were ahead of the curve,” Mottram notes, describing the challenges of quantifying the value of intangible assets like brands.
Later, his work in e-commerce consulting at Sapient exposed him to the emerging world of online retail. This experience would prove crucial in Rapha’s direct-to-consumer approach. “You could see that it was only going to get better and the more we looked at speeds and what they would do to the experience, the more you realize, well, before too long, this is how commerce is going to be done,” he reflects.
The idea for Rapha didn’t come as a sudden epiphany but rather as a culmination of Mottram’s experiences and observations. In the summer of 2002, he wrote what he describes as a “sprawling business plan” that would become the foundation for Rapha.
Mottram identified a significant gap in the cycling market. Despite the sport’s rich history and culture, there was a lack of brands that truly celebrated and elevated cycling. “The more I looked into that world, the more I just thought, well, this is, this is the sport that I love, but I can see why I love it now. This is like the sport of heroes,” Mottram explains.
He saw an opportunity to create a brand that would not just sell cycling apparel, but would tell the stories of cycling, celebrate its culture, and bring its rich history to a wider audience. This vision was informed by several key insights:
Mottram explains, “D2C, Passion for Cycling, Premium Luxury and Experiences all came out of the stuff I was working in, observing, reading about. Things that people were talking about in business and in marketing and pulling all that together basically.”
With the vision in place, Mottram set out to make Rapha a reality. He spent 18 months trying to raise funding, eventually securing £140,000 – far short of his £400,000 target, but enough to get started.
In January 2004, Rapha began with Mottram and two others working from a small room above a shop in Camden Town, London. They had an ambitious goal: to launch the brand by July 4th, coinciding with the start of the Tour de France.
The launch was not without its challenges. Just weeks before the planned debut, Mottram faced a crisis when his UK manufacturer backed out of producing the brand’s signature jersey. Undeterred, Mottram pivoted, focusing on other products like caps, t-shirts, and musettes. He even traveled to Paris to buy vintage cycling memorabilia to sell.
This ability to adapt and persevere in the face of setbacks would become a hallmark of Rapha’s journey, setting the stage for the brand’s future success and its role in redefining cycling culture.
Mottram’s vision for Rapha went beyond just selling cycling apparel. He aimed to celebrate and elevate the sport of cycling itself. “The whole point of how we have always done things at Rapha is that it’s about cycling, not about Rapha,” he emphasizes.
This approach led to initiatives that some critics saw as appropriating cycling’s history. Mottram defends this strategy: “What we weren’t doing was doing it for ill-gotten gains. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating the history or going into a world and telling stories about it and turning it into something incredibly impactful, if that gives huge value to other people.”
Throughout the interview, Mottram emphasizes the importance of passion and hard work in entrepreneurship. “You have to do it,” he stresses. “If you’ve written a nice business plan, that’s great. But that’s, you know, you’re with 99 percent of people who fail. You’ve got to get it launched. You’ve got to keep it going for two or three years. You’ve got to make profit.”
As Rapha continues to evolve, Mottram remains excited about the future of cycling and brand innovation. He challenges the notion that everything has been done in the cycling industry, suggesting that the next big innovation is likely brewing in some niche part of the market.
Mottram’s journey with Rapha serves as an inspiration to entrepreneurs and cycling enthusiasts alike. It’s a testament to the power of combining passion with business acumen, and the impact one can have by reimagining an entire industry.
For those looking to follow in Mottram’s footsteps, his advice is clear: focus on your passion, be willing to work tirelessly, and don’t be afraid to challenge industry norms. As he puts it, “There is no getting around effort… It’s all about the riding up, not the coming down.”
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