Edie Lush

Crazy car, crazy company: but maybe it’s the future

Edie Lush encounters Riversimple, a car project with a corporate philosophy that’s as unconventional as its technology and an urge to give away its secrets on the internet

THE SPECTATOR 11 July 2009

Riversimple is either completely revolutionary or totally nuts. At a time when electric cars are the big green fashion, Riversimple’s founders have invented a hydrogen-powered car, and they’re giving away the design for free on the internet to anyone who’s interested. They plan to sell no cars (they’ll lease them instead) and to have a corporate structure in which a variety of ‘stakeholders’ have as much say as shareholders. They freely admit they’re not interested in building a money-spinner — but they’re looking for investors to join them nevertheless.

This was written for The Spectator , which you can Download

Even in recession, We all have to eat

You wouldn’t expect the founder of a start-up that launched itself from an industrial estate in Feltham just days before Britain was officially confirmed to be in recession to be particularly cheery. Yet 27-year-old Graham Bosher of graze.com positively bounds down the steps to meet me. Behind his enthusiasm is Graze.com’s remarkable first five months. With a monthly growth rate of 30 per cent and projected first-year sales of £2 million, Graze seems to be munching its way through the downturn. Bosher’s recipe for starting a successful business in the midst of a severe downturn? ‘Everybody eats’, he says, ‘Even in a recession, you still have to eat.’

This was written for Spectator Business , which you can Download