AC:Incubate Spotlight: Mike Peasgood and Paul Masojc of ENVGO

When Waterloo-based ENVGO joined the AC:Incubate program in 2023, the startup was already charting a new course in boating by tackling one of the industry’s biggest challenges—electrification. Combining hydrofoil technology with an all-electric propulsion system in its innovative NV1 boat, ENVGO is working to extend the range of electric boats while reducing noise and wake, making them ideal for cottage country and environmentally sensitive waterways.

Experience to guide in uncharted waters

Building physical products wasn’t a new challenge for co-founders Peasgood and Masojc. Before launching ENVGO, Peasgood was the co-founder of drone pioneer Aeryon Labs where he had met Masojc, who was working as an engineering project manager. Masojc also brought years of experience in hardware project management from his time at BlackBerry.

The difference for Masojc was in the aspirational nature of the NV1.

“It’s a beautiful consumer product, where the other things we built have been very functional. So seeing it come to life, and seeing people's emotional reactions to it has been very cool,” Masojc says.

It’s been a busy summer for the startup. They demoed the NV1 at Toronto Tech Week in June and at Muskoka Fashion Week in July to rave reviews. Masojc is hopeful those preview experiences convert interest into action.

“We're looking to get those interested early buyers behind the wheel, so they can have that flight experience. We plan to start our first production build this winter and deliver the following fall,” Masojc says.

Innovation on the water is no day at the beach

Startup founders know that hardware is hard. Even more so when the hardware weighs 4,000 pounds.

“Our history and heritage is building small things, from smartphones to drones. Now all of our R&D and testing is with a boat we have to bring to a body of water on a trailer. The logistics that go with that are much more challenging,” Peasgood says.

The complexity of the NV1’s systems added additional work to the testing processes that Peasgood and Masojc learned at their previous startups.

“In the past, if we needed to do an experiment, we could use the 3D printer, test it out on our desk, and then we'd be done. But here you actually need to disassemble a whole subsystem and reinstall it. It's a different way of iterating and engineering,” Peasgood says.

ENVGO runs with a small team, which Peasgood says inspired each individual to find new ways to stay organized to deliver demos to prospective customers.

“There's only a few lakes that we're initially targeting, and it all has to be within a two- or three-hour drive. We had to figure out how to do that well, how to do it efficiently, and how to make the most of all of our demo experiences,” Peasgood says.

Designing an experience that feels like flying

Electrification is an easy story to tell to most consumers. We’ve grown used to seeing electric and hybrid cars plugged in at homes or at charging stations. But while the NV1 charges the same way, Masojc says hydrofoiling requires more education.

“We’ve got a convenient analogy with the automotive world for electrification. But with hydrofoiling, there’s no direct comparison. When you’re flying over the water, it’s super smooth and super quiet where you can actually have a conversation. The challenge is, how do you convey that experience without putting someone in the boat,” Masojc says.

The boat’s design also needed to match the experience of flying it. Early on, the team hired a superyacht designer to shape the NV1’s interior and exterior. The result is a vessel that looks as striking as it feels, with sleek lines, a cockpit with a sports car vibe, and a focus on making the whole boat stand out as something entirely new.

Navigating choppy waters with help from the Accelerator Centre

Choosing a program like AC:Incubate might seem strange for co-founders with experience bringing products to market. But Masojc says even as a COO, there are always lessons to be learned.

“There’s still this dynamic in a startup where you have to learn new things and you have to wear multiple hats. So I had a ramp up in all things finance and accounting, and more recently on the marketing side. My background is in mechanical engineering, so learning those domains required a ramp up, and I got a lot of great insights from the AC:Incubate,” Masojc says.

Peasgood says he also benefited from the learning and mentorship opportunities as he moved from a CTO to CEO role. He credits AC mentor Trisha Mumby with pushing them out of their comfort zone.

“She has prior history building a consumer product brand where the marketing style you need is a little bit more unshackled and unabashedly self-promoting, which is not the natural way that Canadian founders operate. It was great to get that perspective,” Peasgood says.

Looking ahead to early adopters

For Masojc, Muskoka Fashion Week was a sign of how well the NV1 stands out.

“Just seeing the aesthetics of the boat both dockside and in flight was awesome. There's a lot of ugly boats out there, but we've got this beautiful NV1 that fit’s out in front of the runway at Muskoka Fashion Week,” Masojc says.

Peasgood says the momentum is already visible.

“It’s nice when you go into the Muskoka area people have heard of us even though we've never been there before. Random people will come up to us and say, ‘Your boat's awesome. It's beautiful. I've seen you guys.’ So that's kind of rewarding there, for sure, just to see people have that general awareness. And I think the next thing will just be seeing somebody who's purchased our boat out there on the lake and being an advocate for us,” Peasgood says.

You can learn more about ENVGO and its NV1 at www.envgo.com.