Dakota
Semler
Cofounder and CEO, XOS Trucks
Let Elon Musk focus on bringing electric cars to the masses. Xos Trucks cofounder and CEO Dakota Semler is betting that battery-powered delivery vans and commercial trucks can help curb climate change.
“We actually think fleets are going to adopt electric vehicles faster than consumers,” Semler said at this year’s Forbes Under 30 Summit in Detroit on October 3.
The Los Angeles-based start-up sells electric trucks to FedEx, UPS and Loomis to help big logistic companies transition their commercial fleets from diesel to zero-emission electric delivery vehicles. Semler says fleet electrification enables business vehicles to not just operate cleaner but also save the company dollars—upwards of 30-40% of their annual operating costs.
“That’s one of the biggest accelerators for our customers,” Semler said onstage at the 2022 Under 30 Summit. “They’re excited about the economic advantage that electric commercial vehicles can provide.”
“
We actually think fleets are going to adopt electric vehicles faster than consumers.”
In 2018, the bootstrapped startup began road-testing its ET-One electric semi-truck and a Class-6 delivery vehicle prototype that would haul loads for UPS. Xos went public via a $2 billion SPAC deal in 2021.
Xos electric powertrain technology can be tailored to its clients’ vehicle requirements and features a localized battery pack cooling and independent battery system, which allows for more modularity and reliability. “We’re already starting to see the creation of some really advanced cell chemistries that will enable double or potentially triple the range and the energy density we see in today’s batteries,” Semler said. “Range anxiety is really a term of the past.”
To calm the fear, Semler is embracing all charging technologies—from conventional plug-ins and low-power charging to high-power DC fast charging and induction roads—testing them in the field and letting customers start using them as the way to “kick off this industry.”
Says Semler: “Then we’ll figure out which ones are the best and those will really rise to the top.”
Founder and CEO, The Newsette;
Cofounder and co-CEO, Wondermind
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I didn’t see anybody who looked like me when I started my company. That’s why I’m so passionate about investing in women of color.”
Daniella
Pierson
Daniella Pierson started female-empowered newsletter The Newsette in 2015 when she was 19 as a sophomore at Boston University. Now, at 27, she’s one of the youngest and wealthiest self-made women of color in the U.S.
“I didn’t see anybody who looked like me when I started my company,” Pierson said at this year’s Forbes Under 30 Summit in Detroit on October 3. “That’s why I’m so passionate about investing in women of color.”
Thanks to her vast majority ownership stake in The Newsette, Forbes estimates the Latina founder is worth $220 million. To become the media powerhouse, Pierson crowdsourced ideas and partnerships from the newsletter’s own community, building referral programs, reader surveys and advertisements.
Pierson grew The Newsette without venture capital funding. With a $15,000 loan from her parents (she’s since repaid), Pierson harnessed the power of digital media, doubling down on affiliate marketing and advertisements on her newsletter, and partnering with brands like Fidelity, Bumble and Walmart. Though it remains a free newsletter, Pierson boosts readership via a points system that lets subscribers who refer new users earn perks: exclusive Sunday newsletter, mug or free coffee for a year.
In seven years of operation, The Newsette has attracted 500,000 subscribers, 40 employees and $40 million in annual revenue. To reach more audiences, Pierson created creative agency Newland, which helps clients with influencer marketing, website design and build TikTok channels, in 2020.
Pierson, who is open about her battles with OCD, depression and ADHD, is now expanding into the mental health industry. “I used to think if I become successful, I’ll be the only person with a mental illness that’s successful,” Pierson said. “And that’s just not true. People just don’t talk about it. It’s not visible.”
Her latest venture, Wondermind, aims to make mental health visible and destigmatized by delivering articles, advice and tools for mental wellness. Pierson cofounded the less-than-year-old mental health startup with singer and actress Selena Gomez and Mandy Teefey, CEO of Kicked to the Curb Productions and Gomez’s mother.
Its investors already include Serena Williams’ venture capital firm Serena Ventures. Valued at $100 million, Wondermind capitalizes on the wellness trend, focusing on “mental fitness”—the idea that mental wellness, like physical fitness, requires regular exercise.
30 Under 30 Class of 2020,
Manufacturing
30 Under 30 Class of 2020, Media