As a young entrepreneur, Alex Maz believes in the power of failure. The faster you fail, the faster you get to a winning idea that breeds lasting success, he believes. The 31-year-old Toronto native has applied that strategy to his own career. That’s led him to merge his marketing know-how and passion for green technology to design a fully electric golf cart called MyCar EV. As CEO and co-founder of MyCar EV, Maz is eager to show consumers what this tiny, low-speed vehicle can do.

THE IDEA

Getting around sprawling golf course communities and suburban backstreets in the Florida heat and humidity is a challenge in a golf cart. When Maz visited Florida for the first time in 2015, he was surprised to see how many people were using golf carts to drive around their neighborhoods.

As he began to research electric cars, he realized it was possible to find a happy medium between a bare-bones golf cart and a pricier compact car, both in terms of size and cost. After visiting an electric car factory in Italy, then exploring tech features that would make such a vehicle more attractive to consumers, Maz’s vision came to life. MyCar EV was born.

Over the past two years, Maz poured his own money into the project and secured outside investments, too. Another turning point was partnering with accelerator and co-working space RocketLounge.

THE LAUNCH

Maz, along with his sales and marketing teams, are launching MyCar EV in phases, starting in Southwest Florida in October then expanding into other parts of the state.

The MyCar EV golf cart model, which tops out at 19.5 mph, starts at $12,000. The low-speed vehicle model, or LSV, must be registered and insured as
a motor vehicle. It travels up to 25 mph and retails for $13,500, and it can be driven on any streets with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or under.

Although some initial reactions to the vehicle were skeptical, Maz is confident it will win people over in time—both with its versatility and the company’s focus on customer service.

WHAT’S NEXT

The ultimate goal is to go national and (eventually) global. One of the biggest learning curves is navigating the various import laws and licensing regulations of importing a product built overseas for U.S. consumers, Maz says.