With simple design tools and a 3D printer, Vetle (18) made a wireless mobile charger for the Tesla model S. The result was so good that he decided to sell it online. Then it completely took off!
Creative student with business acumen
Vetle is 18 years old and in his last year of high school. With his new 3D printer, he designed what he thought was an optimal wireless mobile charger that clicked perfectly into the family's Tesla S.
He quickly realized that many others had the same need, because thousands of Teslas are already rolling on the road without this type of built-in charger.
He thus established the company Greenmission and the online store greenmissionstore.com.
With an online store and a good social media platform, including several videos on YouTube for marketing and instruction, he soon had orders for the first mobile chargers.
At first it was a fun hobby project, but soon sales increased rapidly.
Explosive sales
«It was a relatively large amount of work to make each charger,» says Vetle. «The charger itself was a normal off-the-shelf item with a 1 meter cable, so it had to be shortened so that it fit perfectly in the Tesla, and there was a lot of manual work. The 3D printer worked as fast as possible.»
Greenmission made a good profit on the chargers, but the demand was greater than he could produce. Luxury problems are also problems!
Industrialization with NewTracks
In the summer of 2022, he started looking for manufacturers, and found NewTracks, which is engaged in both design, industrialization and manufacturing of quality products in China. Within a few days he received an offer for serial production of th complete product; Molded plastic components, specially adapted charger with magnets and cable, and high-end packaging in "iPhone style". The offer included CE tests and documentation.
«This offer was a no-brainer,» says Vetle. «We earned the tools already on the first 1,000 chargers. It gave us both increased capacity and better profits!»
One month after ordering, Greenmission received an outcome sample for approval. Some small adjustments had to be made, but as soon as this was approved, production started. A month later, the first shipment was ready. Meanwhile, the order book had increased, and the first 250 chargers were sold out in the first week.
USA is the largest market
Greenmission has had the most success in the US for its charger, and it is sold through several retailers in addition to their own online store, greenmissionstore.com. 90% of the first production batch of chargers was therefore delivered to a logistics center in the USA that handles shipments directly to customers. In this way, Greenmission avoids stocking and handling, and can instead focus on marketing and new products.
Efficient production
NewTracks has an office in Shenzhen with its own staff for project management and quality assurance. With a good network of factories within 1-2 hours of the office, all shipments are quality assured by NewTrack's employees.
Magnetic challenges
Standard Qi chargers have magnets to hold the phone while charging. But these are too weak for a car making sharp turns and good acceleration. Greenmission has therefore developed safety bars for rough driving. But when NewTracks redesigned the charger for series production, they also optimized the magnets for much better attachment. The new chargers therefore are solid positioned under most conditions.
New products
Now that Vetle has landed the first product, he could have sat back and focused on his studies, but he seems far too energetic and creative for that. «Now that we have found a good partner for industrialization and production, I can focus on new ideas! We have several products that we want to realize, and the next one will come already in the new year.»
NewTracks has offices in Oslo and Shenzhen
and works with product development and quality production in China.