3 Things You Might Not Know About Rivian Founder RJ Scaringe

$Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US)$ completed its highly anticipated IPO this week and is now a publicly-traded company. Rivian was founded in 2009 by RJ Scaringe, who continues to lead the company as its CEO.

1. He Always Wanted To Start Car Company: If you ask any of Scaringe’s close friends, family or former classmates, they will make it clear Scaringe had always wanted to create a car company. Scaringe loved cars at an early age and sought to leave the world in a better place, which led to creating an electric vehicle company.

Scaringe credits $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ with leading the way on public perception of EVs no longer being "boring and slow or glorified golf carts."

2. Graduated From MIT: Scaringe graduated with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The doctorate came after graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Also known as RPI, the school was attended by several NHL players and former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia.

Having a connection of attending MIT in common with Bill Ford Jr., the executive chairman of $Ford Motor (F.US)$ , probably led to an investment from the automotive company in a heated battle pitting Ford and $General Motors (GM.US)$

3. Free Lake House For Employees: Rivian moved many of its operations and employees to Michigan to be closer to automotive suppliers. In the move, many of the early Rivian employees made the trek from Florida to Michigan. Scaringe rented a Michigan lake house in the early days. The Rivian founder allowed the employees to stay at the lake house free of charge to work on the company’s vision.