How the auto industry helped this executive start a new career
- - How the auto industry helped this executive start a new career
MORGAN KORNDecember 28, 2025 at 8:25 PM
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How the auto industry helped this executive start a new career
Laura Schwab is not looking backward.
In 2021, after two decades as an executive, she left autos after a controversial stint at Rivian. Schwab, a former president of Aston Martin the Americas, wondered if she'd be welcomed back into the industry.
Then, the idea of starting her own company formed in the most unexpected of places.
Schwab decided to apply all the lessons she learned over the decades to create Addition, a "luxury design house," nearly two years ago. Her first product, Alma, is a round, wireless charger that magnetically sticks to the back of a cellphone. It can be made in any color or design and retails for $85. It's sleek, unconventional and looks like a product you'd find at an Apple store.
She said she got to where she is today because of "people taking a chance on me ... hiring me for jobs I probably wasn't qualified for." Now, she's hoping people will take another chance on her.
Schwab recently sat down with ABC News to discuss the challenges of being an entrepreneur, why tech products can have a "soul" and how being in autos prepared her for this next life chapter.
The interview below has been edited for clarity.
Q: You have such an impressive background in automotive, working as an executive at three luxury carmakers. What made you start Addition?
A: I spent over 22 years in the automotive industry, which I am so thankful for. It gave me my career, it taught me business. I wanted to make a pivot, I wanted to do something on my own. I always felt like I had this entrepreneurial thing inside of me [but] I think I was scared to tap into it. I feel like now is the time.
Q: How did you get the idea for Alma, your wireless charger?
A: I was with some friends at a resort and there was a couple sitting next to me. They asked the server if he could charge their phone. The server said yes and he would charge it at the bar. There was a look of horror on the face of this woman: Don't take my phone away from me.
Our phone is our life. Mine's got every photo of my daughter, my wallet. There are gaps, particularly in the world of technology. I never saw anything that was ... designed to feel cool and evoke an emotion and not just be functional. So the idea of Addition and the business was, is there a way we can make technology feel cool and sexy and fun?
All the things I learned in the automotive industry -- being intentional, about design having purpose -- I absorbed it all. I don't think I realized how much it meant to me.
Addition - PHOTO: Schwab said she can create bespoke designs for specific companies, like The Carlyle hotel in New York City.
Q: OK, so you have this idea, but how do you make it happen?
A: I've been working on this for a year-and-a-half. We started with design, not even thinking it was possible or not. I wanted [the charger] to fit in the palm of your hand. I wanted it to fit nicely in a pocket. I wanted it to feel sleek. I don't want to look at a wire. I am done looking at wires.
We didn't realize that what we designed had a lot of hard technical components. Like the shape alone was hard. There is no round lithium-ion battery. There is a reason everything has a cord. So we looked for the best engineers we could find and they were in Korea. It's taken us about a year-and-a-half to really perfect the design.
Alma is like a piece of jewelry, it's designed so beautifully. My business partner, Robert Louey, is an incredible designer. He has designed some of the most iconic hotels around the world.
Q: Right now consumers can go to the Addition website and place an order for one. Are you looking at brick-and-mortar sales too? Are you collaborating with well-known brands?
A: Right now you can buy it on our website. We're working with some really cool brands and we're already in the hospitality space. We've been working with The Carlyle hotel.
We can put any logo, any image on it, which is super cool. We didn't just want to imprint logos on it. It's a full heat transfer, like a vinyl car wrap.
We wanted to have something that was more lasting and would make a beautiful design.
Addition - PHOTO: Schwab said she started Addition because she "wanted to create objects that add something meaningful and beautiful to people's lives."
Q: How does the Alma work? Can it charge every smartphone out there?
A: It can. The second you put Alma on the back of your phone, the phone starts charging. It gives your phone another 6-8 hours of battery for one hour of charging. Alma is MagSafe compatible.
Q: How did you come up with the name Alma?
A: Alma means soul in Spanish. I live in a town called San Clemente, it's called the Spanish village by the sea. When I worked in cars, particularly at Aston, we talked a lot about whether a car can have a soul. A bunch of us would always argue yes because they make people feel an emotion -- the sound of it, the looks of it. Anything that can make people feel something does have a soul.
Q: Are you facing any tariff or regulatory hurdles since the charger is made in Korea?
Q: We've been manufacturing it in Korea and we're looking to bring our manufacturing to the U.S., which is really exciting. That gives us a much faster turnaround time. Having our manufacturing in the backyard ... we can take the image, work on the design and turn it around in days versus a few weeks.
Q: Do you think you'll ever go back to automotive?
A: Everything that I learned in auto, all of the people I have worked with, have led me to this place. I find myself talking about cars every single day. Some of my greatest friends work in the automotive industry.
Right now it feels like every decision I've made has led me to this point. To create something from scratch -- from the ground up and build it on my own -- is unbelievably hard and unbelievably rewarding. I define what I want [the business] to be, I define the culture, I define the brand.
Q: Are you already starting to brainstorm your next Addition project?
Q: 100%. Addition will have a suite of products and Alma will have a few derivatives. We're starting to brainstorm what the next thing is, but we don't have to rush it. When I worked in cars, everything had to be this timeline -- if you weren't doing it, someone else out there was. I feel that clock ticking sometimes. But it's my timeline. We get it right when we get it right. I've never been afforded that in my life.
As far as the challenges go, you dream of starting your own business and then when you're actually doing it, it's hard. You get to this age and you're grateful for all the experiences, even the hard ones. I wouldn't want to live through them again, but if it weren't for them, there's no way I would be here. I have a 9-year-old and I want to show her that anything is possible.
Source: “AOL Money”
