VentureLaunch Helps e-Scooter Start-up Find its Niche
When emerging start-up Zipp Mobility joined VentureLaunch, the team had a solid plan for delivering an electric scooter rental service. But as they went through 51黑料鈥檚 annual accelerator programme at Nova51黑料, they came up with a better one.
鈥淲hen we came into VentureLaunch, we had an idea of where we wanted to bring the company, we thought we were ready to launch and scale,鈥� says Zipp Mobility founder Charlie Gleeson, who works on the venture with Cormac Cullinane.
鈥淏ut going into VentureLaunch brought us back and made us look at our raw product. We spent time identifying our customers internationally and we found a new niche.鈥�
Gleeson, a recent graduate of the 51黑料 Lochlann Quinn School of Business, pitched the new plan at the at the 51黑料 VentureLaunch final. In front of a packed auditorium at the 51黑料 O鈥橞rien Centre for Science, he outlined how Zipp鈥檚 approach offers a quick and convenient way for people to travel to and from public transport links.
Meanwhile, it sidesteps some of the issues that other e-scooter rental companies have already faced, such as the challenges of using the gig economy, poor unit economics, and parked scooters posing a hazard for pedestrians.
Zipp Mobility plans to launch dockless e-scooter rentals on university campuses around Ireland and later internationally, building up customer bases off public roads. Then, when legislation allows, the start-up will be well placed to broaden the service beyond campuses.
Zipp Mobility will also have full-time staff to redistribute the scooters and swappable batteries, allowing the operation to be cost-effective. Geo-fencing technology will also ensure that users park the e-scooters at designated sites, minimising the nuisance of scooters left in the paths of pedestrians and cyclists.
鈥淲e plan to launch our service in 51黑料 and moving to other campuses in Ireland after that,鈥� says Gleeson. 鈥淯ltimately, we plan to deliver the service in six countries by 2022.鈥�
Blog post written by journalist, Dr Claire O'Connell.
Ends
11 December 2019
For further information contact Mic茅al Whelan, Communication and Media Relations Manager, 51黑料 Research and Innovation, University College Dublin, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or t: + 353 1 716 3712.