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This week we are releasing another talk from our recent Micromobility World  - this one with Matthew Yglesias, pioneering political blogger and self-described "ebike dad," on why electric bikes and other small vehicles offer a compelling alternative to the solve the urban mobility dilemma.  Matt has a wealth of knowledge about the interplay of politics, Transport and land use and Julia is an excellent host to ask him about it. This was a really compelling and interesting 50 minutes. We hope you enjoy it!  They dig into: - His journey to be an ‘e-bike dad’ - and a big proponent of electric bikes  - The intersection between transport and built urban form - and the overhang of cars.  - How people are now getting used to taking the vehicles that are appropriate to the trips  - The divide between privately owned and shared systems, and how land use rules interplay with those decisions.  - The regulatory drivers helping and hindering EVs and micromobility  - The subsidy question - needed or not?  - Why he thinks SoCal should be ground zero for a micromobility first city - The importance of making micromobility a positive, accessible brand rather than making it snobby or a ‘poverty option’ - The importance of allowing the built environment to innovate to new mobility options.  - What should micromobility advocates do to help drive change.  - Americans are typically pro-growth, opportunity and innovation. How can those attitudes be harnessed for micromobility, and transcend the left/right divide.  Follow Matthew on Twitter and on LinkedIn. And now, here is Matt and Julia. Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram. 

This week on the podcast, we welcome back Horace for the first time in a while, to discuss the recent Mastodon storm on Apple's fabled car efforts and why they may fail, especially in the face of smaller, more modular vehicle solutions. We’ve linked to it below, but as quick context, the overall arc is that cars have a very long development and use lifespan, and that computers, the thing that Apple is best at, have far shorter timespans, and that there’s a mismatch there around how these two dynamics would interplay.  As we’ve talked about a lot here on the podcast, "the faster it goes, the slower it goes”.  In recent years, the trend towards micromobility has been exploding. Our thesis is that smaller electric vehicles, like electric bikes and scooters, are more adaptable and can be developed and evolved at a much faster pace than larger vehicles like cars. The shorter development timeframes and lifespans of micromobility vehicles means that they can be more quickly adapted to changing market trends and consumer preferences, and can stay ahead of the curve in terms of technological advancements. Specifically they tackle: -The potential of micromobility -The challenges facing Apple's car efforts -The role of smaller, more modular vehicle solutions in shaping the future of the automotive industry. And with that, here’s Horace! Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week Oliver interviews Levi Conlow who is the founder of Lectric Ebikes. This really is one of the most incredible stories of Micromobility in the last few years. Back in 2019 when they were just starting out, they started with an Ebike that they struggled to sell and no-one wanted to buy. Last year they had the most popular model of a bike in America shipping over 150,000 units, all while being profitable.  It’s stories like this that we love from Micromobility – companies that have really just nailed the product market fit by focusing on the bits that people love - cost and convenience. We love this conversation – Levi is an incredibly impressive founder who is hyper focused on the job the customers are trying to do – in this case selling Ebikes to people with RV’s direct to consumers, and really just nailing that experience. We really hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.  Specifically they tackled: - The background to Levi's involvement in the industry including his first venture in electric skateboards  - The formation of Lectric including early funding and their failures  - The explosive growth through the pandemic  - The specific things that Levi focusses on for the customer that have been most valuable  - How they think of value engineering and quality - Their marketing strategy, including how powerful the You Tube influencers are in driving sales - The new bikes they have coming out, including the announcement of their insanely specced and priced new cargo bike, the XPedition.  - Tariffs and macro conditions and how they've navigated them  - What he's excited about in the future - Their D2C strategy and what that has enabled for them Check out the Lectric website right here And with that, here's Levi! Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week we are releasing another episode from the Micromobility world catalogue – this one is a conversation between Gabe Klein, the first person to head the newly formed Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and Julia Thayne, our Micromobility world Cohost.  Gabes' job is to break down barriers to electrifying transportation. We’ve had him on the podcast before for episode 122 for what was one of the top episodes of the year. Before he took his current role, he has held a number of really interesting roles as a Zipcar exec and chief of the Washington DC and Chicago DOTs.  He joins Julia to discuss the role small electric vehicles can play in America’s EV transformation. He’s a self confessed ebike nut and it was awesome to have him join to talk micromobility.  Learn more about Gabe and what he does, via his website here In this episode they tackle: - The new role that Gabe has taken on and what it's scope is - How he thinks about micromobility in the overall scope of electrification of transport in the US and the role that it can play  - The lack of ebike subsidy that was in the IRA, and what other programmes are doing to support their adoption  - The role of government in rolling out electrification of transport And with that, here’s Gabe and Julia. Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week, we are releasing one of the talks that we had at the recent Micromobility World event early this year .  A discussion between Horace, Julia Thayne, one of our co hosts and the famed journalist Kara Swisher, this was a particularly energising section, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Specifically they tackle: - The intersection of tech and transport - The micromobility thesis and is it correct or not? - Which cities are best for micromobility - What Elon got wrong With that, here’s Kara, Julia and Horace! Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week we're releasing another interview from Oliver's tour of micromobility companies in Southern California.  This episode is with LeGrand Crewse, founder of Super73, on the growth of his very distinctive brand. Ever since Oliver first saw the first image of the electrified mini taco bike, he thought that Super73 were on to something - they clearly understood what electrification buys you in terms of bike design, and they had focused on knobbly tyres, aesthetics and the likelihood that riders would end up using the throttle over really peddling to create something that was a substantial departure from anything we’d really seen in popular bike design before - most companies just electrified the existing form factors that they’d been making.  So, it was awesome to sit down with LeGrand and talk about the history and where things are going for the company, including its expansion into motorbikes.  Also, we didn’t really discuss it, but Oliver got to test ride their kids bike afterwards too, and that thing is going to sell like hotcakes. It’s built super tough and has an adult mode meaning that adults can ride it as well - check out Oliver's SoCal tour write up on Twitter for a video of him checking it out.   Specifically they tackle: - The history of Super73 - How the company has grown over time - Funding and how they have thought about it - Why they chose to raise less than their competitors - The new motorbikes and the impact that they will have on servicing and maintenance Take a closer look at Super73 on their website And with that, here’s LeGrand! Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week we're excited to bring you an interview from Oliver's recent tour of Southern California ahead of our Micromobility World online event. Oliver flew up from NZ to be with James, Julia and the team to produce the event but while he was there also took the chance to visit a whole heap of companies working in micromobility, either as vehicle makers or peripherally. He learnt a huge amount - especially from those who have been in the industry for a while.  Benno Baenziger is an OG of the bike space, founding Electra Bikes back in 1993 as a recent immigrant to California from Germany and growing it through the 90s and 2000s till he sold it to a private equity group in 2008. He stuck around but eventually left to start Benno bikes in 2015 with a focus on what electric can bring to the bike industry.  There’s a few things that you should know about Benno. Firstly, the company has less than 10 employees. He has really understood the bike industry and what makes for great bikes so focusses on the very specific points that he has as a designer to make great bikes and leaves the rest to others, a very different strategy to other companies in this space like Vanmoof or Cowboy who have chosen to eschew the old bike industry and try and do it themselves.  Secondly, he’s profitable with no outside funding beyond what capital he put in himself. Like the conversation with Josh Hon from Tern, Oliver learns so much about how the world works with experiences like this. It is an honour to bring you material like this and we hope that we get to do more of the tours - it’s always better to do these interviews in person!  Finally, Micromobility World went great. It was one of our largest events to dates and We had a lot of really excellent content come out of it, the relevant ones of which we will drop as podcasts soon.  And here's Benno! Specifically they tackle: - His background founding Electra Bikes and then moving on  - Why, despite him saying that he’d not do another bike business, Benno Bikes exists  - What is ‘etility’ and what does it offer to the customer  - Why he’s chosen to go a more traditional route for componentry and servicing  - How he has managed to self fund the company to date  - The importance of design and quality in a brand Catch us on Twitter. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our Micromobility Newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And for those who want more, we offer Micromobility Pro membership that includes exclusive content and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team. We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week, Oliver interviews Dong Tran, founder of Ryvid, who make electric motorbikes in California. We’ve not covered heaps of motorbikes on the show so far, but that’s changing and we will have a bunch more next year. There’s a few really interesting things about Ryvid...  Firstly, they’ve got a pretty unique new metal folding technique for frame design which, if you listen to Horace and how he talks about how manufacturing techniques dictate how products evolve, has a lot of potential in offering lower cost, more innovative vehicle designs and companies.  Secondly, they’re about to go into production with only around $1m raised, and  Thirdly, they’ve just been the recipients of a $20m calcompete grant in California, which is one of the largest grants that we’ve ever seen given to a Micromobility company. We really like Dong and his attitude, and it’s a pleasure to be able to bring you this conversation. Specifically they tackle The background to Ryvid The vehicle - The Anthem What they’re building - vehicles, battery systems etc Why they have chosen folded metal frames vs. more traditional frame systems and the impact of that on the bike How they have funded the company - equity, grants What Dong is excited about in the industry going forward  And with that, here’s Dong!! Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday morning here! And for those who want more, we offer our Micromobility membership (mmm — “Triple M”) which includes exclusive content, swag, and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team! We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This week Oliver interviews Robin Eriksson from Cogo app which is the largest shared micromobility aggregator in Europe. Horace and Oliver have long had a theory that the world of micromobility will mature to be more like the public transport or airline industry over time. So it’s no surprise to us to see the rise of Cogo, which allows for discovery to be handled in a single app for all micromobility providers in a city.  We were excited to hear that they’ve recently added payments, and so wanted to have them on to run through their growth and where they think the marketplace for mobility is going.  We really enjoyed this conversation with Robin - he’s super smart and has clearly navigated through the challenges to build a product that we're really excited to use when next in Europe. Specifically they tackle: The origins of Cogo with Robin's background in flight aggregators The rise of shared micromobility services and the use cases for having all mobility options in an app. The maturation of the shared micro business model and why now is the time for aggregation to occur Facilitating payments in the app, and regulatory barriers/opportunities for growth Who Robin sees as competition in this space Learn more about Cogo App on their website. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday morning here! And for those who want more, we offer our Micromobility membership (mmm — “Triple M”) which includes exclusive content, swag, and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team! We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.

As we tick over from 2022 to 2023 we wanted to reshare our most popular episode from 2022.  Our recent Spotify Wrapped and general analytics we get from our podcast platform gave us a few really cool stats about the podcast. We’re in the top 5% of followed and shared podcasts shared globally, with listeners from 61 countries and the majority of you being new listeners who only found us in the last year.  Exciting times!  We're excited to rerelease what was our most listened to episode from 2022.  What is Micromobility and Why does it matter (2022 edition) that Horace and Oliver recorded at Micromobility Europe in June. We do these every so often as a recap of the thesis about why lightweight electric vehicles are interesting - cheap, best suited to the majority of trips that most people take and as vehicles, fast to evolve - and what micro therefore offers to the transport and decarbonisation conversation.  In this episode we discuss what we got right back in 2018 when we started this podcast, what we were hoping to see that is either starting to happen or now common place, and what we got wrong.  Specifically they tackle: Where the insight for micromobility came from The core tenets of what it is Electric, lightweight, utility Why it matters including how the world is urbanising, how we need to radically reduce emissions per vehicle, how most trips are short trips and how small vehicles evolve faster than small vehicles etc. Why it is significant to transport systems in terms of enabling point to point transport in dense urban areas What we got wrong in the last four years Right before we head off to this. we wanted to also suggest that you check out the Rider Choice awards. These are the Oscars of the micromobility world ahead of Micromobility World on the 19th of Jan. We’ve just shifted to the semi-final rounds for many of the categories, and we’re excited to see which brands are considered the most popular whether it’s your favourite scooter, ebike, shared service or more - with tens of thousands of votes already in, be sure to not miss out. Check it out at Micromobility.io. Catch us on Twitter @MicromobilityCo. Horace and Oliver are also active on their personal accounts and would love to hear from you. Our newsletter is completely free, and you can subscribe to have it in your inbox every Tuesday morning here! And for those who want more, we offer our Micromobility membership (mmm — “Triple M”) which includes exclusive content, swag, and conference discounts, as well as live calls with Horace and team! We’re also on LinkedIn and Instagram.