Pedal Me app, Uber style ride app

Used them this weekend to move a desk and a wardrobe. Was very cool seeing how much they could load up.

Definitely going to start using then for work trips instead of Uber. Just have to remember to book in advance as there aren't enough of them to make it a true on-demand service yet.

Early access to the funding round is open.

I'm in.

How does this sort of thing work, in layman's terms? When do I become a millionaire from a £50 punt?

How can I get in on it? I don’t twitter

I want in too, but also don't Twitter.

They are doing a early interest launch and I think they will go open interst in a week or so.
I registered for early interest after seeing the twitter promo and this is the link I was sent.

https://www.crowdcube.com/companies/pedal-me/pitches/bP9R0q?utm_campaign=d1209be37d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_15_03_51_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Crowd%20Cube&utm_term=0_db8198870e-d1209be37d-90020685

thanks.
+1 to @umop3pisdn question, how does it all work? I really think their company is great, and good business too. has anyone done something like this before?

As I understand it, which may well be flawed... They release X amount of shares or percentage ownership of the company to sell to raise capital.

So they are looking to raise £150,000 and are raising that by selling 9% of their company as shares.

People contribute via crowd cube which will get them a percentage of a share or more depending on the amount. You only pay your money and get your stock if the funding round achieves the target figure.
I went in for £200 and it will only come out of my account when then have hit the £150,000 target.

You have very little chance at all of becoming a millionaire. You will most likely not see your money back. Unless everything goes exceedingly well and they make the decision to sell to one of the big boys who are on a tradable stock exchange, like Uber, for a whopping amount.
In which case your 0.13% ownership of the business (assuming they haven't diluted the share stock) might get your some money back.

That's about the size of it. If you are looking at investing in them (I am as I think it is great) the most important thing is are they likely to be successful or not. If you think not then you have to think of any money you put in as a donation to support a dream of a slightly better world.

Assuming you think it might go somewhere the other thing that is important is the pre - money valuation, ie what they are saying it is worth before they raise the money. This is art more than science but is related to:

• what they are doing at the moment (how much revenue, passengers, etc)
  
• how easy it would be for someone else to copy (another start-up or Uber / Amazon bikes, City Sprint, Addison Lee, etc)
  
• what the potential is - how big could it be if it comes off
  
• what other similar companies have been valued at
  
  

Pre-money valuation dictates how much you get for your investment. They are saying what they have at the moment is worth £1.5m so, if they raise another £150k, that would make them worth £1.65m, meaning the total £150k was 9.1% of the post-money total valuation.

If they are too greedy, it could be successful but you could end up losing money, or not making much for taking the risk. If they are too generous, that's not good either as it weakens their incentive to work hard and makes it harder for them to raise more money next time. But valuation is a secondary concern to whether they will be successful or not.

Don't put any money in that you are going to be needing any time soon. The only guaranteed exit is when they either sell the company or float it on the stock market. That could be many years away or never. There may be a secondary market in the shares in a few months time but there is no guarantee. You might be able to sell at a profit if they do really well but you might not.

I registered for the early access and will put some money into it. Will take a proper look at the info and do a bit of research before deciding whether it will be a donation or an investment.

I've not used them, I never take taxis nowadays (and have never used uber), but have been looking for an opportunity to try them out since I came across them in twitter a couple of months ago.

Used them to get to a meeting today. 25 mins instead of 45+ by Uber and it worked out 20% cheaper.

But, my boss saw me and said I looked like a child being carried about.

Does feel a bit weird, especially waiting at the lights with other cyclists.

I've had a bit of a look at it. Basically it is a cargo bike service. The passenger side of it is small, and they expect it to get smaller in relative terms - ie they see the growth being in cargo.

The main existing competition is City Sprint. They had 25 e-cargo bikes in January, that you can book online:
https://www.citysprint.co.uk/send

City Sprint has spent £££ in developing its tech and has lots of deliveries and accounts that it can gradually switch over to bikes as the economics dictates.

One advantage for PedalMe is that they seem to have higher capacity: their Urban Arrows can take up to 150kg while City Sprint's Bullits can only take 100kg.

It's an interesting one and I'd love it to be successful but I'll put a little bit of money in with heart rather than head!

Intesresting, I'd assumed the cargo side was just to cover time while the passneger side increased.

That's a hefty valuation on what seems to be minimal turnover. That turnover suggests customer levels aren't huge yet which is really their main selling point.

Barriers to entry aren't that high if you're already established in the market (Add Lee buying a load of bikes for instance or Uber adding it as an option).

It may do well if it can become the preferred option quickly enough but I'd be wary about a large investment.

thanks for writing a detailed reply.
you have convinced me not to invest, for what it's worth. I think that's a good thing.

Especially when the other cyclists talk to the pilot and ignore you.

Still fun, though. Much better than going in a car.

you have convinced me not to invest, for what it's worth. I think that's a good thing.

Sorry if I've poured cold water on it! If they get it a bit further off the ground there is every chance that one of the logistics groups could buy it up and give them a good exit - Royal Mail, DHL, UPS, etc.

Instead of looking at "how can this make me money" you could look at it like "that's 14 fewer white vans on my commute trying to left hook me"

I think Biek Cargo is going to get a huge boost from the changes announced by the City of London.

Plus there are plenty of people in zone 1 with deep pockets who will use environmentally free options regardless of cost.

So while it might be a niche, it's probably a big enough niche for several profitable companies to exist.

I think the valuation is very high for what is essentially 11 bikes and an app(they had 12 but 1 got stolen), 75k worth of bikes tops and then £1.4mil of idea.

I think crowdfunding from what will essentially be the customer base to then show a loss or no return is a bad move, you get a bunch of £50-100 punt investments from people who then get a bad taste and stop using the service.

I'd have invested if they would just break even but running at a loss end of summer and going into winter where it will only get worse.

Likewise, I'm not looking for a profit, just to support an idea but equally don't want to just piss into the wind and it die in a year with my £150 or whatever

Spotted all the way out in sw20 today

Yeah food for thought

going into winter where it will only get worse.

Don’t necessarily agree with this though. Passenger jobs might dip but they aren’t the bulk of the work at the moment anyway. I imagine they might get even busier with the logistics side of things.

Yes, pre-Christmas peak should be a very busy time for them.

They've been growing rapidly month on month.
Both cargo and pax slipped back in August but recovered well in September. That's probably understandable given holiday season. Tourists probably just not aware of them.

Cargo is growing a lot faster than passengers. I think the cargo segment is just an easier market to crack as you sell to a few customers and get loads of repeat business. While for passengers you need to keep marketing to consumers all the time which is expensive.

I get the feeling that they started off trying to be a passenger transport business but they have been a bit surprised to find that it was cargo which has taken off.

Instead of looking at "how can this make me money" you could look at it like "that's 14 fewer white vans on my commute trying to left hook me"

Or 14 fewer citysprint bullitt bikes...