Ridepanda dropped direct-to-consumer e-bikes to supply employers like Amazon and Google

A platform that gives employees e-bikes and e-scooters through their employer, with a portal, service hubs and a performance dashboard

Employers will pay for a full-service e-bike and scooter benefit, as they do for gym memberships, giving Ridepanda recurring revenue and data

$7.5 million in debt and equity, led by Blackhorn Ventures and Yamaha Motor Ventures

Ridepanda launched in 2020 as a D2C micromobility marketplace for high-quality e-scooters and e-bikes, founded by alumni of Lime, Bird and Scoot who expected a shift from shared to owned small electric vehicles.

Within a couple of years of managing supply chains, maintenance and customer service nationwide, the founders found D2C hard: during COVID there was no supply and margins were tight, and warranty problems fell on Ridepanda, as middleman, even when a bike was far away. The Amazon partnership was the first attempt at the pivot, after which Ridepanda rebranded around enterprise service, kept only brands with off-the-shelf repairable parts, and opened hubs in Seattle, San Francisco and New York.

As a middleman Ridepanda could not earn sustainable margins amid pandemic supply shortages

It was responsible for service of bikes made by other brands, wherever customers were

Subscription and leasing to employers gave the venture-backed company recurring revenue

The founders say the D2C problems were margin and service, and aimed to avoid VanMoof's fate by selling only vehicles built from repairable off-the-shelf parts.

As of November 2023 Ridepanda served 10 employers, had hubs in three cities and the new $7.5M to expand, targeting 100,000 riders by 2026.