#12 Taco Carlier @VanMoof - How this designer disrupted the bike industry with a bike subscription

 
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Taco Carlier is a co-founder and CEO of VanMoof, an Amsterdam-based company that designs and manufactures awesome commuter bikes.

Taco is an industrial designer who turned his love for bikes, design, and business into a successful company, which is disrupting the bike industry. The company has recently launched the VanMoof+, a subscription service for bikes, disrupting its own business model. 

In the episode we talked:

  • how VanMoof prepared its business for a launch of a subscription service,

  • how the company introduced an innovative Bike Hunter service that helps their customers when their bikes are stolen,

  • and what are the advantages and disadvantages of a closed design system (VanMoof design all bike parts in-house).

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

Show notes:

  • 2:20 How did Taco get the idea for starting VanMoof?

  • 5:05 The current state of the bike industry

  • 10:10 What makes the bike industry hard to disrupt?

  • 12:10 The biggest tipping point in the VanMoof story

  • 15:00 How and why VanMoof introduced VanMoof+ subscription service for bikes?

  • 16:50 How does a subscription service make business sense for VanMoof?

  • 19:40 How did VanMoof come up with the price for their subscription prices?

  • 23:50 How is VanMoof solving the bike theft problem?

  • 31:20 What are the advantages and disadvantages of a closed system?

  • 33:45 The biggest challenges of a subscription service

  • 35:10 How is VanMoof gathering and synthesizing customer feedback?

  • 36:20 What happens to bikes when a subscriber returns them?

  • 39:20 VanMoof 5-year goals

  • 40:20 Where is Taco's love for business and entrepreneurship coming from?