My idea for a entrepreneurial idea is to establish a technologically enhanced bicycle brand. Anyone that has bought a bike for serious use as either recreational, competitive sports, or commuting, has bought a host of gadgets to outfit their bike with. Head lights that don't stay where you put them. Tail lights that don't adjust properly so as to be seen from behind. Speed and distance calculator. Heart rate monitor. Why do I have to buy a bike and then get all these other items that go with it? It'd be like buying a car and then having to finish the build.
Why not design a bike with these technological enhancements already custom and/or factory built? Speedometer, odometer, halogen headlamps, tail lights. Built as part of the bike, to the customer's satisfaction. Why not integrate GPS? Why not make it user friendly and information savvy?
To launch the brand, I'll need to utilize the social media hubs: YouTube (so people can see how awesome it is), Twitter, Facebook (so people can talk about it), and LinkedIn so I can get my hands on talented worker bees. They're all viable sources to make my idea flourish. It's all in how I utilize it and make it work for my product.
So for this type of bicycle, would you be looking to have everyone custom order bikes and from the production area, the bike would be assembled with the requested components or would you see the bike as more modular so that at a local shop level, the bike could be outfitted with the desired components? I have been cycling for years and recently just upgraded to a garmin gps for the bike, it sticks out like a sore thumb against the sleek bike, so having something that is more integrated is definitely desirable.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea, Brian. I like the thought of having a bike that has cool tech stuff standard. Do you think you'll try to partner with an established brand, such as Mongoose, to piggyback off of their established brand name?
ReplyDeleteThis is a neat idea. I actually just bought a bike this summer and didn't wind up getting too many additional features because they seemed to expensive and unnecessary. But to order the bike with all those features already included, I think that will make people more willing to spend a little extra, instead of having them seem like add-on's.
ReplyDeleteI like jtlee03's idea as well, of pairing up with an established brand. You can use their advertising and established brand name to get out there, and perhaps ultimately match up with more brands.
As a competitive cyclist, I am very aware of what is going on in the cycling world. This is a good idea, however it will run into a ton of problems. For one, most of the technology is already out there, but not integrated into a bicycle itself. Garmin has cycling computers that provide GPS that will link to a site mapmyride.com where you can share your rides with all your friends over any social media site. You might run into a bunch of patent problems.
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