The Power of a Human-Centric Product: Competing for the Early Users
My observation on two ‘dockless’ bike sharing startups in South San Francisco.
I recently moved to the Bay Area to start a new chapter of my life. Living at the epicenter of innovation, I consume tech products ads every day in my commute. Though I may necessarily not know what each of them means, I have become familiar with the buzzwords. For instance, “use X to improve your Y,” and sprinkle words such as “API”, “A.I.”, “Machine Learning” or “Deep Tech” for extra spice.
As an amateur street photographer and a budding writer, I love observing and thinking about my surroundings. On one fine day, two different batches of bikes appeared before me at South SF Caltrain. The first batch has a subdued orange color, and the second batch is bright lime and yellow. I thought that this is really interesting. A product that serves as its own ad. A special kind that jumps at you, and piques your curiosity.
The orange bikes are a product of a bike-sharing startup called Spin, and the limes bikes are from a similar company, called Limebike.
The dockless bike sharing concept is relatively new in the US (though they are already very popular in China). These bikes are special because they have their own ‘wheel lock’ that can only be activated using the companies’ respective mobile app. So, you can technically grab and leave the bike anywhere in a given location. It’s cashless, efficient, and effective. It is very different than what I saw before in major US cities — a bike-sharing concept with corporate branded bikes docked at stations and enabled with a POS validation system.
A bit of context:
South San Francisco is a unique neighborhood that connects SF with the suburban areas in the San Jose and Peninsula. It has access to both Caltrain and BART, the two local public transportation systems. However, these two stations are about 10–30 minute walks for the residential area (depending on where you live). Thus, bike sharing startups fit perfectly as a complementary commute option for the area.
Limebike: founded in San Mateo, CA (2017), funding: 12 M Series A (a16z lead), founders are UC Berkeley alum.
Spin: founded in San Francisco, CA (late 2016), funding: 8 M Series A (Grishin Robotics lead), one of the founders is ex-Lyft, and the other two are Stanford/Cornell alums.
Startups data from: TechCrunch [Limebike, Spin], Crunchbase [Limebike, Spin].
And… here are some of the points that I have learned from Limebike and Spin:
1. Psychology of Color Matters.
I naturally gravitated towards the lime-colored bike. Perhaps humans are more attracted to bright-colored objects. While the Spin bike’s orange hue is eye-catching enough, Limebike’s brighter hue is way more appealing. Furthermore, take a close look at Limebike’s wheel rims. These areas have a bright green color to capture the commuters’ attention.
Did you know that ‘Yellow’ is psychologically the happiest color in the color spectrum?
Let me give you an analogy. It’s like that friend of yours who is new to Instagram and overuses a filter. Obviously, you would be more critical of his or her picture. The same thing happens with Limebike, its striking color made me pay a more careful attention to the bike and eventually led me to set Limebike as an anchor point to its rival, Spin’s orange bike.
2. “God is in the details.” — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
After comparing the two products, I saw no major differences in terms of its functionality. Both bikes are really similar from the get-go. In fact, both companies might as well order their bikes from the same factory, somewhere in China? The only noticeable differences are in the details, and these make all the differences.
A comparison of the products.
As mentioned, both products are of similar nature. Both have a sizable basket with solar panels on the basket (to power the GPS and its mobile locking technology) and the same promotional information printed on the back of the seat, “$1 to Ride.”
As a critical early user, I would say that Limebike bike is more careful because they craft their bikes with small, but important elements. For instance, there are a guide on how to use the bike, a 3-gear transmission, and a more cheerful overall design. In contrast, Spin’s bike looks more like an MVP rather than a finished product. It seems bare, for some reason.
Interestingly, my first impression on the physical product rings true across the digital experience of both startups’ mobile app and website.
Before making a choice, I checked both of the companies’ websites and tested their apps. And of course, I would want to use the most user-centric product, and reward the founders’ hard work in providing the best service to a new user like myself.
Difference in web landing page.
3. Users Follow Path of The Least Resistance
After learning more about the services from their websites, I went on to download both apps. From a blog post on Lime’s website, I was aware that they recently launched in South San Francisco and is currently doing a promotion for the local residents with ‘10 Free rides.’ On the other side, I did not receive any extra information about Spin’s existence in South SF. I, nevertheless, downloaded the app to make an objective comparison.
As soon as I entered a code (LIMESSF) to Lime’s iOS app, I got a ten ‘30-minute free rides.’ Even without this code, new users get one free ride automatically after downloading and signing up. Furthermore, the best thing is that I could use ride a Limebike without registering my credit card on the app.
I was wondering if this would be the same case for Spin. But, it was not. In order to get one free ride, I would have to refer a friend to use Spin and ask my friend to enter my invite code (see picture below). This option means that I have to spend more time and effort in contacting my friend who may not be around me at that time (though I want to get a free ride and start the trial on the spot).
Based on this experience alone, I would prefer to use Limebike because of their generosity. Moreover, I think that this is a smart strategy from Lime. By allowing new users to use Limebike for 10 times, Lime has the head start in familiarizing the users with this new bike-sharing concept while building a mass customer loyalty program.
Mobile (iOS) Experience
Conclusion: In the early stage, a human-centric design may make or break a business.
Yes, product-market fit, speed, and execution matter (A LOT). However, no matter how good your strategy is or how heavy the founders’ credentials are, in the end, users would have the final word. And I think this is an opportunity where a field, such as Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)and User Experience (UX) Design, can contribute and shine.
As exemplified by the story of Limebike vs. Spin, you may realize how the right design, branding, and overall experience matter both in the short run and in the long run.
So far, I think Limebike is the clear winner in South San Francisco. However, let’s see how they perform as they enter more markets and compete with more players in the future!
