I Am Karmic

I never thought I’d say those words. Karmic Bikes is my startup, but it wasn’t supposed to define me. I’ve had modest successes in my career, working at well-known trading firms, with Internet Famous people, and even having started a few companies before. I even managed to sell one of them.

Karmic was simply my swan song after working on Wall Street, in the video game industry, and helping young Founders build big huge audacious technology startups. I have a couple of billion-dollar companies (called unicorns) on my resume, and those were supposed to be the ultimate palmarès in Silicon Valley. This is what the Valley was all about right?

But something was still missing. I didn’t feel like I was doing what I was meant to be doing with my life. I hadn’t found my career sweet spot yet. After a brief period of introspection I decided to go back to the industry that gave me my first job offer straight out of college. One which I had to turn down. Now 20 years later I was finally going to be in the bike business.

The bike industry sucks. We all do it because we love it, but the business side of things is terrible. We’ve had over 10 years of steady declines, ever lower numbers of bikes sold, and consistently decreasing dollar value. Even the biggest brands constantly fight for existence on the bleeding edge of profitability or shutting down. Professional Bike Racing in America is dying. Top racers can’t get industry sponsors and have to scrape together funds for a program. Even America’s best road-racing team is looking at crowdfunding to save their season. As one article put it, road-cycling is dead in the USA.

Local Bike Shops have had their own troubles for as long as anyone can remember. Their shrinking numbers and the industry’s slow (oh so slow) transition to ecommerce was the bright red writing on the wall everyone tried to ignore. Ebikes are the only bright spot, and the smartest folks are jumping on the bandwagon. The rest will be left for dead, whether thru their own egos (I’ll never sell an ebike!) or inability to evolve and adapt to the latest technology.

I joke with my #bikeindustryfriends that the best way to make a million dollars is to start with two million. We started with a lot less than that. But we’re doing well, have plenty of bikes in stock, and we’re still on Mile One.

Karmic Values

A few quick thoughts on how we think about Karmic and our role in the industry. While customers have an increasing abundance of choice in the ebike market, we still think our unique approach is best for our customers.

1. We Don’t Sell Bikes — I’ve always said we care more about delivering the Karmic Experience than about selling a bike. It isn’t even about the bike. It is simply about what the bike can do for you, how it can improve your life. The last thing we want to do is sell a Karmic Bike to someone who doesn’t need it. We’re not here to shove product down anyone’s throats. Being a Karmic Owner means you’re part of a small community. We don’t forget about you as soon as your credit card goes through. We take care of our owners and we want to make sure they’re enjoying their Karmics.
2. Change is the only Constant — As a small startup our only advantage is speed and agility. While we think having the Big Three introduce mid-drive commuter bikes in 2017 is great. We know they’ve been watching us since 2014 when we first introduced the concept to the American market. Sure, a lot of it is inspired by the daily-biking of European cities (hence the name København). We like to think we’re pushing the industry forward and an American Ebike isn’t just a clunky, cruiser with a motor and batteries thrown on it. We will continue to push forward and we welcome the competition. It will only make things better for customers.
3. Experts by Experience — We’re new to the bike industry but we’re fast learners. While other brands brag about their heritage and old history, we’re not held back by tradition, legacy systems or how-things-are-done. We prototype everything and we test ride the heck out of them. We try to launch new products for different customers. Sometimes it doesn’t work. But we’re never going to stop trying. We’re never going to stop working. The best rides we have on our test bikes gets distilled into the final product, to give our future customers the best ride experience possible.

Reading our latest customer research clearly showed me that Karmic is Hong and Hong is Karmic. Like love and marriage, you can’t have one without the other. I’m normally an introverted and private person. But I believe so deeply in the power of Karmic, I literally crawl out of myself to tell people about it. Everyone on a bike is my friend. Anyone on a Karmic is my family. Together we are the KOG. Resistance if futile.

Don’t just ride a bike. Be Karmic.