Investment notes: Zoomo
The typical modes of transport available to gig workers and couriers have drawbacks because they are not designed with express delivery across cities in mind.
Cars for example require a license, fuel, parking and contribute to traffic and congestion, while push bikes limit the number of deliveries couriers can complete in an hour.
Zoomo (previously Bolt) solves for this with a flexible ebike subscription service, providing a purpose built light electric vehicle, designed to withstand commercial use and improve a couriers day-to-day. Catering for all needs from food to parcel and postal delivery with flexible payment plans to rent, purchase outright, or rent to own.
Not only does Zoomo benefit the rider making their working day easier and more efficient, it’s also valued by its partners including Deliveroo, Postmates, Doordash and UberEats, helping them provide a better service to their customer using a zero-emission vehicle.
OneVentures is delighted to have participated in a A$16m Series A round providing a debt facility jointly with our Israeli partner, Viola.
The equity raise was led by the Clean Energy Innovation Fund (part of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation) with participation from new and existing investors Maniv Mobility (Israel), Contrarion Ventures (Europe) and Hana Ventures (South Korea). It is a suitably international round for Zoomo, which has been global from the outset and now has bikes on the ground in Sydney, Melbourne, London, San Francisco and most recently New York. The company is quickly expanding its reach and is launching next in Brisbane and Los Angeles.
We are investing in Zoomo due to its exceptional founders, its unique product/service offering and thriving market dynamics.
The company is responding to the growing demand for home delivered food and goods with expectations for quick delivery, a theme we have seen play out with Shippit, our portfolio company operating in the eCommerce logistics space.
Co-founders Mina Nada and Michael Johnson really understand the space and the problem they are trying to solve. They were both strategy consultants at Bain, but Mina then ran Deliveroo and Mobike in ANZ, and spent time in operations. From this they saw that the current options for couriers are sub-optimal and while e-bikes have existed for some time, they have been consumer leisure focused and not fit for purpose for B2B deliveries.
Overlaying the right bike with flexible financing, for a flexible worker, and Zoomo was born.
This round of investment will enable Zoomo to expand its operations locally as well as in the UK and US.
The Zoomo Zero is the latest generation bike and has added smart security features including an alarm system, electronic lock, GPS tracking and an impressive 8 hours battery life – made to last an entire shift.
Meanwhile, part-time couriers and commuters wanting to avoid crowded public transport and use a safe and secure ebike can avail of the Zoomo Lite model. All models are supported by a wide network of service centres and round the clock customer support.
Zoomo have achieved solid unit economics while maintaining competitive pricing and excellent bike quality, which the brand is best known for amongst the rider community.
Venture debt financing is well suited to funding bike purchases because of the predictable nature of the subscription offering, comparable to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business, with predictable unit economics.
It is important to understand the ROI on bikes and marketing efficiency to get optimal value from the facility. Strong unit economics is a key criteria we look for when assessing investment opportunities, as is a proven business model and the strength of the management team.
James McGrath, Investment Manager in the Venture Credit Fund, will be joining the board in an observer capacity, providing value add to Zoomo through advice and access to our network and OneVentures platform much like an equity investor, just without the cost and dilution.
Feel free to email us if you’d like learn more about venture credit or to share your story with us — we’d love to hear from you: entrepreneurs@one-ventures.com
