Can a Bike ride be similar to a startups journey?
Prajwal’s ride along the East & West coasts of India
Startup learnings for a founder from an Electric Bharatmala
Dr. Prajwal Sabnis co-founded Orxa Energies in 2015 — he will insist you call him just Prajwal though. He’s the driving force behind Orxa’s flagship product –The Mantis, a electric performance motorcycle. He has been the architect behind building and developing innovative products at Orxa.
For the Electric Bharatmala, Prajwal rode a little over 3500km+, and covered three of the most beautiful stretches — the Eastern Coast, the North-East and the Western Coast. Here are his experiences from the ride…
What did we sign up for?
Bike rides, trips and journeys for me personally, are about people and cultures. Learning new things and new experiences. This ride was no different.
When we signed up for the Bharatmala ride as collaborators, it was all about putting the Mantis and the Orxa battery packs through the grind, because we were that confident that our bikes would hold up to the challenge. By Chennai, the Bharatmala team decided that we had to change our approach to the ride, radically. Thus, we ended up with the arrangement of 3 riders, Gautam on Mantis 1, John on his Versys, and one Orxa rider on Mantis 2 at all times. It was clear that the ride was going to be an extremely dynamic one, with almost every single day needing some unintended plan changes. This is how I ended up riding 3 stretches on the Bharatmala ride. The whole ride was a thrilling roller coaster, but 4 experiences stand out for me above all else.
We were that confident that our bikes would hold up to the challenge… but the ride was going to be an extremely dynamic one, with almost every single day needing some unintended plan changes.
Part 1 — Chennai to Kolkatta
The first leg from Chennai to Kolkata took us through Ongole, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Gopalpur, Puri, Digha, Jamshedpur to Kolkata. Here is where we had the first 2 stories.
Chilika Lake
The first most interesting story was when we were crossing the Chilika lake. As EV riders we planned to take the shortest route possible on any stretch; especially in the early days of the ride, where the team still had to get the routine going. Following this practice, the ride ended up going through the lesser travelled route along the Chilika lake, going to Puri via Satapada. Beautiful, small, winding country roads, with water on both sides, especially at a time that the migratory birds were still around… the ride was stunning.
We passed Bhabhanipur expecting a bridge across the lake to Satapada, only to find that the only way to Satapada was via a ferry. We had just missed the large ferry, and the next one was only in a couple of hours from then. We decided to stop for lunch at one of the many small hotels nearby, where we had some amazing fried fish. Then we did a quick battery swap, before deciding to take the bikes across on traditional boats, instead of the giant mechanised ferry. As the founder of Orxa, my heart was in my mouth. Both the Mantises were loaded and unloaded at the docks, over a thin plank barely wider than the rear tyre of the Versys. But the extremely excitable boatman (he was thrilled about the photography drone BTW), and the excitement when we unloaded the bikes, was definitely worth the choice. Some members of the Bharatmala ride also got to see Kingfishers for the first time ever on this stretch.
Puri -Jagannath
The second most memorable incident of the trip for me was at Puri. After charging at the entire set of batteries at an apartment parking lot, we set out intending to make a quick stop at the Puri Jagannath temple for some photos. But what was supposed to be a quick stop, quickly ended up with a bunch of people surrounding the Mantises, asking about the bikes, our ride, about EVs in general.
It was an indication of the awareness & anticipation for EVs among the general population of the country
Some of the questions were very involved and atypical of what we usually receive as questions. We received not only questions, but blessings and wishes for the journey as well. For me, it was the first indication of the awareness and the anticipation for EVs among the general population of the country for EVs. We observed this trend throughout the ride — a highly polarised debate on EVs or ICEs. Unintended, spontaneous, serious discussions on the EV vs ICE debate. For every naysayer, there were at least 1 or 2 EV enthusiasts who would step in to explain the advantages. The passion was surreal.
A very memorable question was from a schools student in Jamshedpur, “As an entrepreneur, what do you do when you feel low or you don’t feel as excited about your idea anymore?”
Part 2: The North East Ride -Guwahati to Guwahati
The 3rd story was in my second leg of the ride, from Guwahati to Guwahati.
This leg had some of the best roads, as well as some of the worst roads. The bad roads were a combination of roads under construction, and slush and a many kilometres long traffic jam on a hilly road. The bikers at Guwahati, the Kannadiga gentleman from the BCCI who was in Guwahati for the Ranji trophy matches, the scenery in the Naga hills… so much to remember in this leg.
The climb up to Kohima was just unbelievable, the ride on the hill to Manipur in rain and in the dark with extreme winds was unreal. The sights at the Naga heritage village were mind blowing. But the most memorable interaction was when an 8 yr old kid insisted on helping us swap batteries, and then proceeded to explain things about the bike to his friend. The kid then decided to check with Satyajit on where all the bolts would fit on the bike, and then followed by a quick wiping of a the number plate which was caked in mud by now. The curiosity and priorities of the child’s inquisitive mind were so refreshing. As a founder, it was heartening and an immense source of satisfaction for me that our team had created something that could evoke such strong sentiments.
As a founder, it was heartening and an immense source of satisfaction for me, that our team had created something that could evoke such strong sentiments.
Part 3: Coming Home — Pune to Bangalore
The 4th story was in the last leg in Goa. After covering the rest of India, we did not expect that the toughest challenge would be in Goa, 2 days before the end of the ride. We headed from Pune to Karad to a fantabulous welcome at GEC Goa.
Only to realise that the availability of load for charging was almost non-existent in Candolim… despite so many small EVs being around for tourist use as well as local use. We only managed to charge that day thanks to the large hearted nature of Prof. Hegde of GEC Goa, who allowed us to charge all our packs at his house. He even fed us home made honey, and I had the opportunity to have a few refreshing games of table-tennis with him.
Challenges aplenty — also help
Was the ride filled with challenges and many small stories ? Aboslutely!
But, as a founder, I learnt and relearnt many things on this ride.
You never accomplish anything alone. Whatever be the immediate challenge, look around, help is available aplenty. People are nicer than we assume, students are sharper than we expect, cultures are more diverse than we care to acknowledge. Reading and binge watching episodes may be a way to learn, but travel is the only way to experience. And biking is by far the most satisfying way to travel.
As a founder, I learnt and relearnt many things on this ride.
Orxa Energies’ mission is to rapidly electrify all transport. We build performance Electric Vehicles & the associated Energy Ecosystem. We believe that battery swap will rapidly electrify shared mobility. Our first vehicle is the Mantis — a fully-electric performance motorcycle, designed to fit seamlessly into your lifestyle.
We also build powerful Battery Packs that manage the specific challenges of performance vehicles — longevity, thermals, weight, and volume. Our battery packs are already in pilots with our customers
