Electric bike start-up Moby raises €800,000

Electric bike start-up Moby has raised almost €800,000 in 30 days as the company turned to crowd funding platform Spark Crowdfunding to fund its expansion and move into more cities.

The Dublin-based company, which operates the ebike sharing scheme, initially had a fundraising target of €300,000. It raised €200,000 from professional investors, including Draper Esprit venture partner Brian Caulfield, Movidius co-founder Sean Mitchell, and the Halo Business Angel Network (Hban), and decided to open the round to the customers and the general public. Some 278 backers funded the company through Spark Crowdfunding.

Strategy

"We always felt that this platform (Spark Crowdfunding) was the right way to go for our fundraising strategy, and also our overall business strategy of having lots of people who live in Ireland invest in their own bike share scheme," Moby founder and chief executive Thomas O'Connell said.

Moby was granted a licence by Dublin City Council last year to operate dockless bike sharing in the city. It plans to launch up to 1,000 electric bikes in the capital. Earlier this year, Moby provided 70 e-bikes free of charge for use by healthcare staff in Dublin.

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"The response of the public, customers and the wider investor community to Moby's campaign is testament to how well-loved the brand and the idea is," said Chris Burge, CEO of Spark Crowdfunding.