When we recently reported on the folding electric bike Smacircle, we were pretty intrigued as to how this flash bit of tech came about. To find out the thinking behind Smacircle, we grab five minutes with one of the creators, Shanggui Wu.
Hello. Who are you?
Hiya, I’m Shanggui
Wu, the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Smacircle
Technology.
And what do you do?
I founded Smacircle
Technology with my partners - Gavin Yang, George Zhang, Evan Yin and
Timo Ding. We all take charge of different parts, and I run the
marketing, branding and sales departments.
Tell us how you got
started in that.
A new idea usually
comes from the trivial problems you face in your daily life, and we
recognised that people living in big cities (urban commuters, we call
them), face huge problems every day with transport and mobility in
urban areas. Not everyone can afford a car and not everywhere can be
reached by car. We found that people encounter a lot of troubles when
they use a bike or e-bike for example:
1. Normal bikes and
e-bikes made of metal or alumni are too heavy for people to carry
around especially on public transport.
2. Folding methods are
often difficult and not user-friendly.
3. Normal bikes take
too much space and it’s so inconvenient to carry them on and off of
crowded public transport.
So we wanted to solve
their problems and created the Smacircle S1. The world’s lightest
and most conveniently folding e-bike. It folds in five very simple
steps to fit in your backpack so that you can carry it on and off
public transport with ease. This eliminated so many hindrances of the
urban commute - there’s no need to worry about the lack of space,
or about taking up too space in the boot of your car.
We want to be an
environmentally-responsible and innovative company that continuously
provides better solutions for urban transportation. Our products will
be more than a transportation vehicle, they will be the city
commuters’ everyday companion.
What is an average day like for you?
I am very energetic in
work and life; I enjoy the feeling of conquering challenges and
usually stay up late as I work across various different time zones.
From decision-making to a customer’s feedback, trivial or big
issue, I love to listen to the voices of our client’s and
customers. I usually work in the USA's time zone while living in China,
but no matter how busy it gets, I will always ensure at least a full
day of family time.
Where do you see the e-bike industry going in the near future, and how might you have to
adapt?
The short distance
commute is a part of people’s everyday routine and daily life, and
currently there is no best solution for short distance travel in
urban areas. Either we are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions,
it takes us ages to get anywhere, or we turn up to work sweaty and
tired from biking twice a day. The need for e-bikes will only get
stronger in the wake of the Smart City initiative, due to climate
change and everyone wanting to do their part to save the planet. Smog
and polluted air in big cities is a major problem. Beijing, Shanghai, and now London. People fear for what air pollution is doing to us and
they should. We need to find a better solution to our current
transport methods and e-bikes are a great antidote.
What advice would
you offer to someone keen to follow in your footsteps?
It’s always difficult
to be the starter and rule breaker, no matter what area or field you
want to be in. You need to recognise a problem and tackle it with
innovation and creativity. As long as you are solving a real
problem close to the hearts of people you will succeed and go far in
life.
Apart from your own
products, what kind of gadget would you like to see
being reviewed on The Test Pit?
An electric bubble car
that flies and floats for people’s everyday use, no more traffic on
the road and people can choose different ways of transportation.
Let’s tackle any terrain with smart and environmentally friendly
technology!
Thanks so much, and best of luck with Smarcircle.
Visit www.smacircle.com