Draugiem Group is launching another crowdfunding campaign – this time offering secure app-driven bike stands.
Security of their bikes is a major concern for cyclists – according to a recent survey conducted in Montreal, half of all active riders have had their bicycles stolen, and only 2.4 percent of stolen bikes are ever returned. Young entrepreneurs, backed by Draugiem Group, propose a solution to help the cyclists safely lock up their bikes.
Bindio is a smart bike stand made of a built-in hardened steel chain and an electronic lock that users can operate with their mobile phones. To ensure extra security, the chain has sensors that alert the user in case of an attempted theft.
Draugiem is the largest IT group in Latvia. It has grown out of Latvian social network draugiem.lv , which lost its No 1 position in Latvia only recently to Facebook. The IT group has redirected its social networking profits towards new tech projects in various industries. Their inhouse startup portfolio now includes at least 12 companies from smart home solutions Istabai to a recently crowdfunded miniature ink WiFi display Displio.
The Bindio project was born in 2013 when the founders (Kristians Licis and Kaspars Skerba) were working on their first business project BikeWatch – a bicycle anti-theft alarm. After hearing about BikeWatch, a prospective client said that he would be interested in a similar system for cyclists, only stationary and placed outside his office. From there the Bindio concept was formed. To further product development, the support and seed investment was secured from Draugiem Group.
Bindio isn’t a typical project you see on Kickstarter – it is targeted at large business owners and municipalities – but the team decided this platform would prove to municipalities and private institutions that cyclists need and support this kind of bicycle security solution.
Anyone can vote for a free parking dock for just $3
Bindio founders ensure transparent voting with their live interactive map where you can see how many votes are cast for each spot and support your desired location. Even though everyone can place 5 pins on the map for free, the final shortlist of locations that will be approached by Bindio will be decided by sending an online survey to $3 backers. This is the main benefit these supporters would get.
Entusiasts can support with $59 and get a miniature model of Bindio
The model is 10 cm high and replicates the original Bindio parking stand. Besides the aesthetic value, it can also be easily transformed into a 8 GB USB flash drive that will include exclusive content created for you by the Bindio team.
Fully functional ready-to-install sets for businesses and municipalities
By pledging from $1,290 to $1,920, businesses and municipalities can get parking dock for bikes, motorcycles or electronic bicycles (with a charger). The team has spent 2 years developing the project to make it as vandal- and hacker-proof as possible. The prototypes have been already tested in 2 locations in Riga and received positive user feedback. It was not difficult to get local municipality permit to place the stands in the city.
Bindio provides support for all products from the day of purchase up until everyone stops using bicycles as means of transportation. The team will provide all the best practices to successfully implement and run Bindio stands.
There are quite a few biking startup initiatives in Europe that aim to tackle safety issues. Ebay is full of various kinds of bike alarms, Lithuanian Dropbyke lets you bike around Vilnius without owning the bicycle, and Estonian bike registry Bike-ID has gone international to fight the resale of stolen bikes across the EU.
Meanwhile, the pledges on the Bindio map are already all over the place. They say that if every cyclist would back the project with just $3, there could be 100,000 Bindio stands on each continent, including Antarctica.
Will the penguins get a bike stand? Have your say here.
