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Ask HN: Is bike rental now a VC thing?

3 points by lifeisstillgood ↗ HN
I am holidaying with my wife and kids in NYC and I cannot move without getting someone shoving a bike rental flyer at me or holding a board aloft.

I am assuming there is a lot of VC money being burnt here - but till I walked out I had never heard of this as a thing (and I can't work out the economics - seem really bad even as a tourist trap)

Is this a VC cash burn? And if so does my VC/tech/industry radar need an upgrade?

9 comments

[ 6.5 ms ] story [ 37.2 ms ] thread
necrodome
They are small businesses, promoted by hourly workers. What does that have to do with VCs?
pmulv
I'm struggling to grasp the relevance also. In NYC, you'll have Subway sandwich flyers and comedy club flyers thrown your way also, but I don't think those have anything to do with VC. Why do bikes rentals strike you as a "VC cash burn?"
lifeisstillgood
It just surprised me I guess - without looking deeply at it I saw at least two "levels" of street workers, along with some smatreringnof online and mobile booking that smelt of enough tech to "qualify" for VC, with a lot of competition in an industry that does not strike one as profitable - new bikes being rented with what looks like an eye on turnover not profit just "smelt" VC.

Clearly my radar needs updating

godot
Specifically though, are you talking about like literally local mom-and-pop bike rental shops for tourists? Or are you talking about the shared bike service with stations at every other street corner, popular in many cities nowadays?

If it's the latter, I can understand why you thought they were VC-backed startups.

lifeisstillgood
The latter - these are clearly not mom & pop setups. I'm impressed if they are actually profitable day to day.
waah_waah23
> The latter

You mean the ones that have "CITI BIKE" plastered all across each bike and every station? hmm, I wonder what company could be behind that? Citi? naahh, probably a VC...

wat?

lifeisstillgood
I will answer this even though the spirit of your post was not looking for an answer

No these are no the citi sponsored rent a bikes. They are (seemingly) tourist focused rentals, with a large street presence and in one case I tracked down renting or owning large retail units one street down from central park (hence my "cannot work oit the economics" - I mean renting a retail space a stones throw from Central Park as a bike storage place, seems a stretch for any profit)

quickthrower2
Same question here but food delivery services. Too many!
mapster
am doing quite a bit of consulting with numerous food delivery startups in last 6 months. all modes and manners too