Our Investment in Dance
Making electric mobility accessible and convenient
While the sales growth of electric vehicles (EVs) in 2021 outpaced gasoline-powered ones, a lesser noticed trend is the proliferation of e-bikes. In the U.S. alone, consumers purchased half a million e-bikes in 2020, eclipsing that year's quarter of a million in EV sales. Convenient, economical (compared with a car), and a good source of exercise, e-bikes — which rose in popularity prior to the pandemic — have seen a recent surge in adoption, growing 145% from 2019 to 2020. In the larger European market, e-bike sales are anticipated to grow from 3.7 million in 2019 to 17 million by 2030. As The New York Times commented, “e-bikes — not cars — appear to be the world’s best-selling electric vehicle…”
E-bikes offer a plethora of benefits, including encouraging urban-dwellers to relinquish car ownership; however, there are barriers to access and adoption. With a starting price that is typically more expensive than conventional bicycles, e-bikes can have a price tag of $2,000 to $5,000 for basic models. In addition, accessories and maintenance can further swell the cost of ownership. If these hurdles were removed, access to e-bikes would likely expand.
Dance, based in Berlin, Germany, is pursuing this vision by making e-mobility simple and sustainable. The company offers consumers an all-inclusive subscription to its e-bike and e-moped fleet that simplifies ownership in a single monthly fee. The company is announcing today that it's expanding to five cities and three countries: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich in Germany; Vienna, Austria; and Paris, France. We’re thrilled to share our investment in Dance, founded and led by Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung — founders of SoundCloud — and Christian Springub. We’re excited by the founders’ vision of creating healthier, more livable cities, in which people move more sustainably.
What is Dance?
Dance is working to make sustainable transportation simple by providing a full-service approach to electric mobility. In Europe, where it’s initially operating, the average price of an e-bike is €3,000 – a cost that excludes maintenance and which can discourage many prospective riders. By offering an e-bike subscription priced as low as €59 per month, Dance is not only lowering the barrier to adoption, but also simplifying ownership with a panoply of benefits: free home delivery, flexible subscription terms, speedy repairs and theft protection.
Dance also offers an electric moped for as low as €89 per month with the same subscription benefits. Through the Dance mobile app, riders enjoy a fully-integrated experience and whiteglove customer care from the company’s Concierge Team. Moreover, riders can view insights such as the amount of CO2 avoided by abstaining from gas-car travel. The company also offers Dance for Business, a program that enables companies to provide a Dance subscription to their employees as a benefit. With the opportunity to subsidize an employee’s subscription, companies can receive a tax benefit while providing a fun perk to its workforce.
Why Did We Invest?
Compelling Founder-Market Fit
Dance's founding team has an impressive track record and a reputation that precedes itself. As it was noted earlier, Alexander and Eric founded SoundCloud, one of the leading music platforms. Not only well-versed technologists, they have a wealth of experience in sparking a global movement of influencers and artists. Christian also has experience as an Internet entrepreneur, as the founder of website publisher Jimdo, and his bike repair service, Fietze, was the genesis of Dance.
Mitigating urban transportation emissions
In many European countries, transport by car is the prevailing means of daily mobility. Reducing fossil fuel-powered travel by increasing e-mobility usage offers an opportunity to mitigate emissions in dense urban areas.
One need look no further than Denmark and Netherlands as examples of cities where biking has been popularized as a common means of urban transportation. Dance believes it can similarly foster e-mobility as a primary mode of travel not only reducing climate-causing emissions, but also nurturing healthier and livable communities.
Additional Resources
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