A couple, Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal, founded Bycyshare Technology to bring sustainable and electric mobility to India. The company, with 12,000 Zypp Electric e-scooters, provides last-mile deliveries for e-commerce platforms…

Akash Gupta and his wife Rashi Agarwal launched a bike-sharing firm in 2017 with Rs 25 lakh, inspired by their love of sustainability and international travel…

The Rs 125 crore company now has 12,000 Zypp Electric electric scooters and provides last-mile deliveries for e-commerce platforms.

Akash worked for Dell, Airtel, Snapdeal, and Mobikwik, while Rashi, an IIM Kozhikode MBA graduate, founded Let’s Flaunt in 2013 after marrying.

Let’s Flaunt, which they began with Rs 5 lakh, was lucrative from the start, but the pair understood it wouldn’t succeed.

“Let’s Flaunt was almost there, but it didn’t meet our expectations,” recalls Akash. So, in 2017, even though we were making Rs 1 crore, we decided to hold the business, not work on it, and close it a year later.”

From Gurugram, they founded Bycyshare Technology Pvt Ltd in May 2017. The firm began with 500 bicycles at 10 locations in Gurugram, mostly near metro stations and Cyber City, before switching to electric two-wheelers under the Zypp Electric brand for last-mile e-commerce deliveries.

Akash, 39, says, “We’ve always been passionate travelers, and our trips to international cities exposed us to greener environments and reduced pollution, something we found lacking in India’s commuting experience.”

“After extensive research, we decided to bring shared, sustainable, and electric mobility to India.”

They established a seven-person team with Rashi, comprising engineers and technological experts. The team now has 770 members.

Akash was Mobikwik’s VP of Marketing. In November, he left Mobikwik to focus on Mobycy, their new business.

“We moved to a small co-working space in Gurugram in November 2017 and launched an app in December for shared mobility, where people could choose sustainable vehicles for their commute,”

Akash and his crew launched bike-sharing at Gurugram’s Huda City Centre Metro station then extended to Delhi. Their smart IoT app tracked and ended journeys with a click. They introduced the service at universities and made Rs 5 lakh in the first year.

They immediately realized the idea could be too early in India. “The idea was novel, and we were gaining traction, but we realized that sustaining the business at this rate would be difficult,” says Akash.

Each bike was completing 3-4 rides each day, compared to our prediction of 8-10. The numbers stagnated. We switched from B2C to B2B rentals.”

They changed their business strategy to accept last-mile Delivery via Zomato. Akash says, “We were adaptable and open to new ideas as entrepreneurs and inventors.

We ran two pilot tests: renting e-scooters monthly and becoming third-party delivery partners, hiring delivery staff and delivering for e-commerce.

2019 ran both models successfully. Akash said their fleet rose to 250 e-scooters and their turnover increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore in 2018-19.

The 2020 COVID-19 epidemic increased demand for delivery workers and last-mile delivery services. Zepto, Blinkit, Zomato, Swiggy, and others were clients.

We rose to the situation because we had created the appropriate technologies over the years. Akash said we now have 12,000 e-scooters in Delhi NCR after deploying additional motorcycles.

We exclusively deliver for e-commerce platforms and food delivery apps presently. Last year, we opened in Bengaluru.”

Akash also says they have a third co-founder, Tushar Mehta, who is the COO.

We met on LinkedIn. Akash says he collaborated with Ola and built Cars24, a successful used vehicle marketplace.

“He is entrepreneurial and wanted to start a business. We met several times before choosing to collaborate in 2021.”

The firm raised Rs 40 crore in 2021 from 9Unicorns and other venture investors in a Series A round.

Gogoro, Goodyear Ventures, 9Unicorns, WFC, Venture Catalysts, LetsVenture, IAN, IVY Growth, Grip, and other angels have invested Rs 200 crore in them this year.

The firm collaborates with Hero Electric, Kinetic, and Sun Mobility to construct its electric fleet. They buy batteries from Gogoro, Batteree Smart, and Sun Mobility.

Akash’s parents, Dr. Suresh Gupta and Veena Gupta, are doctors and homemakers from Jaipur.

He earned a B.Tech in Software Engineering from Rajasthan University’s Jaipur Engineering College from 2001 to 2005 after graduating from St. Xavier’s in Jaipur.

I’ve always liked co-curriculars and debate in school. Akash claims he won the software writing competition and organized sports and cultural days at college.

He earned an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad in 2008 after passing the CAT. He sharpened his organizing abilities on the college’s placement committee.

Akash is extending his EV platform in India and abroad to revolutionize EVs using technology.

Conclusion

Bycyshare Technology was formed in 2017 by Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal to offer shared, sustainable, and electric mobility to India. The firm started with 500 bicycles at 10 Gurugram sites before switching to 12,000 Zypp Electric electric scooters for last-mile e-commerce delivery.

Akash and his crew started bike-sharing at Gurugram’s Huda City Centre Metro station then expanded to Delhi. Their smart IoT app recorded and stopped travels with a click, earning Rs 5 lakh in the first year. However, they understood that maintaining this rate would be tough and converted from B2C to B2B rentals.

Two pilot experiments in 2019 involved renting e-scooters monthly, becoming third-party delivery partners, hiring delivery workers, and delivering for e-commerce. The Series A round garnered Rs 40 crore in 2021 from 9Unicorns and other investors. Another angel put Rs 200 crore in them this year.

The company builds its electric fleet using Hero Electric, Kinetic, and Sun Mobility and buys batteries from Gogoro, Batteree Smart, and Sun Mobility. Akash’s parents, Dr. Suresh Gupta and Veena Gupta, are Jaipur physicians and homemakers. He received a B.Tech in Software Engineering from Rajasthan University’s Jaipur Engineering College and an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad in 2008.

Akash is expanding his EV platform in India and overseas to transform EVs using technology. His “Kaash se Akash” Instagram page documents his entrepreneurial journey and motivates others.

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