Flamingo: Meet the young Kiwi upstarts taking on global e-scooter giants

Thursday, 16 May 2019

Jacksen Love, left, and Nick Hyland are the masterminds behind Flamingo e-scooters

Young entrepreneurs Jacksen Love and Nick Hyland think they have what it takes to make and run a successful e-scooter company from scratch.

And by all accounts, it seems the Wellington men have their ducks - or flamingos - in a row.

Flamingo has won the rights to operate Auckland and Wellington streets.

The founders of micro-mobility company Flamingo have already won contracts to release their bright pink e-scooter fleets in Wellington and Auckland.

They even beat out heavyweight multinationals Lime and Onzo for a license to run on Wellington streets.

* Flamingo, Lime and Wave win second round of placements on Auckland e-scooters trail

* Auckland Council quadruples fees for e-scooter companies**

Hyland said he had a business and software development background and worked in the IT industry for many years.

Through this he built strong ties to the Wellington start-up community, which really got the juices flowing.

Love had a background in finance, with experience in both New Zealand and Australia.

'Working on a variety of start-up projects has enhanced my business skills, particularly in advising clients on how to grow and improve their business operations,' Love said on Thursday.

Hyland said he was travelling through San Francisco early last year and saw the birth of the e-scooter sharing.

'I realised this was something we had to have in New Zealand.

'E-scooters are a fun way to get around town and super helpful for anyone jumping on and off public transport regularly.'

The pair worked together on previous start-ups and in April last year decided to venture into the e-scooter game.

Love said they went down the private equity path with the support of a few people, all of whom were business owners in New Zealand.

'[They all] support Flamingo's vision to be the first choice for short and on-demand trips within New Zealand cities,' Love said.

They ordered a shipment of Ninebot Segway e-scooters from China and transported the machines to their warehouse themselves.

It's fair to say we felt like we had completed an Ironman when we woke up the next morning.

'Moving scooters should be an Olympic event,' Hyland said.

After successfully winning contracts for Wellington and Auckland,Flamingo planned to launch fleets of 400 e-scooters in Wellington in mid-June and 525 e-scooters in Auckland by the end of July.

'E-scooters have captured the whole country's attention,' Love said.

Together they watched Lime, the first e-scooter company to reach our shores, pave the way for e-scooters on New Zealand streets.

Being aware of Lime's software glitch which began actively throwing off users - the pair said they knew safety had to be the top priority.

Love said Flamingo was committed to providing a safe solution to Kiwis under Auckland Council and Auckland Transport's updated e-scooter share code of practice.

'We have introduced multiple safety initiatives for Flamingo users, including daily safety checks, alongside incentivising helmet use and sprinkling our Flamingo safety ambassadors around Auckland's streets.'

The pink scooters had GPS and geofence technology to create low-speed zones and stop riders riding and parking in designated areas.

The scooters were expected to have unlocking and use costs similar to Lime and Hyland was confident Kiwis would pick Flamingos over other e-scooters.

'We are proudly New Zealand-owned and operated and have a genuine understanding of what our fellow Kiwis in Wellington and Auckland want and need from us,' Hyland said.

'We are confident that locals and visitors alike will love our product.

'We cannot wait to share the Flamingo experience with everyone.'

Hyland said the Flamingo named flocked to them with a little imagination.

'We saw that the shape of a scooter and its handlebars resemble the long necks and curved beaks of the Flamingo bird.'