Good news for all startups: the Ogre&co story is proof: with the right idea, it’s worth entering a crowded, “saturated” market. This is the first time a 100% domestic startup has shown with real and audited numbers what it’s like to get started.
Just a few months ago (on 5 August 2019), the capital’s newest public transport vehicle, ogre&co, was launched. Public transport is no longer just about public transport – with nearly a dozen services (Mol Bubi, Donkey Republic, Lime, Blinkee.city, Greengo, Mol limo, Drivenow) are now available for those looking for an alternative to car ownership or public transport.
This market has also seen the emergence of a new generation of vehicles, the ogremobiles, which are just as green and environmentally friendly as their counterparts. The service started with 100 scooters, but the number is set to increase in the future.
Let’s see the numbers!
- €1 million in capital raised. Ogreco Ltd.managed to raise €1 million of capital from a private investor for its start-up, bringing the company’s value at launch to well over half a billion forints. (Formally, there were no pre-written contractual terms, and the main cornerstones were laid down in negotiations.The company was founded by the partners – Tamás Tóth-Báló, the managing partner of Ogreco Kft. founder and mastermind of Ogre-Brot, and investor József Neumayer, and the parties have had an exit strategy from the outset.)
- Already in the first month 1 000 active users. Turns out: with thoughtful PR and online marketing, amazing results can be achieved. Although getting started – as with almost all start-ups – came with a myriad of challenges (actually: it was a constant 24/7 firefight), we reached 1 000 active users in the first 30 days. This was also in line with the preliminary calculations – which showed the parties that it was a good decision to invest a lot of energy in the launch.
- Big surprise: lots of foreign users. It turned out that the new means of transport was attractive not only for the “Hungarian people”, but also for “expats” and tourists living here. Today, citizens from 28 different countries are represented in the dynamically growing company database.
- 1 000 kilometres covered in the first 5 days. Ogre&co users exceeded 1 000 kilometres on the 5th day of operation. This mileage is now close to 8 000 kilometres, which is the equivalent of an average car mileage of 8 000 kilometres.emissions of an average car in Budapest, resulting in a CO2 saving of 0.88 tonnes.
What is the Ogre story?
Founders. From 2013, Tamás Tóth-Báló worked as head of department at the then Ministry of National Economy, where his team was responsible for the development of the Ogre Ogre project.He and his team were tasked with developing the Jedlik Ányos Plan, the first government document on electromobility. He also worked on the idea of sharing electric scooters for several years until fate brought him together with József Neumayer, who saw the fantasy in the business. After several months of negotiations, they agreed on the one million euromillion investment and they founded their joint venture, Ogreco Ltd.-t.
Individual appearance. The look of the fleet was an important aspect, so that the appearance of their scooters would attract attention. Alongside this, of course, was the challenge of finding a supplier who could provide a model with the right style and the right licences. As well as looks, it was of course equally important that the scooter was safe. The founders believe that the design of their vehicles meets this need to the maximum. While conventional scooters weigh over 100 kilograms, have a relatively high ride height and have to balance on thin wheels, the ogre scooter is designed to be easy to handle and comfortable to ride.The ogre ogre has thick tyres and an extremely low centre of gravity, which, together with the light weight, makes for an accident-free ride.
Addressing legal issues. It is also a challenge for a start-up to navigate the interpretation of legal texts: It takes knowledge of countless laws, statutes and EU regulations to be able to argue your case. This is particularly true in the case of Ogreco, where a vehicle purchased in China had to be registered in the EU: So it had to have a vehicle that had all the permits and certificates that other auxiliary engines already on the road have. A further legal issue is that they interact with the user via a mobile app.They have to interact with their users, who in addition have to handle their personal data, including credit card details.
Getting started. For a start-up, the first phase is the launch. This is the stage where the system is tested and fine-tuned, and only then does it grow and expand.(and it is too early to talk about the emergence of ogremobiles in other cities in the country or abroad).
Growth. Launch: 100 ogremobil fantasy vehicles – as it is estimated that a fleet of this size is already in the pipeline.However, the founders consider an ideal size of between 200 and 250 to be the ideal size for the business. (The decision to raise further capital will also be influenced by expansion opportunities.)
Team. For now, they are working with a small but capable team. This is due to the fact that a good part of the tasks are outsourced and that the activities are carried out by excellent expert partners.The work will be carried out by expert consultants with significant experience in strategically important areas such as PR (Silberstein and Partners), digital communications (Digital Way), vehicle protection and service. On the basis of their current calculations, they believe that the optimal operating model is to be achieved throughEven when reaching the optimum operating conditions, they will not go beyond the micro-enterprise category (max. 10 employees) to the small enterprise category (between 10 and 50 employees).
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