Page 9 - Council Journal Autumn 2019

FEATURE Cyc-Lok
Cyc-Lok founders Louise and Stephen Murphy Cyc-Lok demonstration
What have the challenges been as you've developed your product and brought it to market?
countries and the states that embrace the cyclist and put funding behind the growth of cycling infrastructure and the move to a more sustainable and liveable environment for us all.
in your space (there’s room for us all!), hire a good accountant that understands your business and keep up with new technology advances in your field. Also, get funded early! There are lots of supports with your Local LEO office and they are very supportive.
Once we had cemented the idea of our system and how we wanted it to be brought to market the challenge then was to find a good design partner which we found in Dolmen Design in Dublin. The next and the biggest challenge was the ‘educate the market’ piece. Cyclists are forced to accept that their bike will most probably be stolen/vandalised when they take it out to a public place, we believe that this should not be the case and that a product/service like Cyc-lok can negate theft and vandalism and can allow the cyclist the peace of mind to cycle and park securely at their destination. Now the challenge is convincing cycle parking providers to trust that our solution is the future and that Sheffield hoops/ racks/stands and cages are a thing of the past and that the future lies in SMART IoT based solutions that encourage more people to cycle.
What lessons did you learn/are you learning from developing your company?
You need to adapt to what the market demands are hence we have partnered with a Californian company; Swiftmile to bring e-Scooter docking and charging stations to Europe. We are moving towards all things electric to include eBikes and eScooters. Our lockers can charge these PMD’s (personal mobility devices). We are trying to solve a problem when it comes to companies getting their staff to work in the most economical and most sustainable way. We provide the end to end service and not just the products. We do site surveys, take audits and recommend the best solutions for the client based on their space allocation, budgets and numbers they need to accommodate.
What does the future hold for Cyc-Lok?
How did you and Cyc-Lok as a company adapt?
We are currently embarking on a large rollout of units in private partnership in Ireland with a large retail store, a service station company and a commercial property developer. We are also finalising a deal with the biggest retail group in the USA, a global rollout for a large tech giant for their European and USA sites and we are expanding our reach in Scandinavia and the Nordics with a distributor partner. We also have designed the mark 3 prototype that will include facial recognition and a more advanced UX using new technology. Our vision is to create a safe and secure network of bike/PMD parking facilities that will enable more SMART and sustainable cities for us not just to pass through but to really ‘live‘ in.
We targeted countries that are further on in their thinking of ‘enabling more cycling’, we have installed in numerous sites in Norway and are rolling out to more European
What advice can you give to someone seeking to open their own start-up?
Research your market thoroughly, forecast five years in advance, be open to partnerships with other companies
For more information, please visit: www.cyc-lok.ie
Council Journal 9