Of those, 12.5 million are kids bikes. That’s why Bike Club was created. A better way to cycle; better for the environment, better for parents and better for children.

Launched in 2016, Bike Club have revolutionised the traditional model of ownership, changing family cycling forever. With over £50million of funding and 70,000 bikes they are now the largest micro mobility network in the UK – larger than Uber and Santander Cycles.

*Spotlight Q&A with Alexandra Rico-LLoyd*

Where did the motivation for Bike Cub come from?

Bike Club was created to get the next generation cycling. But Bike Club as you see it today was never the original idea.

By paying a small amount monthly, consumers can have access to much better quality products, without the initial large outlay of purchasing the product. You might celebrate getting a mortgage, but you would rarely celebrate getting a new credit card. Consumer finance doesn’t have to be such a negative thing in a persons life and we were exploring ways in which a friendlier form of finance might exist.

The Bike Club model can be applied to a variety of products – and the initial idea was for adult bikes. When you become a ‘cyclist’ as an adult, you might start on a £300 commuter bike, upgrade to a £1,000 road bike and continuing upgrading as your passion grows. You might also want to explore other types of cycling and switch between mountain biking, road cycling or cyclocross. Ultimately, we started in kids bikes because the start-up capital requirement was lower and the need for upgrading was more critical. As time went on we became experts within the family cycling space and remained firmly focused on kids bikes.

What was the biggest challenge / breakthrough moment in your Founding Experience?

I couldn’t possibly label just one challenge as the greatest. Here’s my top 3:

Taking the first step. Quitting my job was a big break-through moment. I’d held off for as long as I could but eventually the businesses demanded someone worked on it full-time and I could no longer juggle it alongside my career. It wasn’t able to pay me a salary. I took a big leap of faith that thankfully paid off, but not until years later.

The loneliness. I went from being a part of a team within a larger organisation and lots of resources to being completely alone, responsible for the money friends and family had invested. Even when I grew the team, I was always their manager first and foremost. I had no one within my network that could truly relate to my position as a founder. The breakthrough moment here was moving into a co-working space – I would not recommend having employees work from your two bed flat!

Adapting. The constant need to adapt to growth personally. From speaking to consumers, to leading a team, to managing investor expectations. From managing projects with no budget to having millions transferred into the bank account in one day. At every stage, the hurdles faced become greater and influence decision-making in a different way. Fast growth is great, but comes at the expense of personal relationships, and physical and mental well-being.

What is the biggest piece of advice you would give to a current LBS founder or student?

Never aim for perfection, embrace MVP and pivot constantly

Build your network; founders, investors, friends and family

Get a co-working space, it professionalises your attitude and will help build your network

Hire a team member sooner than you think you need to. Your value is in being an entrepreneur and growing the business, not in processing orders or replying to customers.

That said, keep CS notifications on your devices to maintain a connection with your audience as much as possible, for as long as possible. I eventually removed live chat notifications from my phone in August 2021, five years after launching.