Here are two interesting tidbits of news about Dance, the German startup that offers electric bikes and mopeds via subscription packages. First, the company just added a handful of investors to top up its recent €12 million funding round. Second, Dance now has 10,000 active and paying members.
For the funding part, Dance isn’t saying much. The company isn’t disclosing the sum of this second tranche — it usually means that this isn’t a significant amount. But the startup managed to onboard some high-profile investors, such as 4P Capital, GDTRE, Carl Pei (Nothing), Alex Asseily (Jawbone, Lilium), Mads Fosselius (Dixa) and Andhim.
As a reminder, Dance raised $17.7 million (€15 million) in 2020, $19.4 million (€16.5 million) in 2021 and $13 million (€12 million) earlier this year. In other words, Dance has been raising money at a rapid pace.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as many electric bike companies have experienced a COVID boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturers like Cowboy and VanMoof raised large funding rounds. Bike-as-a-service startups like Dance and Motto thrived during the same period.
And yet, the court of Amsterdam declared bankruptcy for VanMoof just a couple of months ago. This development had a chilling effect on the electric bike startup space. Many started to wonder whether the operating costs for unconventional electric bikes were simply too high.
But Dance seems to stay on track with some new backers and a bit more money in the company’s bank account. The startup doesn’t sell electric bikes directly so the unit economics are a bit different.
Instead, customers pay a monthly subscription price to get a personal electric bike with repairs and insurance included. But customers never really own those bikes. In Paris and Vienna, plans currently start at €49 per month with a minimum commitment of one year. In Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, plans start at €59 per month.
Of course, many customers pay more than that if they don’t want a minimum term of one year or if they add accessories, such as a child seat or a basket. In some cities, Dance also offers electric mopeds. Dance also has a B2B offering for companies looking to offer electric bikes to their employees.
Overall, Dance has 10,000 paid subscriptions. The company likely generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in turnover per month. It doesn’t mean much without knowing other metrics, such as the actual cost of the bikes, the churn rate, the average subscription length and all of the costs involved with repairs and refurbishments for new customers. But there’s one thing for sure — there is a growing interest for electric bike subscriptions.