Cowboy and VanMoof are two very similar e-bike companies, which is why we\u2019re all wondering if Cowboy will be next to file for bankruptcy<\/a> now that the era of free VC money is over and profitability is key to survival. This week Cowboy introduced a cheaper no-frills e-bike configuration ahead of yet another price increase. Moves that have only intensified scrutiny of the boutique Belgian startup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nevertheless, Cowboy CEO Adrien Roose tells me that the electric bike maker is on more secure footing, despite all the similarities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For example, both European e-bike makers took<\/a> on millions<\/a> from investors in recent years while posting heavy losses during periods of rapid scale up. Both focus on direct-to-consumer sales of premium, software- and sensor-laden e-bikes assembled from lots of custom parts, and both Cowboy and VanMoof had to secure additional funding earlier in the year to deal with unforeseen operational challenges in a post-pandemic e-bike marketplace that has cooled off considerably.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This week, Cowboy launched a less expensive (but still not cheap) $2990\/\u20ac2490 \u201cCore\u201d configuration of its Classic, Cruiser, and Cruiser ST models<\/a> that offers fewer features, like replacing the maintenance-free Gates Carbon belt drive with an oily chain drive, as it raises prices elsewhere. That\u2019s eerily similar to VanMoof\u2019s product trajectory with the launch of the\u00a0cheaper scaled-back S4<\/a> after raising prices on its overwrought S5 flagship, all just two months before the company went public about its dire financial situation<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cowboy\u2019s Core e-bike configurations only come in black, lack a wireless charger under the integrated phone mount, and ship with a slower charging brick. Cowboy told Dutch-language Bright<\/em> magazine<\/a> that the upcoming price increase from $3490\/\u20ac2990 to $3790\/\u20ac3290 on August 1st for its belt-driven (now called \u201cPerformance\u201d configurations) e-bikes was required to \u201cstay healthy\u201d (more on that later). Those same e-bikes were priced at \u20ac2490 when launched in Europe two years ago and as low as\u00a0$1990 when first introduced to the US<\/a> \u2014 back when startups could sell their electric bikes at a loss due to the seemingly endless supply of investor capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cowboy aims to further justify the difference between the Core and Performance configurations through software. Moving forward, Cowboy e-bikes configured for Performance will benefit from the otherwise optional $300\/\u20ac300 Cowboy Connect software features like adaptive power, crash detection, and three new Google Maps features to share live journey info, alert the rider to upcoming hazards, and the ability to choose a route based on the best air quality. Cowboy Connect also unlocks the e-bike maker\u2019s first Apple Watch app. All nice to have, I guess, but certainly not critical to the operation of an e-bike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So yeah, like VanMoof, Cowboy e-bikes are high-tech proprietary computers-on-wheels with a feature set that can, at times, verge on gimmickry. Nevertheless, Cowboy wants you to know that it\u2019s different.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cCowboy is in a very different position to VanMoof,\u201d insists Cowboy CEO Adrien Roose in an email exchange with\u00a0The Verge<\/em>. \u201cOur key stakeholders including our investors, supply chain and distribution partners and employees are fully supportive of the business plan we are executing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The big difference between Cowboy and VanMoof is the prospect of profitability: Cowboy has repeatedly said that it\u2019s close, after having posted EBITDA losses of around \u20ac21 million over the last few years; but VanMoof never was, having reportedly lost nearly \u20ac80 million in each of the last two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last week, Cowboy issued a press release titled \u201cCowboy on track to profitability with break even as of Q3 2023.\u201d However, Roose now tells me\u00a0that the company is \u201con track to achieve our goal of profitability within the current quarter, and on a full year basis next year.\u201d Of course, profitability could be \u20ac1, but even that<\/em> would be a first for the six-year old company after a history of losses. A profitable 2024 would certainly be notable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Roose cites \u201cmeaningful revenue growth\u201d for each month this year so far for his optimism about the quarter ending on September 30th, as well as \u201cstrong sales\u201d through July following the launch of its\u00a0more upright and comfortable Cruiser e-bike<\/a>\u00a0on July 3rd. \u201cWe expect sales to exceed our target which will make it the best month of the year so far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Roose lists a few other notable differences between Cowboy and VanMoof:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To \u201cstay healthy,\u201d Roose candidly explains that the August 1st price increase is needed to ensure that reasonable profit margins exist for both Cowboy and its new network of independent bike shop partners.\u00a0Roose also cites several other metrics to demonstrate the company\u2019s relative operational health:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, while you might not like Cowboy\u2019s price increase, that coupled with operational efficiencies across the board could be the difference between your expensive e-bike running for years, and, well… VanPoof! [Editor\u2019s Note: credit to ex-Verge Dieter Bohn for sliding that and \u201cVanOOF\u201d into my DMs on the day VanMoof declared bankruptcy.]<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the opportunity VanMoof\u2019s exit presents, which was recognized by Cowboy\u2019s cheeky release of the Bikey app<\/a> (that has earned the company oodles of goodwill in VanMoof communities), Roose seemed genuinely distraught over VanMoof\u2019s demise when I met with him on a video call, a feeling that was also expressed by fellow Cowboy co-founder and CTO Tanguy Goretti. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhile a lot of individuals will be quick to jump guns and criticize VanMoof, I think they still deserve some recognition for their achievements,\u201d\u00a0wrote Goretti on Linkedin<\/a>. \u201cThey have helped change the face of the industry and the perception of e-bikes since they started 14 years ago (!). They made it cool when it was a product mainly used by our grandparents. They truly had a positive impact on cities and not a small one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n RIP, VanMoof \u2014 you\u2019ll always be my first<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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