The Innovation Fund is a four-week crowdfunding competition that gives VFA Fellows the opportunity to launch their business ideas and projects. Eleven Fellow-led teams are off to the races sharing their new ventures with the world and hustling to raise as much money as possible on Indiegogo between now and March 16th. Between now and August 4th, the team that raises the most money will receive additional funding to launch their venture.
Chelsea Koglmeier is the Founder/CEO of Bikes ORO and a 2012 Venture for America Fellow. After working at a technology accelerator (The Brandery) and a road travel startup (Roadtrippers) in Cincinnati, OH, she is now building into the world with what she calls “reckless optimism”. Chelsea and her team are working to get more people around the world to ride bikes, doing so by building socially conscious bicycles that directly support the donation of a bike to someone in need.
that bikes should be part of everyone’s everyday
Bikes ORO build simple, low maintenance bikes for your everyday. For every bike purchased through us, we help get one to someone in need around the world.
I first dreamed of building a socially conscious bike company in 2009 when I was living in a refugee community outside Kampala, Uganda. I was working on a micro-finance project at the time, but abject power of access to the bicycle was overwhelming and compelling.
I tabled the dream. I thought someone else would do it, but no one did or has. For years, it sat at the back of my mind while I finished college; spent time researching child malnutrition in Bolivia; helped found a non-profit for hispanic micro entrepreneurs in Durham, NC; spent some serious energy competing in the triathlon world; joined the tech space, where I worked for a technology accelerator; and then joined the founding team of an amazing road travel app, called Roadtrippers.
I resurfaced the idea of ORO, realized no one had taken it on, and couldn’t stop thinking and dreaming about what it could be. There are reasons this hasn’t been done. The raw costs of producing (and shipping) bikes is higher than I anticipated. A bike is a higher ticket purchase than many of the socially conscious products — meaning the social cause is one reasons of MANY you may have for buying a bike. But, as the name of the company may imply, I’m plowing forward with reckless optimism because these bikes should exist.
The more we build ORO, the more we become aware of the discrepancy in the bicycle industry that markets towards the super-“enthusiast” versus your average Chelsea or Jack. In my opinion, bikes are a life enhancement for everyone in so many ways. There is no negative to getting yourself on a bike. The challenge stems from inside the industry itself, but we can fix it. Bike shops can be intimidating and overwhelming – we’re over complicating the simple story of the bicycle with too many technical details. It doesn’t need to be that hard of a decision. You need quality, utility, and a bike suited to your riding.
We’ve simplified the story and reduced your decision-making variables. We’re bringing the bikes straight to you and helping to spread the power of the bicycle to people in need around the world.
You can find additional information on our crowdfunding campaign – including a video that showcases the bikes themselves. Thank you for the support!