Scooterson is raising at a $19 million valuation cap with a 20% discount. Taking into consideration the company’s overall traction, specifically the less than $5,000 in 2020 revenue, its valuation is rather high. The 20% discount is not enough to counteract this factor. Furthermore, a $19 million valuation is high in comparison to other early stage startups currently raising capital online. Thus, the price score for Scooterson is very low.

According to one source, the global e-scooter market was worth $19.4 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow 7.6% per year, eventually climbing to $34.9 billion by 2028. That source estimates that the US market was $1.25 billion in 2020 and will reach $3.5 billion in 2028. Given those figures, the US e-scooter market would be growing by 13.7% per year, far outpacing the global average. Meanwhile, a second source estimated the global market at $16.1 billion for 2020 and projected that it will reach $22.1 billion by 2025. Though the growth rate is fairly attractive, the domestic market opportunity available for Scooterson is on the small side. The market score for the company is low as a result.

Mihnea ‘de Vries’ Chis is the CEO and co-founder of Scooterson. Prior to starting the business, he served as a director, cinematographer, and producer on a contract basis. During that time, he also built and designed custom drones for KopterX, particularly aerial cinematography systems. He has experience producing and directing films for 7G and Red Pixel Films. He was also a creative director for Sevengee, which created social media campaigns based on interactive video player technology. He also has experience as a music producer and IT consultant. Much of Chis’s experience is not particularly relevant to Scooterson or the design of e-scooters.

Deepansh Jain is Scooterson’s other co-founder and CTO. Previously, he founded a company called Hacktor, which focused on reverse-engineering software and providing related services. He also co-founded Signals Inc — a software development firm that was eventually acquired — and Shifu App, a task-reminder app. Prior to that, he was the founder and head of technology at Juvenis Tech. While Jain’s experience does not pertain strongly to e-scooters, his past exits with other startups is an encouraging sign.

Scooterson’s two founders have very complementary skill sets and plenty of managerial expertise. Jain also has an acquisition under his belt, proving his entrepreneurial skills. The key team is lean, as there are no other apparent full time members. In order to continue scaling the product, the founders will need to build out the team, especially in lacking areas like sales and marketing. 

Scooterson scores strongly overall in the team metric, particularly due to co-founder Jain’s past successful exits.

Scooterson faces substantial competition in the e-scooter market. Companies like Skooza, Scrooser, and Phat Scooters all offer devices that look and function similarly to Scooterson’s e-scooters. However, there are key differences that manage to set Scooterson apart. First is that its prices are below much of the competition’s. More importantly, Scooterson has developed a suite of features for its e-scooters that is not found elsewhere. Its smart riding suggestions, anti-theft notifications, and the ability to control the device from a smartphone are all unique additions to the base e-scooter. None of the competitors seem to provide fleet management functionality for their business customers. They also don’t appear to offer the ability to share your scooters with another user with the push of a button. Scooterson has also secured five patents and has three more pending for its technology. Due to all of this, the company rates well in the differentiators score.

Scooterson is nearing the point of monetization and has achieved pre-orders amounting to more than $1 million. However, it generated only $4,900 in revenue in 2020, and it saw a net loss of $478,131. Fortunately, much of that loss was non-cash in nature, leading to operating cash outflow of just $34,933. Additionally, the founding team has raised more than $3 million in prior rounds via Regulation Crowdfunding. With only $300,000 in total debt, Scooterson has succeeded in maintaining a lean company while also making strong progress on its product. Thus, the performance score for Scooterson is strong.

The risk profile for Scooterson is moderate. The first area of concern is the investment terms. Scooterson is raising funds on a convertible note and is slightly overvalued. Convertible notes are not as favorable to investors as common or preferred equity, and the $19 million valuation is not attractive at this time. These factors combine to create elevated risk in the investment terms category.

Another other elevated risk involved timing. Scooterson will need time to fully scale production and distribution of its e-scooters, meaning it could be a while before investors see any returns. For similar reasons — specifically since the product has yet to be commercialized — product risk is also slightly elevated.

Even with a discount, Scooterson’s valuation is a bit too high to be favorable for investors. The e-scooter market opportunity — while growing at a decent rate — is rather small. Risk associated with an investment in Scooterson is also elevated due to the fact that the product has yet to achieve full commercialization and monetization. Last, the company is only marginally differentiated from its competition. Although its pricing model is favorable, other companies provide similar e-scooters, and there are also other e-scooter fleets. If another competitor replicated Scooterson’s approach to data and app-based sharing, the company would see its defensibility greatly decrease.

Scooterson is riding the general micro-mobility trend with its smart e-scooters. The company has secured multiple patents for its technology, providing a strong defensive moat for itself. The e-scooters’ smartphone pairing capabilities appear distinct in the market, and though the anti-theft alarm, scooter locator, and app serving as a dashboard aren’t unique, they do bring additional value. The market, though small, is growing at a decent rate. Last, although the company has not achieved monetization yet, it already has a list of customers eagerly waiting to use its products. Specifically, the $1 million in presales bodes well for the future of the company.

Scooterson has created a line of energy-efficient, intelligent, and electric scooters that can be controlled entirely from smartphones. Its Rolley and ELF models can be purchased by consumers via a monthly rental plan, and a second fleet of AIR model scooters are available for other businesses to buy and rent out. 

The company’s $19 million valuation is higher than investors might prefer, even with this round’s 20% discount. Scooterson has not yet achieved full commercialization or monetization of its e-scooters, so product-market fit is not guaranteed. Although the market is growing at a decent rate, it is still rather small. Additionally, the e-scooter market is becoming crowded, and Scooterson will need to stay ahead of the competition in order to secure a substantial niche for itself. 

On the other hand, Scooterson’s multiple patents make it harder for other businesses to replicate any success it achieves in the future. The technology is promising, and with $3.2 million in prior investment and $1 million in presale orders, the company’s financial future looks bright.  In all, Scooterson has been rated a Neutral Deal at this time.

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Analysis written by Daniel Jones.