A large, grey hall in Kempten's industrial area. Blue window frames, metal panelling, no signs. For a few weeks now, an e-bike start-up has been hiding here that has made a rocket-like rise: Rebike. Only when company founder Sven Erger appears in the car park is it clear that we've come to the right place. But the Rebike boss doesn't look like a classic CEO. Instead of a suit and tie, he's wearing a hoodie, smartwatch and bike shoes.
"We bought the first bikes second-hand from private sellers on eBay classifieds. Then I drove across Germany in a Sprinter, collected them and refurbished them myself." - Sven Erger, Rebike founder
Sven directs us to a car park. Then we walk behind him through many doors and offices into a new recreation room. Plastic curtains are provisionally hung, behind them you can hear the roar of the workmen. They have only just moved in, says Sven.
From basement workshop to successful start-up company
It all started four years ago with two assembly stands in his neighbour's cellar. His neighbour is co-founder Thomas Bernik. Rebike is now worlds away from that. At the new refurbishment centre in Kempten, where we are meeting today, several trucks full of bikes arrive every day. Back then, Sven and his partner Thomas had hardly dared to dream that the company would grow so quickly. The idea for Rebike came to Thomas in January 2018. "I had just left Microsoft," says Sven. "After 13 years. I'd spent a total of 17 years in large corporations and I was fed up." In his mid-forties, it was perhaps the last chance to do something different in life. Sven received a severance package and went freeskiing with his partner for six months, travelling to Japan, Georgia and Siberia.
Then Thomas approached Sven. The entrepreneur had observed the trend towards e-bikes. "Although he's not a cyclist at all," says Sven, "from a business point of view, it was interesting for him." Thomas is a realist. He realised that he didn't have the necessary expertise when it came to bikes. "But he always saw me getting on my bike at least every other day to train.
every other day to train. And he also knew that I was out of Microsoft."
In the beginning was the idea
Both were convinced of the idea right from the start. But it was also clear that the risk was just as great as the opportunity. The risk of failure, the risk of wasting a lot of money. Since then, Rebike has grown from 20 to 3500 square metres and from two to over 100 employees. The concept: a second-hand platform for high-quality reconditioned e-bikes that come with a full warranty for the buyer. Even on the motor and battery. In the very first year after the company was founded, the two received a Eurobike Award, and today their turnover is in the double-digit millions. The e-bike boom, even during the pandemic, and the poor availability of new bikes have played into Rebike's hands. But the first few years were not always easy. Sven and Thomas, the two business partners, set themselves one condition: to invest
to invest a lot of private money in the Rebike idea right from the start.
"You have to be prepared to take a risk." Only then can you push yourself to the limit, work through the night and put your private life on the back burner when it counts. "It shouldn't ruin you, but you have to be fully committed to something big and can't just pull the ripcord when things get critical," says Sven Erger.
As long as the company continues to grow as fast as it is at the moment, the workload will be extreme. Sven knows that he has to prioritise and that his free time will be limited for a few years. The company and his family take centre stage for him, biking has to take a back seat at the moment. Nevertheless, Sven travels south almost every third weekend and sometimes works from there. The company boss's favourite area, who prefers steep and technical trails: Lake Garda. "There are incredible trails on the southern foothills of Monte Baldo that hardly anyone knows about. And unlike in the north, there are hardly any bikers there."
But time is short. Sven is constantly commuting back and forth between the head office in Munich and the new refurbishment centre in Kempten. The new location was a good decision, bringing many advantages in terms of costs, personnel and logistics, even if it means Sven is travelling a lot. However, the decisions in the company's young history have not always been perfect hits.
"You have to try things out. Only then can you see whether an idea works," admits Sven.
After their initial success with two rental stores for the refurbished bikes in Garmisch and Oberstdorf, they wanted to pave the entire Allgäu region with rental stations. Then the North and Baltic Seas, then all of Germany. "But then we realised that it would be far too expensive." But that didn't put an end to the rental idea. Quite the opposite. "We kept the two stores - but we changed tack and set up the e-bike subscription as an online platform instead."
Rebike's second mainstay: the e-bike subscription
This E-bike subscription is now the company's second mainstay - and can be seamlessly combined with refurbishment as a business model. With an e-bike subscription, the customer rents a brand-new or as-new bike for at least three months. Usually for the core of the season - a period in which the bike is also used a lot. After the bike is returned, it is reconditioned and, depending on the mileage, offered again as part of the subscription. This means that the bikes stand around unused as little as possible, the customer always rides a bike with the latest technology and, at the end, the subscription bikes are refurbished and sold as a new bike. High-quality used cars sold.
Sven now directs his steps towards the actual refurbishment centre. One more door and the large hall opens up before our eyes. Huge storage rooms full of bike boxes at the back, spare parts warehouse and photo studio at the front. In between are the workstations with assembly stands and touch screens, the test track and the car wash.
Assembly manager Christoph is whizzing across the room. Wearing jeans and work shoes, the bike park fan is taking a test ride on an Orbea Rise. The last act before the bike is packed and delivered to the customer. Christoph is one of many employees that Sven has recruited specifically because of their passion for biking. "It's important to have employees in refurbishment who are emotionally connected to biking," says Sven. Only bikers know what bikers expect: "A flawless product that is refurbished with high-quality parts." The bikes for Rebike come from trade fair stocks of large manufacturers, from leasing fleets or are returns from the subscription model.
However, a lot of time passes before a bike is refurbished and ready for sale. First, the used bikes are washed by hand, then trained mechanics check the bikes for damage and replace the wearing parts. The battery and motor are read, charging cycles and defects are documented and repaired. Every part replacement is recorded in the digital organisation tool, which was developed especially for Rebike. This was particularly important to Sven. "I come from an industry that thinks completely digitally. It's clear that if we want to scale up to more than 50,000 e-bikes per year, we can't rely on verbal communication."
The next goal at Rebike: even more automation. The photo studio has already been completed, and the car wash is set to be the next step. And the start-up also wants to expand internationally. France, the Netherlands and Switzerland are on the list. Sven's business partner Thomas has already raised 24 million euros for this in further financing rounds. The main investor is Circulary Capital, a major European investor in sustainable business. The dream of 50,000 refurbished e-bikes per year could soon become a reality.
The founders of Rebike: Sven Erger and Thomas Bernik
The story of Rebike is the story of a good neighbourhood in Krailling near Munich. Sven and Thomas only lived fence to fence, but the entrepreneur and the sports-mad Microsoft employee maintained a good relationship. Finally - in his mid-forties - Sven pulled the ripcord at Microsoft and accepted an offer of severance pay. Sven wanted to start his own business, and Thomas provided the inspiration. The entrepreneur had the idea for Rebike and knew a lot about the business fundamentals, but little about the bikes themselves. Sven, who prefers to spend his free time on his bike, provided the counterpart with his expertise and digital skills. The first used bikes were purchased in 2018 and the Rebike website went online in June 2018. Rebike has since refurbished and resold 30,000 e-bikes.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
