In 2012, the legal requirements in Germany for the Leasing of company bicycles. At that time, the highest federal and state tax authorities decided to treat bicycles in the same way as company cars for tax purposes. One of the first to recognise the potential of this decision was Ronald Bankowsky - In the same year, he also founded a start-up, which is based in my-service-bike.com was born. In this interview, he reveals how he took his first steps in this then new industry, what challenges his company had to overcome and how he assesses today's bicycle market.
A passion for bikes, a feel for the market or stumbling into it by chance: Why did you decide to set up a company for company bike leasing in 2012?
It was somehow a mixture of everything. I have been an avid cyclist since my early youth and was even a racing cyclist later on. My bike and I were inseparable, it was practically part of my DNA. At the beginning of 2012, I was asked what I thought of these - in inverted commas - new-fangled e-bikes for a market research project. So I travelled to a bike dealer and took several test rides on e-bikes. And can I tell you something? I was hooked right from the start. The electric tailwind reminded me of my youth on the dykes. I spontaneously bought a mountain bike with an electric motor and rode it home. However, I realised that an e-bike is an investment that not everyone can afford. That same evening, I decided to turn it into a product. That was the birth of mein-dienstrad.de.
The step into self-employment is often difficult, but you already had experience of it.
Exactly, in 2008 I founded an advertising agency that went very well. In 2012, I was able to equip my new start-up with my own capital and a lot of marketing expertise. That was a huge help for the launch. In the early years, very few companies in Germany were interested in company bike leasing, so one of the main tasks was to dispel scepticism. It wasn't until 2015 that the number of enquiries increased, and then quite dramatically.
Did you ever doubt the decision?
There have been a few doubts, yes. At the beginning, when hardly any customers wanted to switch to bikes and we invested a relatively large amount of money in advertising and staff. But I said to myself: You need a lot of puff to get up this incline. So I kept pedalling - figuratively and literally. And in the end, that was reflected in my current success.
What have been your favourite moments in the last ten years?
We offer bikes of all kinds, and the first attempts at e-mobility, roughly between 2014 and 2016, were quite amusing. The car industry was still very hesitant and, in my opinion, the potential of electric mobility could be utilised with e-bikes. We had one of the first e-cargo bikes in use - for promotional trips. Our employee was always marvelled at as if we were from the moon when we drove up on our spacy cargo bike.
And what don't you remember so fondly?
The high staff turnover we had between 2016 and 2018. Unfortunately, that was the downside of rapid growth and we learnt a lot from that time. Those wild start-up years are now history. Today, we are a professional and fast-growing company with a motivated and well-coordinated workforce. Of course, we always want to improve, but I think what we have achieved is impressive.
What do you mean, "can be seen"?
In the last two years, we have been able to roughly quadruple our turnover and the demand for company bikes continues to rise. We currently employ just under 50 people. We will probably fill 20-30 new positions this year. I myself retired from the management in February 2021 and left it to my long-time business partner Marcel Nothnagel, but I will remain on board as Senior Advisor. I am convinced that the company will continue to develop strongly under Marcel's leadership. We are currently working on the introduction of a new software solution. This will allow us to be fully digital in our processes and yet always personally accessible.
Did Corona have any influence on this?
Corona has not only given us a boost, but also the leasing sector in general. Thanks to the supply bottlenecks on the one hand and our large dealer network on the other, we were able to provide many customers with their dream bike that they would otherwise not have been able to get from their dealer. However, the pandemic has also ensured that the bicycle has been able to establish itself as a good and reliable means of transport in society. It already was in many places, but Covid-19 has accelerated this trend. Without coronavirus, it would have taken three to five years for this to happen. Compared to cars and public transport, I see the bike in the fast lane in cities.
The term "bicycle country" has often been used recently. Is Germany on the way there or will it remain a car country?
We are still at the very beginning of the transformation process. Planning by the authorities for new routes or conversions takes time, so we will probably not realistically see far-reaching changes for another three to four years. I myself am not at all against car traffic. In my opinion, everyone should choose the mode of transport that suits them best every day. However, force of habit is often the biggest problem here. Why should a commuter who works four kilometres from his home now ride a bike instead of driving a car? It could save so much money. I recently created the steigum.de website. Anyone can use it to see how much money they could save by changing their driving behaviour.
What needs to be improved in order to further promote cycling?
A real incentive would be for the employer to pay its employees a direct reward for every kilometre they cycle. Perhaps a bonus of 30 cents per kilometre. For a four-kilometre journey, this would add up to over 500 euros a year. I would be delighted if more people would switch to cycling for sustainability or health reasons alone - but this often requires a certain reward.
So you now have 10 years in the bicycle industry behind you. What are your hopes for the next decade?
I will definitely remain loyal to the mobility sector and would be delighted to see all players in the market join forces. To this end, I am currently developing new business areas at home and abroad. I know that mein-dienstrad.de is in good hands with Marcel Nothnagel and the whole team, so I can only wish all my colleagues that things continue to go upwards - as they have done so far. Leasing is becoming more and more popular, we have been noticing this for several years now, and the trend will continue to grow. I don't want to give too much away at this point, but I have a lot of ideas and will realise the best ones.
How leasing works at mein-dienstrad.de
my-diensrad.de offers customised leasing models for employers. Employees ride the bike of their choice. If the employee purchases the company bike per salary conversion, he benefits from a tax subsidy via the 0.25% rule and can use his bike for private tours.
At numerous companies - including groups such as Bayer AG and Henkel - company bike leasing is already firmly established as part of company health management. Leasing models are available for companies of all sizes as well as for the self-employed and freelancers.
You can find more information about company bike leasing here here.
