UAE based Electric Scooter Startup, Dash boosting the Smart Dubai 2021 Vision!

With the intervention of Dash Mobility, Electric scooters have never been so safer, sleeker or more exciting to drive!

Electric scooter’s are becoming a popular mode of transport for residents living and working in several new communities in Dubai promoting Smart Dubai 2021 vision.

The rEVolution from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) has been a gradual process for some – and an exciting leap for others.

Dash, a 100% electric scooter designed to quickly take your riders around town — all while delivering a one-of-a-kind personalized experience.

23 years old Vrushabh with his co founder Huzaifa founded Dash mobility in 2018, An electric scooter sharing service which provides a green micro-mobility transportation option to commuters and users in the UAE to help them reach their destination quickly easily.

What were the biggest challenges that you faced in bringing this idea of electric scooter to fruition?

Like any start-up we faced challenges on multiple fronts. Most of these challenges were well expected but the biggest one in my opinion was that of the regulatory environment.

UAE takes safety extremely seriously. Therefore, the transportation sector is highly regulated in here. Electric scooter sharing itself is a very new concept around the world and in the MENA region. So, catching up will take some time. Although we launched in cities with their permissions and not just dumped scooters on the streets, unlike a few companies out there.

The second biggest challenge we faced was having the age bias issue as we are young but we kinda expected this. As few potential stakeholders assume that young means stupid and they don’t trust us, but that’s just human nature I guess.

Tell our readers a little more about you and your cofounder?

Huzaifa and I met at university! Initially, we worked on developing an agri-tech prototype to save and redirect food waste. But, while we were at it we figured out that there wasn’t any market need for what we were building.

(Lesson learnt-build what people need desperately and do your market research)

And we were already contemplating our next idea of  Electric scooter sharing. So, we took this idea to a start-up competition in Armenia where we got a lot of interest from investors.

That’s when we came back to Dubai and began working on the execution of this idea.

Huzaifa and I click well and we also complement each other’s skill set. We both are fully involved in product development. But, he is majorly associated with tech, marketing and IT side of things. Whereas, I handle the business development, ops and fundraising side of stuff, leveraging my sales and consulting experience.

It is super important to have a co-founder on the team. A startup is like a marriage, You can’t have a successful marriage without a partner who constantly challenges you, pushes you and critiques your thoughts and ideas. I personally feel your co-founder should be able to have your back and should be able to maintain composure when the shit hits the fan.

How have you and will you engage investors in this platform?

I won’t comment much on this but someone from my cohort once told us that:

‘If you are looking for an investment, you’ll get an advice. And if you go out looking for an advice you’ll end up getting an investment.’

I thought this was stupid but I was wrong.

What are your expectations for growth of your start-up in 2019? And what are your goals in next 3-5 years?

We are going to launch in 3 major cities in UAE and in a couple of other cities in MENA region and are looking into launching into the caucus region as well over the next 3 years in terms of business expansions.

Talking about the product we have a grand vision as we believe micro mobility is in its initial stages and is going to improve and evolve to be an integral part of any city’s public transportation network.

Right now there is a bit of skepticism by cities due to the safety aspect but once that is addressed E-scooters are going to disrupt the mobility forever.

Dash mobility is prototyping its own hardware to make the onboarding process easier and simpler, over the next few years we are aiming to charge our entire fleet by solar energy to be environmentally sustainable.

What sets your company apart in the market? Why do you think the consumers will choose your Electric scooter over the competition?

As the company’s founder, you’re an executive, leader, and entrepreneur. What advice can you offer to young and aspiring entrepreneurs who wants to start the next big thing?

I don’t think I am in a position to give advice … I kinda need advice myself. Although I’ll share whatever I think suffices as an ‘advice’.

• Do your customer interviews. Don’t be shy! Talk to as many people as you can. As an entrepreneur or an ideas scout, talking to more people usually works in your favor.
• Don’t worry about funding. If your idea and product is great and if you have demonstrated traction in product development/customer interviews finding, then that first round of investment will be a bit easier.
• Go to events such as StartupWeekend or Sheraa’s ideathon or idea lab or StartAD, Beyond the pitch, or startup blink or events in in5 or events hosted by Dtec. These venues and programmes are a great way to get yourself out there in the startup ecosystem and network or get guidance. You are not alone!

Be prepared to go through an emotional roller-coaster every day or every week!