1. Tell us about the journey since Pave Motor’s launch.

We founded Pave in 2019 with the goal to fuel mass adoption of electric vehicles in and around large urban cities. The scooter industry is 100+ years old though little has changed – internal combustion engine step-through scooters are still the norm globally. Growing up as brothers in Berlin we always had the desire to get around town quickly and independently, but our only options were loud, heavy, and environmentally unfriendly combustion engine scooters. After moving to Brooklyn a few years ago we realized that recent development of electric drive trains and batteries opened opportunities for a new electric two-wheeler concept.

Rather than adhering to traditional scooter layout and just switching out the drivetrain we took a new design approach and developed something from scratch. The result? A new vehicle category – a two-wheeler that is exhilarating to ride, light, and extremely user-friendly – in other words a fusion of a motorcycle and a bicycle. Using blockchain technology we are working towards creating a decentralized mobility community where users can share their bike, interact, and transact. After 7 prototypes and 50 different concepts, we are now in the pre-production phase and are ramping up production at the end of this year.

2. How are you applying transformative technology to create a positive impact?

To have a serious positive impact on the air quality and the environment in and around cities mass adoption of electric vehicles is inevitable. Pave is silent, emission free, and user-friendly. Our goal is fuel mass adoption of EV’s in cities by offering a high-quality vehicle that is affordable and efficient.

3. What has been your biggest challenge as founder, and how have you learned from it?

Apart from that the saying “hardware is hard” holds a lot of truth in terms of development, engineering, and logistics we found that the step from prototype to production has been the most difficult so far. Finding suppliers that work for both prototype and the production vehicle took a lot of time, trial and error, and overall was the most frustrating process, especially with COVID in the mix. By being determined to find high-quality parts at the right price point and talking with as many suppliers as possible we were able to overcome this challenge and are now super excited to enter the production phase.

4. What role has Newlab played in helping you advance Pave Motors?

Newlab has been extremely helpful in terms of prototyping. By 3D printing parts we were able to flush out a lot of mistakes and it allowed us to test and optimize before sending it to production overseas. Generally, this saved us weeks in terms of development time when working with suppliers overseas. Furthermore, being part of a community that embraces hardware development has been extremely beneficial, whether its testing, development, or supply chain questions there is always someone around that can help or at least point you in the right direction. We are super happy and excited to be part of it!