The French startup GAYA, which designed a mobility concept around a connected cargo bike, has just completed a fundraising of 1.6 million euros. We spoke with Amelie Guicheney, co-founder and CEO at Gaya. The latter enlightened us on the future projects of her startup!
Everything you need to know about GAYA
Who are you ?
I grew up in Paris. I began my professional journey in the product innovation sector, in consumer goods and luxury goods. After 8 years in consulting, strategy and marketing, I wanted to get closer to the startup world and I joined Evaneos, a responsible travel marketplace, member of the NEXT40. I structured and managed the Offer, Product B2C, Data and Brand teams.
At the beginning of 2021, mother of a little boy for a few months, I left my position within ComEx of Evaneos to embark on the entrepreneurial adventure that is GAYA, with Jacques Bonneville, my partner. Going into entrepreneurship was a wish I had since adolescence. In 2021, it was the right time.
What does GAYA do?
GAYA is a company with a mission, committed to simplifying the lives of urban families. We have designed a new mobility concept around a connected cargo bike and a range of services. The GAYA bike is available in two lengths:
- the compact, which allows you to take a child or adult passenger with you, like on a scooter
- cargo, which can carry two to three children on its extended luggage rack
All our bikes offer maximum comfort and safety, with components borrowed from the scooter, including a large headlight, indicators and a starter. And they are not afraid of theft thanks to their remote security system connected to a GAYA mobile application. We started marketing GAYA bicycles in June 2021 and, in 9 months, we sold more than 1,000 bicycles and generated 2.5 million euros in turnover. We have a strong community around us, which supports the project.
GAYA’s fundraising
Why did you raise 1.6 million euros?
We have three major areas of development:
- develop the growth of GAYA in France and neighboring countries;
- launch a new range of bicycles which will provide even more comfort and ingenuity;
- relocalize the assembly of GAYA bicycles in France.
Why did you choose to include Mobivia in your capital?
GAYA has chosen to include Mobivia in its capital.
We have had a close relationship with Mobivia since the start of our project. Mobivia is a French industrial group leader in the mobility sector and has been investing for more than 15 years in the development of new mobility, through investments in startups or the accelerator of new mobility, the Moove Lab, in Station F. Mobivia, through Via ID, is also one of the investors in Fifteen, the leader in shared bicycle sharing (Vélib, etc.) in Europe, which gives them strong industrial know-how in the cycle sector.
What will GAYA look like in 5 years?
The future will tell us and we are still at the beginning.
With Jacques, we dream of gaining strength on the industrial side, like brands like Brompton, by integrating part of the value chain in France and being able to accelerate on European markets with ever more ingenious products, which respond to the new uses of urban residents and the ecological challenges of our society.
