ᕙ(▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿) ᕗ Nº170 The Name of the Game 🎲🎮

I'm not really an ABBA fan so I'm not referencing their 1977 song & first single from their fifth studio album. 😉 To me "the name of the game" is more about "something that you must do if you want to be successful at a particular activity or business"

Bikes are big business in Holland growing globally. In over 30 cities across the The Netherlands, Germany & Denmark, Swapfiets has been crushing it with their bicycle subscription service. Here are 3 key ways this unique Dutch bike startup is winning customers and growing business rapidly:

#1 No upfront cost – the Swapfiets subscription is available for €15 per month and for students its just €12. This monthly subscription fee bundles service, repairs, an extra lock, working bike lights and theft insurance. The subscription is flexible and can be cancelled on a monthly basis. There is upfront cost such as deposit or startup cost.
#2 Free repairs – their Netflix style subscription model comes with bundled benefits. It offers free repairs for users whenever they face a defect such as a flat tire. In such scenarios, the service will send a bicycle mechanic to the spot within twelve hours. Also, users will get another functional bike.
#3 Functional app – last year, Swapfiets introduced an app for the Android and iOS platform. It is a functional app that lets users schedule an appointment to get their bike repaired at their home or visit the physical store for the purpose. In case, the bike is stolen, users can schedule a swap bike from the app itself. It is also possible to find the route to the nearest Swapstore to resolve the issues they face. It lets users pin the location of their bike and never lose it again. The company keeps the users’ concern in mind and works accordingly. Its policy is such that the customers do not go without a bike for over 2 days even if it was stolen. Undoubtedly, its user-centric policy and services have made it successful.

Founded in 2014 and already boasting 100,000 customers, Swapfiets isn't slowing down anytime soon. To any detractors or haters in industry, I'd suggest laying off the haterade & learn the name of the game! In this case: no up-front costs, free repairs & an easy to use, user-centric service. They're winning because their customers are grinning.

As always, thank you for reading : )

with appreciation,

Jon

p.s.

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(title image courtesy Callum Nicklin taken at Further last weekend)

Cycling

Twotone is at Eurobike. Here's what we are doing:

🛠SILCA (no stand)

Josh Poertner, SILCA's CEO, will be at the show and is keen to catch up with media and partners about their plan's and the brand's future.

🇫🇮Pelago (No. A2-505)

They're celebrating 10 years, updates on their dealer program, Pelago X Ass Savers collab, the launch of Pelago X Restrap, the launch of their new stainless bike concept and more!

🚵‍♀SPENGLE (no stand)

Spengle is bringing their wild 'Collections by SPENGLE' wheels to the show. Also, the first 700c wheels are there. Click here if you'd like to meet their marketing guy Martin & click here is you want to meet the CEO.

⚡Ampler (no stand)

Ampler is growing like crazy and wants to meet as many people as possible at Eurobike! Tuuli, their head of communications, is joining: click this link to make an appointment with Tuuli.

🚴‍♂Wahoo Fitness (No. B3-504)

Wahoo is launching a new product and it going to be big! We can't say what yet, but we promise you it's worth your time coming to the Wahoo booth B3-504 on Wednesday 10AM. More details here.

⏱4iiii (B3-209)

They're showing off their latest and greatest at the show. Check the teaser here. Be sure to come by there booth. (note that all 4iiii info is under embargo until September 4th 2019)

Want to catch up Eurobike?

Use this link to book a drink!

Let's be Fwends: women might be the better long-distance athletes

Peter at Let's be Fwends pointed our that he's seen a couple of remarkable things happen recently to back up this claim:

First, Fiona Kolbinger won the Transcontinental Race, a 4.0000 km ultra-endurance race from the Black Sea to Brittany. The newcomer to the ultra-endurance scene didn’t win the women’s category. She won the race. Like, you know, overall. Like, fastest person. Faster than all the men. You know, that kind of win. The “and the winner is …” kind of win.
Then, Lael Wilcox came in second in the Silkroad Mountain Race, what is arguably the toughest ultra-endurance bike racing format at the moment.
And finally, Emma Pooley just won the Further Journal race, a tough race that saw only 8 of its 29 starters finishing. Again, the “fastest person” kind of win.

So, are women the better long-distance athletes? It’s hard to tell, but there is mounting evidence that longer events level the playing field, removing the advantage of men (that mostly comes from muscle mass, even in endurance type of events).

Startups

Productivity Isn’t About Time Management. It’s About Attention Management. - The New York Times

“Time management” is not a solution — it’s actually part of the problem.

"I took a huge pay cut for a more meaningful job, and it was nothing like I expected"

People say they would give up a more lucrative job for a more meaningful job that pays less in a heartbeat. But it’s a change that requires thought and careful planning–and doesn’t always go according to plan.

GitHub - deepmind/open_spiel

OpenSpiel is a collection of environments and algorithms for research in general reinforcement learning and search/planning in games.

Sales & PR

Sales Hackers Meetup - GitHub Edition

Tobias & I are really looking forward to see you all on Tuesday the 17th of September for the Q3 '19 Sales Meetup. It's going to be an awesome event hosted by GitHub in the Rooftop event space in the Spaces office in the city center of Amsterdam! Hopefully the weather is good and we will also enjoy some drinks from the terrace : )