Australian motorcycle company Braaap to power US and electric push with capital raise
Braaap is looking to revolutionise the motorcycle sector with a subscription model and a push into the electric motorbike market.
Australian motorcycle company Braaap is soon to launch a capital raise through new equity crowd-funding platform Swarmer, with the money to be used to expand in the US and launch its new range of electric motorbikes.
The Victoria-based company is also developing a subscription-based ownership model, with its research showing that 62 per cent of Australian motorcycle licence holders don’t actually own a bike.
Founder and chief executive Brad Smith said the subscription program, RideClub, would remove the economic barrier to entry for current and future riders alike, and allow them to ride a portfolio of different machines.
“Building a subscription model means riders don’t need debt or cash to ride, it means they don’t need to be stuck on the one bike they can afford but can choose from a fleet of 3000 new and maintained bikes,’’ Mr Smith said.
“Ride dirt today, a cafe racer tomorrow, then an electric sports bike for the weekend.
“Our vision for the future of motorcycling is that you won’t need to own a bike, but be a member of our ‘RideClub’ to have access to a fleet of awesome bikes.”
On the electric front, Braaap pre-sold its first two production runs, and will soon be delivering the first bikes to customers.
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While electric cars are generally more expensive than their internal combustion engine equivalents, Mr Smith said Braaap was able to deliver an e-motorcycle for the same price as the petrol-powered equivalent.
“Motorcycling is a passion. We love riding, but it’s also the most cost effective way to commute to work. Nothing better than riding past the petrol station,’’ Mr Smith said.
“Braaap is bringing to the market a cost-effective and electric, environmentally-friendly motorcycle option. This is the game changer.”
Mr Smith founded Braaap in Launceston in 2005, with its bike range manufactured in China with final assembly and quality assurance in Australia.
To date the company has put more than 10,000 vehicles on the road, and has profitably grown revenue by more than 300 per cent since FY20, Mr Smith said.
Braaap is now seeking expressions of interest for its crowd-funding raise through Swarmer, with the final amount to be raised yet to be determined.
Swarmer itself was recently recapitalised, with a consortium of investors buying the equity crowd-funding licence formerly held by Crowd88 and rebranding and refining the offering.
Swarmer founder Roseanne Healy said it was a great opportunity to be working with a company such as Braaap, which already had a proven track record.
“Swarmer is all about fuelling the entrepreneurial spirit and linking innovative companies with investors through the power of equity crowd-funding,” Ms Healy said.
With Braaap already having a loyal following of owners and more than 60,000 followers on social media, equity crowd-funding presented the opportunity to translate those fans into investors and advocates, Ms Healy said.
Expressions of interest are scheduled to close on September 5.
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