Fast, safe, and environmentally-friendly commuting is a major problem in many urban centers. It is no surprise, therefore, that many startups are dedicated to creating a sustainable and efficient means of transportation that can make life much easier in busy zones. MadFuture is one of such daring companies and their Madboard line of electric skateboards perfectly exemplifies their vision.
Design and features of the Madboard
The Madboard looks no different from the ordinary skateboard but its uniqueness lies in its ability to function as both a skateboard and kick scooter. In the skateboard mode, adventurous users can move about freely and quickly while putting all their cool skating moves to practice. When you require extra stability and balance, you can always switch the board to the kick scooter mode. This mode is perfect for navigating crowded places such as parks and traffic jams. And the transformation process takes just 10 seconds or less.
Zero Start
According to the manufacturers, Madboard’s acceleration system boasts a zero start feature that allows you to launch the board from zero speed. This feature gives users ample time to balance on the skateboard before they start moving. The acceleration is smooth and the board is designed such that even beginners would have little difficulty handling it.
Cruise mode
Manipulating while riding could be a stressful task, especially if you have to do it every time. With its special cruise mode, Madboard gives you the freedom to take a breather while riding. Once you switch to this mode, your board moves at a set speed and you can devote your attention to soaking in the scenery or simply enjoying the wind.
Removable battery
Madboard’s battery pack is easily removable and you can get an extra battery to double your riding time. According to the manufacturers, Madboard boasts a range of 13 km at full charge and it takes only 45 minutes to fully charge the battery.
Powerful regenerative hub motor
A common problem with electric boards is that their motors are sometimes not powerful enough to climb hills or move on certain surfaces. You can trust the Madboard to handle most of the challenge you throw at it. Its powerful dual hub motor permits riding on asphalt and unpaved roads and the board has a climbing angle of about 14 degrees. While decelerating or traveling downhill, the e-abs brake in Madboard would help charge the battery.
Three driving modes
To cater for riders with different skill levels and expertise, Madboard has three different driving modes: easy, normal, and fast. These modes have different maximum speeds and climbing abilities. Predictably, the expert mode boasts the higher maximum speed of 31 Km/hr.
Pricing info
Madboard is currently at the crowdfunding stage. You can check out the official Indiegogo campaign page to see the available pledges and rewards.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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