Finding Connections, the FlyKly Way
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
FlyKly focuses its efforts around helping people stay connected via well designed and implemented urban travel
New York, New York – November, 2011 -
When one considers lithium-ion batteries, disc brakes and spools of wire the types of ‘connections’ that come to mind are probably more electro-chemical than social.
At FlyKly, a scrappy electric bike startup based in SoHo, you’d be wrong. At least sort of.
“We’re obviously focused on constant technological improvement, but towards a social end” remarked Niko, their 27 year old CEO.
In a world increasingly focused on trends such as social entrepreneurship and sustainability, the connections that bind us both as a people and a planet, seem to be taking center stage.
“As the owner of a business you just can’t ignore it,” continued Niko, “you’re actions are always having an affect, often a larger one than you can realize–at FlyKly we just try every day to make sure that effect is positive”.
That they do. One employee, Eric Bruenner, pointed out a video that had been making the rounds at the FlyKly HQ recently: “It’s about a study from Donald Appleyard, the father of the ‘livable streets’ concept–its just a reminder about how our business is about urbanism, it’s about human communities, it’s about so much more than just selling bikes.”
This merging of social and commercial concerns seems to be gaining momentum in the culture at large.
In a recent editorial in the San Jose Mercury News Andy Lieberman writes “Instead, we believe that the needs will be met with something many consider counterintuitive: social entrepreneurs selling — not giving away — vital products and thriving on unusual business and financing models.”
The same shift seems to occurring on the consumer front too, driven perhaps as much by economic as ethical concerns. A recent study conducted by Ford found a growing desire for fuel economy, including interest in electric vehicles, among drivers.
Whatever the reasons, it seems that when ‘for good’ and ‘for profit’ start becoming synonymous, everybody wins.
