The next level for PumpTire
05.09.2014
What could be better than maintenance free bicycle tires? This is what Benjamin Krempel and his team from PumpTire are asking. And what they enable. Founded in 2012, making it to venture kick final in 2013, they now come up with some great news: They completed their latest functional prototype. Learn more in our interview with PumpTire CEO Benjamin Krempel.
 PumpTire CEO Ben Krempel
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 This is how the new design looks like
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Ben, you just completed your latest prototype. Will the maintenance free bike now become reality?
Yes, it looks like it's on its way - at least as far as tires and inner tubes are concerned. Our new design keeps your tires inflated by drawing in air from the atmosphere and pushing it into the inner tube while you ride. The design also protects the inner tube from puncture flats.
What distinguishes your new version from the ones before?
The ride quality and simplicity of the design are amazing. Two years ago we built the first self-inflating inner tube, as a concept to see if we could actually get something to work. We literally just wanted to prove that it was possible because it seemed to many people to be an idea that defied the laws of physics.
The new design does not affect the ride quality and is imperceptible to the rider. The design is also very energy efficient. That is to say a lot of the energy used to operate the pumping mechanism is returned to the system by the springiness or elasticity of the materials used. Of course it still takes energy to push the air into the inner tube, but it's a pretty small amount.
When do you plan to enter the market?
We expect to sell product in early 2016. Our first products will target urban commuters and eBikes. One of the benefits of going through a long development cycle is having the time to assemble a great development team. We have taken a lot of technical risk out of the product and I'm confident in the team's ability to see the product through production.
What were the biggest entrepreneurial challenges you had to handle?
We are just coming out of a near death experience. For over a year we built various prototypes and came up with new designs, but couldn't get the system to work properly. We set the expectations with investors that we would raise money after the completion of the next working prototype. When that didn't happen we had limited funds to move forward. You can mentally and financially go through the valley of death and not come back out.
In 2012-2013 we raised an initial CHF 250K to prototype the design we had been working on and then we couldn't get it to work. We did a lot of prototyping and realized in the process we were trying to solve the wrong technical problem.
In the beginning of 2014, we started playing with a design concept that looked promising. We did a lot of rapid prototyping, which hinted at the solution, but because of material limitations we could not build a working prototype by this method. Then we came up with a quick and cheap method that produced high quality, high strength components that allowed us to create many iterations. This process resulted in the design breakthrough.
What are the next steps for PumpTire?
We have just begun fundraising our Series A CHF 1M round. Our goal is to close this round by the end of 2014. The money will be used to take us from where we are today to a production-ready design and completion of pilot sales in 2016.
And what’s the best advice you ever received in your entrepreneurial career?
For us, right now it's about the ability and importance of perseverance. You must find a way to move forward. Lately I've been listening to this motivational video challenging you to get back up and persevere.
Yes, it looks like it's on its way - at least as far as tires and inner tubes are concerned. Our new design keeps your tires inflated by drawing in air from the atmosphere and pushing it into the inner tube while you ride. The design also protects the inner tube from puncture flats.
What distinguishes your new version from the ones before?
The ride quality and simplicity of the design are amazing. Two years ago we built the first self-inflating inner tube, as a concept to see if we could actually get something to work. We literally just wanted to prove that it was possible because it seemed to many people to be an idea that defied the laws of physics.
The new design does not affect the ride quality and is imperceptible to the rider. The design is also very energy efficient. That is to say a lot of the energy used to operate the pumping mechanism is returned to the system by the springiness or elasticity of the materials used. Of course it still takes energy to push the air into the inner tube, but it's a pretty small amount.
When do you plan to enter the market?
We expect to sell product in early 2016. Our first products will target urban commuters and eBikes. One of the benefits of going through a long development cycle is having the time to assemble a great development team. We have taken a lot of technical risk out of the product and I'm confident in the team's ability to see the product through production.
What were the biggest entrepreneurial challenges you had to handle?
We are just coming out of a near death experience. For over a year we built various prototypes and came up with new designs, but couldn't get the system to work properly. We set the expectations with investors that we would raise money after the completion of the next working prototype. When that didn't happen we had limited funds to move forward. You can mentally and financially go through the valley of death and not come back out.
In 2012-2013 we raised an initial CHF 250K to prototype the design we had been working on and then we couldn't get it to work. We did a lot of prototyping and realized in the process we were trying to solve the wrong technical problem.
In the beginning of 2014, we started playing with a design concept that looked promising. We did a lot of rapid prototyping, which hinted at the solution, but because of material limitations we could not build a working prototype by this method. Then we came up with a quick and cheap method that produced high quality, high strength components that allowed us to create many iterations. This process resulted in the design breakthrough.
What are the next steps for PumpTire?
We have just begun fundraising our Series A CHF 1M round. Our goal is to close this round by the end of 2014. The money will be used to take us from where we are today to a production-ready design and completion of pilot sales in 2016.
And what’s the best advice you ever received in your entrepreneurial career?
For us, right now it's about the ability and importance of perseverance. You must find a way to move forward. Lately I've been listening to this motivational video challenging you to get back up and persevere.