CHURNING THE WHEELS OF INNOVATION

Paul Waltzing, founder, Bibe

Setting up your own company appears more and more appealing to many people across the globe. However, creating a product or bringing an idea to life can be both challenging and exciting. Dayna Camilleri Clarke caught up with Paul Waltzing to discuss his start-up journey.

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Can you tell us a bit about you and when the Bibe journey began?

As a company, Bibe was set up in 2018, but work on developing the prototype started the year before. On paper, I am probably the opposite of what you would expect for someone bringing a hardware product to life. For example, I am not an engineer, I didn’t get any funding to start-up, and I never had a start-up before) but what I do have is motivation and drive. I have taken a concept with a few helping hands, brought it to life, and am ready to launch it. Credentials? I do whatever it takes.

Could you kindly tell us more about what Bibe is?

Bibe is a multi-purpose portable cooling system designed for bicycles. The system replaces the traditional bicycle bottle cage with one that can transport bottles or containers inside and convert the equipment into a portable refrigeration system through thermoelectric cooling.

What challenges have you found locally along the way? 

Well, for someone in the hardware space, there are some obvious challenges because of the size of the local market. Although, if I had to sum it up, I would say from my personal experience what I’ve encountered the most is a lack of a ‘can-do attitude’. 

How do you stay on top of the latest trends?

Luckily, the ubiquity of cycling as a sport and industry makes it easy to stay on top as there are copious amounts of online resources and many social media groups and influencers to follow. In addition, there are many forums, events, and other resources, even from a consumer electronics or pure technology standpoint. But the short answer is I subscribe to a lot of worthy newsletters.

Why do you think people are attracted to your services?

We offer an innovative product that rings well with our target audience, who are up to date and always keen to learn about the latest cycling accessories. Additionally, our product aligns with our vision to make cycling a more enjoyable experience for all users. We are trying to do what we can to get more people out of cars, make them more active, help with the environment whilst having a little fun along the way. 

How have you adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic scenario?

We were going to launch last year, but with COVID-19, we sort of dodged a bullet as manufacturing and shipping from Asia would have faced enormous challenges. Subsequently, having everything at a standstill, we took that as an opportunity to re-evaluate and see what we could improve. This allowed us to create additional product development, change our strategic approach, and solidify our marketing efforts.

What feedback have you been getting, and what’s next on the horizon for you?

So far, feedback has been very positive with a lot of encouragement, especially those who had joined us on this journey from the beginning when we were still doodling on napkins. While product optimization never truly stops, our next steps involve mostly marketing related to building leads. When we officially launch our crowdfunding campaign next year, we have enough of a following to create a snowball effect and hopefully reach our goal. Then after that, it’s world domination!

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