[Startup Interview] Roman Bysko, CEO, Meredot, Latvia

[Startup Interview] Roman Bysko, CEO, Meredot, Latvia

Published: 09-12-2021 07:41:51 | By: Bob Koigi | hits: 12017 | Tags:

Meredot is a Latvia-based mobility infrastructure startup that develops electric fueling stations to charge an e-scooter wirelessly and help cities thrive by resolving mobility issues and maximizing the benefits of micro-mobility. The startup’s Co-founder and CEO Roman Bysko elaborates.

Tell us a bit about your startup

Meredot was founded in 2017 by a group of engineers and scientists who wanted to prove that people didn't need to compromise to charge their electronics wirelessly – that wireless charging can be efficient, faster and more convenient than the cable-based charging process.

Today, Meredot provides not only wireless charging technology but also already green solutions to wirelessly charge mobility, micro-mobility transport, robots and drones. Meredot believes the faster the world stops relying on fossil fuels and moves towards an electric transport charging infrastructure future, the better.

Who founded Meredot and what are their professional backgrounds?

Roman Bysko is co-founder and CEO of Meredot, a mobility infrastructure company that develops next-gen wireless electric charging stations. Roman has more than ten years' experience in the consumer electronics and IT sectors. He has been publishing articles in electronics and science publications. Prior to starting Meredot, Roman was the Director of the Innovation and R&D departments at Black Nova where he designed products for smart home and hotel automation. Working closely with Schneider Electric, Roman achieved a number of industry firsts, and made Black Nova a dominant player in the market. Roman Bysko holds a master's degree in electronics systems from the Chernihiv State Technological University.

 Meredot has been recognized with a number of awards for its technology, being the regional winner at the EuroAsian Startup Awards in 2019, received a prestigious grant from the European Commission being evaluated as a high-quality tech product in 2019, Top Startup at TAU Innovation in 2018, Top Startups in Israel in MassChallenge in 2018, and many others.

How is Meredot financed?

The company just recently closed a $350k seed funding round.

The round was led by Overkill VC, Alexander Krivoruchko and the Ukrainian Investments Platform.

In addition, in 2019, the company won a 50k EUR grant for its innovative MePower wireless charging technology which is the underlying component the wireless fueling station is based on.

Over the last six months, Meredot grew from developing a laboratory prototype to the construction of a commercial version of its wireless charging station for Bird, Lime, Bolt and other e-scooter operators. in 2022, the company won another prestigious grant from the European Innovation Council for its innovation in the B2B mobility infrastructure solution.

What would you say are the dynamics that have shaped micro mobility industry over the years?

The already enormous market share for micro-mobility, which is expected to be $200-300 billion in the U.S., $100-150 billion in Europe, and $30-50 billion in China by 2030, raises the question: what can be done to reduce CO2 emissions while recharging batteries?

E-scooters have populated streets and sidewalks across major European cities over the last few years, echoing the spread throughout cities in the U.S. E-scooters are well known as the solution to many city problems, including the environment. Of course, electric scooters are not without carbon footprints. Emissions are created when manufacturing the scooter, as well as through the generation of electricity necessary to power it. However, these are minimal compared to cars, and even more so, new wireless charging technologies on the market would speed up green micro-mobility transport adoption by providing riders a seamless wireless charging experience. The market share

Why did you start Meredot? What opportunities did you identify?

Founders behind the company wanted to prove that people didn't need to compromise to charge their electronics wirelessly – that wireless charging can be efficient, faster and more convenient than the cable-based charging process.

What problems does Meredot seek to solve?

Meredot has developed a next-generation wireless charging station for electric transport and cloud platform as a service to control and manage charging station infrastructure. Due to the cable-based charging usability issues, today only 1 in 10 users connect a charger cable after a ride. At the same time, other riders do not know how to connect the charger or don't use it all.

The existing charging station infrastructure industry is now outdated, however, wireless charging methods and information processing technologies can transform this sector.

By providing an autonomous charging experience within the price of a plug-in charging station, we will make wireless solutions the choice of most electric transport users; and with the advanced software featuring systematic control and monitoring of the charging infrastructure, we will help cities thrive by resolving issues and maximizing the benefits of micro-mobility, and will gain a long-term advantage in the charging industry.

What gives Meredot the competitive edge?

Meredot provides a fully autonomous charging experience - after a ride, just leave the scooter on the charging surface, which is enough to start charging. There are no cables, which means no way to get an electrical shock. In addition, there is simply nothing to oxidize and fail, and with a user-friendly charging system with absolutely minimal station maintenance, Meredot's solution does not destroy scooter providers' business logic.

Tell us about your customer base

Our customers are e-scooter operators, system integrators and other micromobility players.

What does Meredot  need in order to grow?

The company plans another investment round in 2022, and partners to license the product. The product is ready to be licensed. We welcome scooter operators, system integrators and other micromobility players to join our network of official partners and drive together the wireless charging revolution.

What is your growth strategy?

We already have partners in Italy and Israel, and have plans to launch in other regions worldwide.

In what markets are you looking at establishing your presence?

Our main goal is to start in the EU and then expand globally, anywhere there e-scooters are currently used. In the future, we plan on optimising the platform for EVs and use the technology for other user case scenarios.

What are your plans for the coming year?

We plan to look for partners and customers, talk to e-scooter operators.

www.meredot.com

 

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