{"id":490471,"date":"2022-09-05T03:20:08","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T00:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/"},"modified":"2022-09-05T03:20:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T00:20:08","slug":"inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"#Inside the collapse of Usain Bolt&#8217;s scooter startup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34fd4217fbc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34fd4217fbc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/#%E2%80%9CInside_the_collapse_of_Usain_Bolts_scooter_startup%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Inside the collapse of Usain Bolt&#8217;s scooter startup&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/#%E2%80%98Revolutionize_transportation\" >\u2018Revolutionize transportation\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/#%E2%80%98Things_are_starting_to_burn_down\" >\u2018Things are starting to burn down\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/#%E2%80%98When_a_bunch_of_lawyers_get_involved\" >\u2018When a bunch of lawyers get involved\u2019<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CInside_the_collapse_of_Usain_Bolts_scooter_startup%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Inside the collapse of Usain Bolt&#8217;s scooter startup&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p>The sudden collapse of a transportation startup co-founded by Usain Bolt didn\u2019t just leave hundreds of unusable scooters and e-bikes littered across American cities \u2014 it also left behind a group of irate ex-employees who were left unpaid for months, The Post has learned.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bolt Mobility, which was co-founded by the legendary Jamaican sprinter and featured his voice on its e-scooters, went out of business in July after running out of funding. The company abandoned vehicles on the streets of cities including Portland, Oregon and Burlington, Vermont that became useless because they had to be unlocked through its <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not just the local governments that have to clean up Bolt\u2019s mess who are angry \u2014 a group of ex-employees also say the startup withheld their final paychecks for months. <\/p>\n<p>Four former Bolt employees told The Post that, prior to the shutdown in July, the company failed to send out their paychecks for the entire month of June. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the paychecks not coming through, the employees say they were repeatedly assured by Bolt\u2019s leadership that the disruption was temporary and they would receive backpay as soon as funding came in from an Indian investor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The money never materialized and the company shut down in July, leaving the ex-employees wondering when \u2014 if ever \u2014 they would get their paychecks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-40-1-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Usain Bolt\" class=\"wp-image-23717385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-40-1-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-40-1-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-40-1-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cI\u2019ve been lied to and manipulated,\u201d one ex-employee of Usain Bolt\u2019s scooter startup raged. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cNot paying us for the last month of work we did \u2014 I consider that to be defrauding the employees,\u201d one former Bolt employee raged. \u201cI\u2019ve been lied to and manipulated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe that they would just stiff us,\u201d another ex-employee said. \u201cI feel violated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After The Post contacted Bolt for this story, a company spokesperson said: \u201cArrangements are already being made to compensate the employees in the next few days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Days later, the company paid out employees. Two ex-employees said they felt Bolt would never have paid them if they didn\u2019t take their story to the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>, although Bolt insisted that the company had always planned to pay them. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Revolutionize_transportation\"><\/span><strong>\u2018Revolutionize transportation\u2019<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Bolt Mobility was co-founded in 2018 by Usain Bolt and Miami-based entrepreneur Bita Sarah Haynes, with a mission to \u201crevolutionize transportation through safe, smart and sustainable transit solutions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s early backers included Hanyes\u2019 brother, Shervin Pishevar, who made a fortune from early investments in Uber and Airbnb and sat on Bolt\u2019s board. Prior to Bolt, Pishevar sat on the board Virgin Hyperloop, but stepped down in 2017 after he was accused of sexual misconduct. Pishevar denied the accusations at the time and did not respond to requests for comment for this story.<\/p>\n<p>While Usain Bolt was listed as a co-founder, the eight-time Olympic gold medalist worked more as a spokesperson than a decision-making executive, sources close to the company said. His involvement included making recordings of his voice that would play through the speakers of scooters to give riders instructions.\u00a0The sprinter also visited filmed an advertisement to promote his namesake company and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ed to New York City hall in 2019 to urge lawmakers to legalize e-scooters. \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1006\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-37.jpg?w=1006\" alt=\"Usain Bolt\" class=\"wp-image-23717437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-37.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1509 1509w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-37.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1006 1006w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-37.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=503 503w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-37.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px\"\/><figcaption>Bolt visited New York City Hall in 2019 to promote Bolt. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m an Olympian so I know about getting around quickly,\u201d\u00a0the athlete quipped at the time. <\/p>\n<p>But Bolt \u2014 not to be confused with an Estonian transportation startup, a San Francisco payments company and a New York insurance firm that all share the same name \u2014 was not selected to participate in New York City\u2019s shared electric scooter pilot last year. The Department of Transportation granted licenses to three rivals \u2014 Bird, Lime and Veo \u2014\u00a0that allowed the companies to\u00a0operate shared scooters in several Bronx neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bolt ended up shifting its efforts to smaller markets, deploying scooters and e-bikes in cities like Portland, Burlington, St. Augustine, Florida; and Richmond, Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Usain Bolt is still listed as a co-founder on the company\u2019s site, the legendary sprinter stopped appearing at Bolt events and in additional ads because the company was reluctant to pay the appearance fee that he charged, a company source said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Usain Bolt\u2019s agent, Ricky Simms, did not respond to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-34.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Bolt\" class=\"wp-image-23717553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-34.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-34.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-34.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Bolt operated scooters and bikes in cities like Burlington, Vermont and Portland, Oregon. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Things_are_starting_to_burn_down\"><\/span><strong>\u2018Things are starting to burn down\u2019<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Bolt started hitting the skids in late 2021, when the company missed rent payments on its main warehouse in Birmingham, Alabama, one ex-employee said. A sheriff even showed up to the facility with an eviction notice, but management resolved issues with the landlord by February, according to the employee. <\/p>\n<p>In March, Bolt put out a press release <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20220304005534\/en\/Bolt-Mobility-Secures-Strategic-Investment-From-Ram-Charan\">announcing<\/a> it had secured a \u201cstrategic investment\u201d from Ram Charan, a chemical company based in Chennai, India. The companies did not disclose the size of the investment, but said it would help Bolt access \u201ccutting-edge solid state battery <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But even after the press release, Bolt appeared to still be having funding problems, according to ex-employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In April, the sheriff showed up at the Birmingham warehouse again and as the company\u2019s vendors and contractors started complaining about not getting paid, according to the ex-employee. Managers nonetheless assured employees that money was on the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe writing\u2019s on the wall,\u201d a former employee said of the mood in April and May. \u201cBut there\u2019s always this plausible explanation: \u2018The money\u2019s on the way, we\u2019re just waiting to be approved\u2026 there were always reassurances.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98When_a_bunch_of_lawyers_get_involved\"><\/span>\u2018<strong>When a bunch of lawyers get involved\u2019<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In June, Bolt missed biweekly payroll twice, causing employees to panic. In early July, CEO Ignacio Tzoumas told employees the company was shutting down, but the company apparently failed to notify local officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-35-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Bolt\" class=\"wp-image-23717542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-35-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-35-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-35-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Usain Bolt recorded his voice for Bolt scooters. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, Bolt apparently went out of business without prior notification or removal of their capital equipment from city property,\u201d Richmond, California Mayor Tom Butt griped in July. \u201cThe City is coming up with a plan to remove all the abandoned equipment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ex-employees say Tzoumas, other executives and Bolt\u2019s board largely went silent after the company shut down, leaving them wondering if they would ever receive their back pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, local governments and vendors that hadn\u2019t been paid started confiscating Bolt\u2019s equipment with the permission of company executives, ex-employees said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tzoumas told The Post that Bolt is suing Ram Charan for allegedly backing out of the deal, but refused to provide details of the lawsuit. Tzoumas and Bolt did not answer detailed questions for this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it becomes a legal matter you don\u2019t want to really talk about these things because we\u2019re going through legal issues with that investor,\u201d Tzoumas told The Post in August, adding that his lawyers had told him to \u201cnot to even call you guys back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is what happens when a bunch of lawyers get involved, they\u2019re like, \u2018Don\u2019t say anything until we get a full understanding of how we\u2019re going to pursue this,&#8217;\u201d Tzoumas added. \u201cI just felt like it\u2019s better to communicate what we\u2019re doing than to say absolutely nothing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Days later, Tzoumas called a meeting with employees, where he urged them to stop speaking with The Post and said he would get them their paychecks. <\/p>\n<p>Ram Charan owner Kaushik Palicha did not respond to emailed questions.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/09\/04\/inside-the-collapse-of-usain-bolts-scooter-startup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Inside the collapse of Usain Bolt&#8217;s scooter startup&#8221; The sudden collapse of a transportation startup co-founded by Usain Bolt didn\u2019t just leave hundreds of unusable scooters and e-bikes littered across American cities \u2014 it also left behind a group of irate ex-employees who were left unpaid for months, The Post has learned.\u00a0 Bolt Mobility, which&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":490472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/usain-bolt-scooter-40-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[132847,33355,73295,132873],"class_list":["post-490471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-4-22","tag-silicon-valley","tag-transportation","tag-usain-bolt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}