Vlad Andriescu
Soon after being featured on ‘Shark Tank Romania’, Colibri succeeded in closing a pre-seed funding round.
The investment round was backed by six angel investors:
- Paul Robert Cary—Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, and now Senior Vice President at Softbank-backed Jellysmack who acquired his third startup
- Gabriela Amarie—Product Marketer & Founder of Digital Tailors Agency, acquired by Romania’s Softbinator Technologies [$CODE]
- Radu Amarie—Angel Investor, Former Founder and CTO of Kamua, acquired by Jellysmack where Radu is a Senior Staff Engineer
- Chris Severson—Managing Director at Terra Firma Capital Partners and former Topgun pilot and instructor
- Shane Gray—Serial Entrepreneur and Angel Investor with several exits
- Ștefan Muscalu—Founding Employee at Kamua (acquired by Jellysmack where he is a Staff Lead Software Engineer)
Their financial support gives the company the resources to speed up production and delivery—Ride Colibri M22, the world’s longest-range and most versatile electric motorcycle (there is an off-road version) will be available to more riders across the globe.
Ride Colibri is now incorporated in the United States of America, where the pre-seed fundraising was concluded.
Colibri also participated in Shark Tank Romania. The Lions’ interest in investing in Ride Colibri validated the work Colibri did in the last 18 months. Following the show’s broadcast, customers and angel investors began reaching out, resulting in additional pre-sales of the flagship Colibri model M22 on top of the $230,000 M22 pre-orders to date.
On October 3, 2023, founder Petre Georgescu presented the Colibri M22 electric motorcycle to a group of five investors (referred to as ‘Lions’) on the set of ‘Shark Tank Romania’.
Petre introduced Ride Colibri M22, the first electric motorcycle manufactured in Romania, as a bike designed to provide long-distance rides with comfort at a great price—the launch offers starting at $2,799 + VAT for the single battery model and $3,795 + VAT for the triple battery model.
It has a wallet-friendly price tag and low running costs, as well as a simple and practical design that has made it attractive to riders worldwide. The two-wheeler has been well-received in the US and Europe. Colibri aims to expand to Asia, South America, and Africa in due course. At the time of recording, Colibri had sold 44 fully-paid motorcycles and generated over $230,000 in revenue. They also received 240 deposit-paid reservations and had over 3,000 people on the waiting list.
At the show, Petre proposed a deal that would make this possible: the Lions would invest €200,000 in exchange for 10% of the company’s capital stock. 30% of the funds would go toward working capital to speed up the delivery process.
Two ‘Lions’, Daniel Mischie (CEO of City Grill) and Răzvan Raț (former international football player and entrepreneur) offered €200,000 for 30% of the company’s stock. Petre Georgescu countered the offer for 15%, valuing Ride Colibri at €1.33M, a significant discount for a production-ready company led by a second-time successful mobility founder with over €200,000 in paid-up pre-sales and a significant margin, but the Lions did not accept it.
Having lived in large cities for many years, Petre Georgescu (Founder of Ride Colibri) is all too familiar with the daily struggles of urban traffic. The need for easy, fast, and convenient city transport led him to design the world’s lightest foldable bike, with a carbon fiber construction—the Hummingbird—and his latest creation, the Ride Colibri M22 electric motorcycle.
Crafted by Petre in his workshop in Giurgiu, Romania, Ride Colibri M22 is a no-fuss electric two-wheeler that allows for long, smooth rides. Described by aficionados as “Model T Ford Meets Tesla Model S,” this motorcycle is minimalistic, lightweight, and easy to handle, yet still delivers plenty of power and torque (as much as 15 washing machines!). It seats two people comfortably for extended journeys of up to 200 km before needing to be recharged. Plus, the M22 is very low maintenance, folds up to fit in cramped spaces, and can be ridden with a standard car driver’s license.
It comes equipped with up to 3 removable lithium-ion batteries, 17-inch wheels, a brushless hub motor, a powerful controller, and a comfortable suspension system.
Petre and the Ride Colibri team went through several prototypes and extensive testing before the M22 electric motorcycle was ready to go into production.
Production Timeline
- November 2021: first prototype road test
- July 2022: second prototype road test
- June 2023: assembled the Alpha prototype
- August 2023: initiated the type approval for street-legal use
- October 2023: start of production development
- January 2024: first customer deliveries
Production of the Ride Colibri M22 electric motorbike has kicked off at the assembly facility in Romania, with general deliveries to the customer base beginning in February 2024.
