Deviate Cycles Seeks Crowdfunding Investment
PRESS RELEASE: Deviate Cycles
We are offering the mountain bike community the opportunity to be part of our future by becoming a shareholder in the business.
We are seeking £1 million of investment in order to help fund the launch of the next phase of our business, specifically focused on delivering the key projects outlined below:
• Developing and launching the eMTB range (with the first in the range due to launch later this year)
• To continue the R&D into sustainable materials and manufacturing processes such as those showcased on our Titanium prototypes
• Ambition to bring production to Scotland
We have already secured £500K of private investment towards this goal in addition to grants from Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK. The minimum buy-in requirement is £10,000 and is open to interested investors worldwide.
 | We intend to keep growing Deviate Cycles and keep driving innovation in mountain bikes. It's been an incredible journey to get to where we are today after our first release, the Guide, in 2018. We are now a business with a track record of developing innovative bikes and we intend to keep growing Deviate Cycles and driving innovation in the sector. Ultimately, our growth plans require up-front investment. Due to the costs of an exercise like this, we have a minimum buy-in requirement of £10,000. We of course understand that it’s this is not for everyone, but if owning a part of Deviate Cycles is of interest – we would be delighted to hear from you. |
As well as the highly successful Claymore and Highlander models, we have been at the forefront of mountain bike innovation, including the recent development of our titanium prototypes the Tilander and Lowlander-Ti. At the head of the engineering team is co-owner Chris Deverson, who draws on his varied background into the development of future designs.
| When developing new designs, our guiding principles are to create the best performing mountain bikes possible whilst also minimising maintenance and ensuring reliability. Deviate was fundamentally born out of the first-hand experience Ben and I had after years guiding in the Alps and ultimately having to regularly replace bikes due to one failure or another. Within the engineering team, we pull on our experience across different sectors including motorsport, submarine and even nuclear, in order to develop bikes that are made to last - whilst also providing the optimum riding characteristics. The eMTB will be the first project to move into production following this investment round with design and prototype stages already complete. |
Anybody interested in investing should go to deviatecycles.com/become-part-deviate to find out more.
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Member since Nov 22, 2017
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I've been hassling my local Deviate dealer monthly for any possible info on the reality of a Lowlander-Ti. Maybe the only way to get one, is to invest in the company that wants to make it.
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That said, if I had $10Kish to put towards supporting these folks I'd give it laldy!
Deviate is different, though, it sounds like they are selling equity ownership, which KS and most crowdfunding setups don't do. It also sounds like they want to do something meaningful with it, like bring production to their home country, which is a good goal and they may get some local investors to buy into the idea and they get ownership out of it. Personally, after the Kitsbow situation and the state of the cycling market, I'd be hesitant, but I can see why it'd be of interest to some.
At the highest level a free ebike is offered although we'd be happy to switch this for a analogue bike. The reason we offer an ebike is because this is the project that a majority of raised funds is going towards. However, it's important to note this is not really about a free bike, this is like a nice perk - it is about investment in the business and if the interest is in the bike then it'll be FAR more cost efficient to be a Deviate customer rather than a shareholder.
Bank funding is not appropriate for this kind of investment as ultimately the payback timescales don't work for the long lead time of investment into new product lines.
The popularity of platforms such as Crowdcube and Seedr's show this "crowdfunding" approach is a standard route for businesses to take nowadays.
Anyone investing in deviate (or any other early/small company) needs to do so with a) no real expectation of any kind of fast return b) being prepared to write the investment off.
Looking forward to receive the full termsheet and see all details - signed up for it today.
Plus in Europe there is much less ‘hate’ towards mopeds
1. Have 2 million dollars in the bank
2. Invest 1 million in the bike industry
3. Wait for investment to do to zero, be happy you only invested 1 million so are still a millionaire
Next week's lesson, " How to get clients to pay full retail for their new bike this spring"
The rest you'll just squander...
Don't normalize that stuff, it's killing a lot of people. This is an mtb website not redit, there is no need to be mentioning it at all.
Having said that i like jokes as much as the next person, just gotta remember and read your audience .
I hope you're having a good day and can find it in your heart to stop heartlessly using your deceased friends as excuses for your reckless behavior and bring meaningful awareness to the problem they had and you have instead of glorifying it.
I love bikes, not so much the industry.
and for that reason: I'm out
P.s. Panhandling for the profit margins on 10 bikes does not give me confidence that the company believes it can sell 10 bikes. Just go out and sell 10 bikes.
"P.s. Panhandling for the profit margins on 10 bikes does not give me confidence that the company believes it can sell 10 bikes. Just go out and sell 10 bikes."
To go out and sell "10 bikes" we need to develop, manufacture (often with factory payment terms far in advance), market and distribute said bikes. This is an expensive process with most of these funds required before any profit margin is realised. With analogue bikes we have track record in achieving this with modest means, however, the costs of doing this with ebikes require investment - hence the pitch.
This is no dig at you or deviate but what should they get? Or should they or we just give 10k away for f*ck all.
Yes, the industry is in a tough spot at the moment. However, Deviate has grown quickly and is profitable and as the industry rebounds Deviate will be in a strong position to keep growing. We are raising funds specifically to grow the business and move into ebikes (amongst other ambitions) and therefore shareholders funds will be used towards this growth. The share purchase is the same as owning a stake in any other business - shareholders will have a stake in future profits and any liquidity events (i.e. selling the business down the line).
But asking people for 10k on a crowd funder and giving little away for that
. Is ridiculous.
And if this was actual stock. Which it isn't. That would be completely different.
You only need to read the first sentence of this article to find this information. The company has also reiterated this in the post directly above you and in many other comments.
"And if this was actual stock. Which it isn't. That would be completely different."
It is stock! We are literally offering shares in the business in return for an investment.
Is that when their value is highest, and the cost of ownership is also high, or in a depressed market, when the cost of ownership is lower, with room to grow?
I'm not trying to insinuate that this is either the right time to buy in, or that this is the right investment at all. Youd want to do your research, make sure their financials are in order (the current sales on their bikes will likely bolster their profits, show low inventory, etc so keep that in mind), but there might actually be an ROI in there somewhere if you can play the game well, and wait it out.
Bike companies are not a good investment.
A good investment at a bad time, is essentially not a good investment.
Hard to say if bike companies as a whole are a bad investment. Investing in Santa Cruz in early 00's, not a bad investment.
investing in spesh in hte 90's, not a bad investment.
Investing in Sick bikes, bad investment
Diversify - buy all the bike companies
"Aaron: No, so I'm not buying in. Basically, the goal there is to be an equal parts partner with Troydon and Mark, the other two owners. So we'll each own a third of the company as the goal moving forward and there's a clear path for me to basically get there. "
Scotland receives far more from the UK than it contributes. Brexit has been shit for all of us, but if Scotland left the UK they'd be in even worse shape.
There are currently just over 1 million people 65 years or older in Scotland. The average payout for pension in the UK is 18,000 pounds per year. This works out to 18 billion pounds per year.
The UK's oil and gas revenue in 2022-2023 was 9 billion pounds - most of which is produced off of Scottish waters.
hmm
Ultimately I don't really care if they end up leaving or not, but I think it would be bad for them.
Membership of the EU isn't a forgone conclusion, Spain would likely veto it as the situation is too similar to the one in Catalonia and they wouldn't want to see that precedent set.
Without the EU I think they'd struggle. Even with membership it would be difficult as England and the rest of the UK is their largest trading partner by far, if a border goes up then all those businesses have to find new customers which doesn't happen overnight. Also pretty tough when they don't have a ferry service to Europe, makes importing and exporting things a little tricky.
All of that said, I understand there are fundamental difficulties with leaving the UK and joining the EU, even before dealing with EU membership. This is all pretty hypothetical.
Ultimately, the point is that Brexit was an absolutely brain dead move, and it continues to hurt businesses in the UK.
No mention of the actual investment level required to get your free ebike though.
we
their
The equivalent of "I'm selling my 2021 Enduro! DM me for the price!" No one is going to be interested because the assumption is they're way off on the value / price of their bike or they'd just be up front with it.
There isn’t a lot on companies house 2022’s accounts not particularly insightful - nothing from either 2013 somehow which is a unusual.
Just a thought though... You're a small boutique brand, offering expensive Ti frames. You just have to call one the:
"Den-Ti-St".
You may be calling out the number of investors. If so, you’re correct. I think the limit is around 100.
Is this scientology?
They surely understand the US & Europe are enormous markets and moving production to Scotland will surely increase costs and then extortionate import fees to Europe (thanks Brexit) and North America. I can't see how moving manufacture to anywhere in the UK is a strong business concept?
If you want a bike they cost less than £10k!
Buy a bike for 10k, it'll yield a much higher return on your investment.
Maybe this is legal in the UK, I don't know. It was made illegal in Canada/USA because a lot of people got scammed.
Good luck to you guys! This is an enormously challenging method of raising capital, but I hope it pays off!
www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/glossary/crowdfunding
Not trying to speak with authority on this. I was really hoping someone more versed in this stuff would chime in an explain actually.
They had online material that said "hey buy some shares", so I did through some platform very legit platform and I even got nice tax documents for it. I think it's very cool and very legal.
1. Management Team. Do we get to see the CV / Bio's of the board members? Be nice to know if the owners have experience in running a profitable company. Owners who understands numbers, revenue, profits, and operations.
2. Dividend Payouts - like to know the policy (if any)
3. Aside of issuing shares, what liquidity risk do you have?
assuming income statement, balance sheets, cash statements, etc will all be provided if one were to purchase shares. Will you also provide 1, 3 and 5 year business plans? as well as provide KPI, CSF, and SWOT information?
I will however keep the answers to your questions off this public forum - so if you are interested, please do fill in our very quick form and we'll be in touch.
Its a small bike company trying to expand, not a tech company on the edge of the next big app, the 'directors' are likely doing a hell of a lot more than just managing the company.
E.g. - Accounts filed in 2022 show there were 3 employees at the company.
I co-own a small company in the UK, Im a 'director' and we have 3-5 employees depending on how busy things are, we certainly don't have a board (we don't have a board room either...) and we aren't finance bro's, but we do understand the principle and organisation of business at this level.
Good luck to the guys at @deviatecycles - bikes look great, an ebike would surely boost your share of the market.
So in my company I take a small salary around £12k a year and pay myself a monthly / quarterly dividend - its more tax effective (Or at least it was, its very close now thanks to the Tories, party of business!) Obviously you can't pay a dividend if the company isn't in profit while you can still take a salary if it is so it all depends on how the company is doing etc.
So paying dividends is entirely normal if you don't have investors / other directors to answer to - if you do then that's where things get more tricky and agreements / dividend meetings come into play.
But yea, our company makes way, way less than £1mil in profit and I have been taking dividends for the last 10 years as the main part of my income.
Best of luck with this, hope you get the investment.