And if you had a reliable, space-saving, and inexpensive bike lock available, would you ride your bike more often? That's the bet made by this student duo, at the head of the startup "V-Lock." Romain Rudent and Antoine Desverronières, 21 and 22 years old respectively, have created a solar-powered bike lock, for which they have just received two awards (the special prize from the Road Safety Innovation Challenge, and the French Tech grant from the BPI). A springboard for the small startup, which was born two years ago at the UTT Troyes (University of Technology), where they have been studying for four years.
Their goal: to make life easier for cyclists by providing them with anti-theft devices at several key points in city centers. All you have to do is go to a dedicated app to geolocate the nearest terminal. Once there, you can attach your front wheel and frame to the terminal, which is equipped with a chain: with such a system, no more fruitless searches for a post to hang your bike, and no more carrying one or more heavy and sometimes bulky locks. The chain device can be locked or unlocked via the dedicated app. In the event of an attempted theft, an alarm sounds on the user's smartphone, as well as on the terminal. The whole thing works thanks to a solar panel.
The idea for a connected anti-theft device is said to have come from Romain Desverronières, from Reims. For two summers, his mother, Anne, reports, the two-wheel enthusiast worked to buy a nice bike... But once he bought it, he hesitated to take it to Reims, about fifteen kilometers from his village, for fear of it being stolen. During his first year of engineering school, he noticed that bicycle thefts were increasing all around him. "On a national scale, it's even worse than in our region (the Grand Est). For example, last year, 500,000 bicycles were stolen. That's more than one bicycle every minute," he says in surprise.
"We thought that with our skills at engineering school and our desire to change things, we could really come up with a viable solution."
To remedy this, the young man began to think and asked for help with the IT side of things from Romain Rudent, another student at UTT Troyes, whom he met at an induction meeting. The Avignon native already had, at high school, “a certain taste for business,” recalls his mother, Laure. The latter enjoyed "buying and reselling sneakers stored in his room, before building computers for his friends," she adds. The two friends decided to join forces: one, Romain, would take care of the software, mobile application and IT security, while the other, Antoine, would focus on the materials and how the anti-theft system works. "We said to ourselves that with our skills from engineering school and our desire to change things, we could really come up with a viable solution," they recall. As the plans took shape and ideas began to flow, the duo quickly realized that they needed to find funding, if only to manufacture the first prototype. "At the beginning, everything was very slow. There was a big phase of lack, in quotes, of funds, of cash flow, because we had trouble surrounding ourselves with the right people to create these prototypes," confides Antoine, "the chatterbox" of the duo according to one of his friends, Yolann. When we told him no in one place, he said, "OK, I'll ask somewhere else." The young man consulted everywhere, and with the power of words, a lawyer, an accountant, and a banker. "He managed, he went everywhere to ask for help, saying: I don't have any money, but I need advice. Will you help me? When we told him no in one place, he would say, "OK, I'll ask somewhere else," his mother told us.
Without a single euro in their pockets, but convinced they had the right project, the two young men launched grant applications and knocked on the doors of suppliers of metal studs and electronic components in the region. "We told them, listen, for now, we have nothing. And the only thing we know is that we won't stop until the project is completed." We assure you that we will have at least one first order, two orders, three orders that will make the time you spent with us profitable," reports the Reims resident.
Little by little, the two acolytes, supported by their school and other students, manage to convince, one after the other, the key links of their projects. Starting with these local suppliers with whom they form partnerships, and who agree to help them manufacture their prototypes.
"They provided us with the raw material, the entire "consulting" part, which allowed us to structure ourselves and produce a first "implantable" prototype, which was visually and aesthetically correct. Without that, we would never have been able to start," admits Romain. It is also "a 100% French solution, and everything is local, from the Grand Est region," enthuses Antoine.
Second essential link: finding customers. After an initial test in front of a shopping center, the city of Troyes purchased 12 terminals from them, to be delivered next June... A first major order that should usher in a new phase in the history of their small start-up, the duo rejoices.
The duo encountered "an incalculable number of walls and noes"
It must be said that the duo encountered "an incalculable number of walls and noes," reports Anne, Antoine's mother. Imagine, two students barely in their twenties come to see you to talk about connected anti-theft terminals. "We had to get past the careless remarks of "you're a student, listen, go play there, in your studies, and let the professionals work"," says Antoine. In such cases, "Romain took over," he adds with a laugh.
The two partners are still struggling to finish each other's sentences. "I spent more time with Romain than with my girlfriend," jokes Antoine. And yet, their complementarity seems evident as the interview progresses. Romain, "calm, very down-to-earth," specializing in IT, is the one who "stays the course," while Antoine, the team's "free electron," specializing in mechanics, is the go-getter of the duo, they comment in turn. What they have in common: the two partners spend hours working, always listening and taking into account feedback from suppliers and their potential customers.
During the first few months, the pair met with local authorities – their target groups – to fine-tune their project, before creating the connected anti-theft system for bicycles. It was these authorities who told them about the difficulty of connecting the electrical systems. Because the anti-theft terminals are intended to be installed in several key locations in city centers and suburbs.As a result, the two partners came up with the idea of offering a "solution that not only does not need to be connected to the power supply, but also does not consume any energy."The system, currently sold for €2,499 excluding VAT, is "100% autonomous, can be installed anywhere, is easily moved, and takes up little space," explains Romain. A small solar panel, which sits atop the terminal, allows the device to operate.
For two years, the milestones have been coming one after the other, and in recent months, there has been some good news too. In June, they will begin their first marketing phase, with the delivery of 12 terminals to the city of Troyes. This will be an opportunity to obtain extensive user feedback and, if necessary, improve or adapt their system before focusing on future orders. For Romain, the message is simple: "If you want to do something, do it. Don't listen to others. Don't be afraid. Work in the shadows. We are capable of much more than we imagine. And if, on top of that, we are convinced that we will succeed, that will make all the difference."
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