It’s probably not a great sign for the future of a start-up if step one is convincing prospective customers your product is real, but that’s where the CEO of Cangoroo, the world’s first pogo stick-sharing service, finds himself these days.
The new company, based in Stockholm, Sweden, hails itself as the latest disruptor in the shared mobility space. The premise is basically what it sounds like, pogo stick-sharing as an alternative form of urban commuting. The confusing part is that, as CEO Adam Mikkelsen has insisted, it’s not a joke.
“It’s a real venture,” he told The Next Web.
Despite Mikkelsen’s claims, the inherent silliness of the new project has understandably raised eyebrows, and its credibility is further compromised by its parent company, ODD‘s, reputation for pulling viral branding stunts.
All the skepticism has left the company feeling “the need to underline that Cangoroo is 100% real,” as the brand wrote in a recent press release. “Our choice of shared pogo sticks as our first product is a planned out strategy in order to stand out in today’s media landscape and build an engaging brand in the generic ‘last mile transportation’ category,” the statement continued.
Whether it’s all an elaborate hoax or just crazy enough to work remains to be seen, but, as TNW noted, it’s harder to prove a negative, so for now we might as well function on the premise that Cangoroo is a legitimate venture.
In the meantime, the company is reportedly planning a modest initial release of just 100 pogo sticks. Mikkelsen told TNW the service will launch in Stockholm and Malmo. The CEO also added that the company hopes to expand to the United States, so in the unfortunate event that this isn’t all just a hoax, we may soon be sharing the sidewalk with pogo stick commuters.
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