I want to be a part of something that changes the environment, changes people’s lifestyle, changes the world. I changed careers and started CityRyde to make a difference and do something that I was passionate about.
Timothy EricsonCEO and Co-Founder
CityRyde
What was your previous career?
The focus of my previous career was in the IT industry. I worked for a slew of different sized companies in many different industries which helped shape my decision to change careers. During my time in the IT industry I held jobs ranging from a help-desk position to a network infrastructure position to a disaster recovery and planning analyst. I was always fond of new technologies and how they could make a business more efficient. I always considered myself an “ideas person” and would consistently find ways to do business processes better. I enjoyed my career in the IT industry but when a great opportunity presented itself in an unorthodox way, I knew it was the right move to switch careers.
What was an average day like?
Working in the IT industry can be very stressful. For the most part an employee’s productivity is solely reliant on technology infrastructure being available and functioning properly. On an average day I could be performing tasks ranging from helping an employee with a simple word issue to planning and testing disaster recovery plans to ensure maximum uptime during a disaster. I enjoyed the variety of tasks that were presented to me each day as I was never fond of repetitive tasks.
What is your new Career?
Currently I am the CEO and Co-Founder of CityRyde. CityRyde is the defined, trusted and influential name in the bike sharing movement and boasts a team of credible leaders and subject matter experts well connected to key thought leaders in sustainable transportation worldwide.
Before July 2007 I had no idea about the concept of bicycle sharing. I was living in Europe. I took a trip one weekend to Paris. It must have been fate that brought me to Paris that weekend because it was a grand launch of the largest bicycle sharing system in the world, Vélib’. I was amazed by the concept of the system; one-way rentals of bicycles spread throughout Paris equating to a station every 3 blocks or so. At the time there were no bicycle sharing systems deployed in the United States and could not figure out why. So I started CityRyde where we originally envisioned developing our own bicycle sharing system. After months of researching, and traveling the globe viewing most of the major systems, we learned the pro and cons of each of the existing bike sharing implementations. We set out to create a best of bread solution; copy the best, improve the rest. However, we were never able to raise enough funding to cover the entire R&D of the system all though we had investors interested in the concept.
We knew that we were on to something because bike sharing is the fastest growing form of transportation in the world. So it was time to rethink our business model. We had gotten so in depth [researching] all of the systems, naturally we wanted to share that information with others and see bike sharing prosper. So we started consulting work trying to help cities, universities, corporate campuses and more all across the United States bring bike sharing to their respective communities. Today we are the largest bicycle sharing consulting firm in the world and our client base has quickly expanded beyond the US. Through our initial research, and our ongoing consulting work, we are able to quickly identify areas of improvements. Currently we are developing a software package named Inspire that will revolutionize the bike sharing industry by increasing revenues and lowering liabilities.
What is an average day like?
I need to be responsible for accounting, marketing, sales, IT, customer support, etc. I work much harder than I ever did in my old career but I could not be happier. In my previous career I always enjoyed working in small companies because what I did on a daily basis made a huge impact on the company. Being an entrepreneur is taking that concept to the extreme. I have passion for bike sharing and I know that everything I do gets me one closer to reaching my goal of having bike sharing in every major US city. An average day in the shoes of an entrepreneur is extremely stressful and varied. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be a jack of all trades.
Why Change?
If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I saw myself today, I would have given a cliché answer. I expected to have to put in my time, work up the corporate ladder to be happy. You never know when something as simple as traveling one weekend can change your entire outlook on life. I realized there were more important things than moving up the corporate ladder. I want to be a part of something that changes the environment, changes people’s lifestyle, changes the world. I changed careers and started CityRyde to make a difference and do something that I was passionate about.
How did you make the leap?
One day I was able to have a meeting with people who could help me get to the next level. Time spent on CityRide began conflicting with my full-time work. I decided I needed to work on CityRyde full-time.
How did you fund your business?
Money for the software development came from the co-founders as well as revenues from our consulting work. The consulting work, named CityRyde Roadmap, has always been a means to an end to support the development of our Inspire software. At this point, CityRyde has not received any outside investment.
Silliest thing about your former occupation?
The IT industry can be very amusing. It teaches you how to think quickly on your feet and how to deal with irrational people. Employees from the same company that are on the same side can completely loose it and take all their frustrations out on the IT department when something is not functioning properly. What makes me laugh is when these people are convinced that they are right, even when they were the ones causing the problem in the first place.
Misconceptions about what you do now?
People think we are developing our own [bike share] system and don’t see the change to consulting and software.
How do you stay motivated?
Passion for what I am doing keeps me motivated. Choosing to start CityRyde was not because I thought I could be successful but rather because I wanted to make a difference. If you are not passionate in what you are doing, you will never be happy. I would rather work 80 hour weeks for a low paying job that I was passionate about than work a normal work week with a high salary job that I was not.
How do you deal with Jealousy?
Jealousy can come from all sorts of angels, current and former employees, other business owners, competitors, etc. Jealousy can cloud someone’s business judgment, making the decisions personal. I try to be open, honest, fair and direct with everyone that I deal with to minimize any jealousy.
How have you dealt with failure as an entrepreneur?
I view them as learning opportunities. CityRyde has changed and revised its business model multiple times in responses to small failures. These failures have shaped us into what we are today. You cannot let failures deter you from your vision. Although CityRyde’s business model has changed, the original vision has remained the same.
The 3 Components of a Typical 3rd Generation Bike Sharing Deployment
Would you say to those who believe they need a formal education to change careers?
[It] can only help when changing careers but it is not always needed. Graduating from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University in Philadelphia gave me the foundations needed to help me run my business. Not everyone will be in a position to be able to receive a formal education. I urge those people to get involved in the new career before making that leap. Attend seminars, network, taking adult education classes, anything that will help with the foundations needed.
If you could share 1 brief nugget of wisdom, what would it be?
Work hard, play hard. I spend a majority of my week working extremely hard to make sure my business is successful. The free time that I am able to find is spent doing things that I enjoy, such as riding my bike, cooking, skiing, traveling and more. It’s very hard to have a work/life balance while being an entrepreneur, but it’s important not to get burnt out.
Any resources or links that you think would be helpful to others looking to change careers?
I think the biggest advice on resources would be your local community. Find events that are in your area of interest and use these events to network and learn the insides of the industry you are moving to.
How can we learn more about your business?
You can visit our website at www.cityryde.com. Check out the story page to learn more about how CityRyde was started. Also the testimonials and press pages provide valuable information about our work.
