EP 17 - This Man Literally Reinvented The Wheel 🚲

Inside Transportation

This is Episode 17 of the Inside Transportation Podcast. This podcast was made possible by Ford Motor Company (www.ford.com) and Fenwick (www.fenwick.com). Featuring Johan Moreno (Inside.com) and Michael Burtov (GeoOrbital). Subscribe to Inside Transportation newsletter: inside.com/transportation Subscribe to Inside Electric Vehicles newsletter: inside.com/evs Recorded on August 13, 2020. Today on the Inside Transportation Podcast, we have a very special guest — Michael Burtov, an inventor, entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of GeoOrbital. If that company name sounds familiar, you may recognize it from Season 9 of Shark Tank. GeoOrbital is a wheel that allows you to retro-fit your bike into a personal electric vehicle. Learn more about GeoOrbital: https://geoo.com Watch Michael's Shark Tank pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofv3dEy6nx0 Learn more about Michael's book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087C3LH1Z SHOW NOTES 1:40 - Johan asks Michael the burning question: “What was it like to be on Shark Tank?” 2:50 - Michael gives us a bit about his background and why he’s passionate about micro-mobility 4:10 - Johan asks about the development process and what it was like to execute a wild idea into production 9:30 - Michael talks about the challenges GeoOrtibal and other startups face with raising capital 12:25 - Johan asks Michael about the future of GeoOrbital and where it may be going in the future. 13:00 - Michael talks about other applications for GeoOrbital’s technology away from e-bikes to wheelchairs and other devices. 15:00 - Johan asks Michael where how he sees micro-mobility after the pandemic 19:30 - Michael talks about the capital that is currently funding micro-mobility startups and how sustainable these companies are 22:00 - Johan asks Michael whether the future of electric bikes will be shared or owned 25:00 - The two discuss the potential challenges in obtaining enough batteries for electric vehicles in the near future 28:00 - Johan talks about the power of corporate or enterprise deals for EV makers 31:00 - Michael argues that Tesla is not an automaker, but is more of a software company. The two discuss. 33:00 - Johan argues that Tesla is going to be one of the few operating systems that will be powering electric vehicles in the future 34:00 - Is it possible that Tesla is going to provide their software into other vehicles? 35:30 - Johan asks on the federal level, what do you think the government can do to support EV adoption? 37:40 - The two discuss the lack of clarity where new modes of transportation, like electric scooters, should go. 43:20 - Michael shares some thoughts on what lessons he would give to a transportation startup founder