Democratizing Micromobilty with GOAT

We talked to David Nazaire of GOAT about micromobility.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

David Nazaire: I thank God everyone in my family has been able to be safe and sound during these times. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded GOAT.

David Nazaire: I originally got involved with Ride GOAT as a scooter fleet owner. I came across the opportunity to own my own scooter fleet and immediately saw the value in that. After going through the whole process of receiving my scooter fleet and regulatory hurdles of getting permits, winter came. Next, the pandemic was in the way of launching my fleet. But through that, I had the opportunity to become more involved in the company as the COO and co-owner of the company. At the same time, where race and equal opportunity were in the headlines, I was selected to be the leader of GOAT and really build it out. Because of Goat’s many markets, I believe it immediately made GOAT the largest minority-owned Micromobility company. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity that I was not going to pass up.

How does GOAT innovate? 

David Nazaire: GOAT lowers the barrier of entry into the E scooter/micromobility market by taking a “franchise-like” approach to e scooters. We purchase in large quantities and allow everyday people to purchase their own fleet and license our brand and app. 

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

David Nazaire: Covid caused a lot of GOAT fleets to be pulled off the road, but not all. The nice thing is we find most of our fleets in smaller cities or towns where they have more freedom to operate, where the bird, lime, or any larger player doesn’t pay attention to. 

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

David Nazaire: Thankfully, not at all. The individual fleet owners had the opportunity to decide how they wanted to proceed and clean scooters. Many adapted to the situation and ran smoothly. 

How do you deal with stress and anxiety? How do you project yourself and GOAT in the future?

David Nazaire: GOAT is actually positioned to grow massively in the future. There is so much interest in people wanting to start their own fleets EVERYWHERE. If you look at politics, weather, or the economy, all signs point to the fact that micromobility is here to stay, and Goat can reach many markets through our model. 

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

David Nazaire: Bird has the Bird Platform, and some companies try to do a similar model, but the difference is they have higher minimum fleet sizes that GOAT, which disqualifies most people from affording to start a business like this. Next, many of those companies primarily focus on their own in-house fleets, where GOAT focuses on locally owned and operated fleets. We now help with almost every single process to get fleets to be profitable. We also don’t target the cities that the larger micromobility company fight over. We find that they will target cities where they can deploy 500 scooters, but our fleet owners may live in a town with a 10000 population with an active downtown, and boom, the owner can earn a comfy six-figure salary with a small fleet. 

Your final thoughts?

David Nazaire: I think this pandemic exposes everyday people that everyone needs to have a plan or side hustle and everyone needs to own equity in something that can give them a return. With GOAT, some people that only ran their fleet part-time transitioned to their full income source. I truly believe GOAT will change & democratize micromobilty to benefit a few large companies to empower thousands to own a small business. 

Your website?

www.ridegoat.com