Poached trainee launches own bike hire business

Anil, founder of Buzz Bikes

By Yousif Farah

2010 saw the launch of the Barclays bike hire scheme in London, developed by previous Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. Now colloquially known as ‘Boris Bikes’ after Livingstone’s successor, the bikes have gained popularity among cyclists old and new in the capital.

Anil, one of our former trainees at Poached Creative and The Big Issue Online Journalism Course, contemplated the idea of bike hire long before Boris Johnson was even elected as Mayor.

However, not equipped with pockets as deep as those of the City of London, and lacking the necessary resources, while also struggling to find his own way in life, it took Anil some time to put the pieces together.

In November 2013, Anil applied for a grant, and less than a year later, the application for a loan was approved by Start Up Loans, a charity operating in partnership with the Government.

Despite the current climate of adversity, and despite the Financing Start-Up Enterprise reducing the grant initially applied for, Anil has hit the ground running. The idea progressed steadily from a plan to becoming another new aspiring small business – which is no mean feat in today’s economic climate.

Anil said “It’s been daunting going into business because it’s something that I've never done before and you don’t know how it’s going to be received. It’s also difficult to set up a business with as little money as possible but I appreciate all the help that I have been given.”

It has taken him less than one year from applying for a grant to launching his new service. Today, Anil proudly runs Buzz Bike Hire.

The business comprises of high quality bicycles run by Lithium Ion Polymer or LifePo4 Phosphate Batteries. The bicycles are environmentally friendly, lowering the carbon footprint of the rider. The bikes are power assisted: you can peddle or let the bike do the pedalling for you.

He launched the business at the recent RideLondon FreeCycle event in the city, London.

The future looks promising for Anil, if his business runs parallel to his personal success and triumph, we could hear more about Anil’s Buzz Bikes. Looks like Boris Johnson has some competition on his hands! 

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