Five minutes with: Cycliq

In our latest series, we’re getting to grips with the brands that you deal with every day. The ‘Five minutes with’ series will present a company with five short, sharp and to-the-point questions about who they are and what they do. This week we’re joined by Cycliq marketing manager Glenn Donaldson.

Can you tell us the history of the company?
Our story started on a climb in the Perth Hills, which is a favourite location for local cyclists. Our co-founder Kingsley Fiegert was riding when a car passed him and he was shot in the backside with a ball bearing fired from a slingshot. Kingsley was injured and somewhat traumatised. He started to think about how something like this could be deterred and in talking with his son, thought about a rear-facing camera. With little space available on most bikes and a light also being a critical bit of kit, he came up with the idea of integrating the two into an integrated rear facing camera and light. He and a friend, Andrew Hagen, then set about developing the idea, raised money on Kickstarter, and the idea was a hit. The Fly6 was born. Now Cycliq is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, has a front facing camera – the Fly12 – a range of accessories and we sell our products and devices in more than 50 countries world-wide.

What are you ultimately trying to achieve?
Our mission is to raise awareness for road safety. We want to make road users aware they’re likely to be recorded in the hope that everybody provides each other additional space and respect while sharing the road. Consequently, this makes road cycling safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

What gives you an edge over other brands in the industry?
Well our devices are unique, so that’s a really good start. We’re also a small business and we’re full of passionate people we just get on and do it. But importantly people understand what we’re trying to do. Who doesn’t want safer roads? Who doesn’t want to enjoy their journey more? We think people get us, and we’re really interested in their safety.

What innovations in the industry are exciting you at the moment?
We talk about e-bikes a fair bit. They’ve taken off at a phenomenal rate and they’re everywhere. It’s exciting that more people are ditching the car and getting on an e-bike. They’re also a great innovation for those who have a physical reason as to why cycling is tough for them – it could be age, disability or a number of other reasons. Imagine the difference this additional physical freedom would make to some people. We have some new friends on the road, and we love it.

What does the future hold for the company?
We’re all about tech, and we have some cycling die-hards in here so we’ll keep developing and launching our ideas to make the roads safer. There’s just so much opportunity to get people moving with a smile on their face. That seems like a good future to us.