Skip
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Skip was a San Francisco-based electric scooter-sharing company founded in December 2017 as Waybots by Matt Tran, Mike Wadhera and Sanjay Dastoor (the creators of Boosted Board) during Y Combinator's winter 2018 class. It positioned itself as a higher-end alternative to rival scooter startups, building sturdier scooters with larger batteries, offering instructional classes, and working with cities before rolling out. It operated in Washington DC, Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Arlington and Alexandria, raising a $6 million seed round in May 2018 and a $25 million Series A in June 2018.
02 / Skip FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Skip lost its core market when San Francisco did not renew its operating permit at the end of 2019—a decision linked to several incidents of Skip scooters bursting into flames. The COVID-19 pandemic then collapsed ridership across the micromobility industry. In December 2020 Skip was acquired by competitor Helbiz, and it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (dissolution) in August 2021.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Skip was founded.
- Bankruptcy
Skip entered bankruptcy.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Skip raised $6 million in seed funding (May 2018) and $25 million in Series A (June 2018).
- 02
San Francisco revoked its permit at the end of 2019; the pandemic crushed ridership in 2020.
- 03
Helbiz acquired Skip in December 2020; Skip filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August 2021. No reliable company-level loss figure with subject/period/basis was disclosed.