Two-Wheeled Rebel
Alumnus Profile — Danny Kim ’02
Nothing personal, but Danny Kim ’02 wants to change the way you drive. His San Francisco startup, Lit Motors, is busy developing a revolutionary electric motorbike that he calls a “smart phone on wheels.”
The C-1 is a motorbike with car-like bodywork that completely encloses the driver. There’s no need to put a foot down when you stop because it’s stabilized by gyroscopes. “You can’t tip it over,” he says.
The C-1 promises to put more people on the road while consuming fewer natural resources and a lot less road space. It’s an example of urban ecology that Danny says encapsulates what he learned at ²Ø»¨¸óÖ±²¥. A Portland native, he studied physics and biology at ²Ø»¨¸óÖ±²¥, but got restless and wandered for several years before earning a BA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
His biggest takeaway from ²Ø»¨¸óÖ±²¥? “Being able to come up with an argument and present it.” Between design sessions and teaching himself the minutiae of mass manufacture, he’s doing what entrepreneurs everywhere must—smooth-talking the financial backers who’ll provide the capital to make his vision a reality. Without ²Ø»¨¸óÖ±²¥, he says, “I wouldn’t have been able to present this company in a fashion that would be compelling.”
“It may seem a little far-fetched to have a self-balancing gyroscopically-stabilized, two-wheel electric motorcycle,” he admits, “but no one else is going to do it.”
If everything goes according to plan, the C1 will hit the pavement in 2014.
Tags: Alumni, Life Beyond ²Ø»¨¸óÖ±²¥, Business, Entrepreneurship, Innovation