The CityScoot governance crash, with Bertrand Fleurose

Cityscoot: an entrepreneurial journey, five key lessons

Cityscoot was one of the world’s pioneers in free-floating electric scooters. Founded in 2013 and officially launched in 2016 by Bertrand Fleurose, the company experienced rapid growth before facing a series of structural shocks.

Here are the key lessons Bertrand shares today.

1. An operating model must remain adaptable, even during hypergrowth
Product excellence alone is not enough. The ability to adjust organization, costs, and operations is critical when the environment changes abruptly.

2. Real usage should take precedence over the initial vision
The strongest models are those that evolve alongside user behavior.

3. During the scale-up phase, speed must remain controlled
Growing fast is a competitive advantage, but overly rigid financial commitments can become a breaking point.

4. Exogenous shocks reveal the strength of business models
Covid, remote work, and the transformation of urban mobility show that some risks are systemic and can permanently reshape markets.

5. Entrepreneurship is also about personal resilience
Leaving one’s company, attempting to take it back, and mobilizing an entire ecosystem—the human dimension is inseparable from the entrepreneurial journey.