From e-scooter innovation to shopping apps to autonomous vehicles, The Key’s been busy telling all kinds of stories on behalf of our clients. Check out the latest press coverage for Skip Scooters, LendingClub, Shopkick, May Mobility and Lively.
“… meet Skip, the San Francisco e-scooter startup that seeks to revolutionize personal transit by trying something new and daring: following the rules. Skip's approach--move deliberately and ask for permission--is working. The company was one of two startups to earn a one-year operating permit from the city of San Francisco in August.”
Well, today, San Francisco-based Skip Scooters rolls out a new feature. The addition, to be honest, doesn’t look like much: a retractable, 28.7-inch, high-strength steel wire, covered in a protective vinyl wrapping. At the end is a latch. Pull the steel wire out of the new, bright blue casing that surrounds the scooter’s stem, loop it around a bike rack, and click it back into the side of the scooter.
Et voila: A purpose-built tool to keep scooters from tipping over on the street and blocking walkers, wheelchair users, and stroller-pushers. It’s a shiny, steel wire olive branch to the cities that ultimately control the shared scooter industry’s fate.
Shopkick. You spend a good chunk of your week running errands, and Shopkick lets you earn rewards points while doing it. Shopkick, created almost a decade ago, is the pioneer of free rewards apps. And it has millions of users today because of the variety of ways it allows you to earn rewards.
At the very least, you can earn points, called "kicks," by simply walking into a store. To earn even more kicks, take a moment to scan bar codes of certain products, submit a receipt after you make a purchase or perform other relatively simple tasks on your next shopping run.
Kicks can be cashed in for gift cards at retailers, including Amazon, Starbucks, Target and Walmart.
May Mobility launched its first low-speed autonomous shuttle service in Detroit this summer. By March, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company will be operating in at least three U.S. cities.
The company, which just announced plans to expand to Columbus, Ohio, is planning to add another route in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s a rapid acceleration for a company that was founded less than two years ago.
May Mobility is different from other companies racing to deploy autonomous vehicles at a commercial scale. The startup, which was founded by veterans in the self-driving and automotive industry, has developed low-speed autonomous shuttles that are designed to run along a specific route in business districts or corporate and college campuses.
