Department of Management / en E-scooter startup by 茄子直播 alumnus set to roll out in Kelowna, B.C. /news/e-scooter-startup-u-t-alumnus-set-roll-out-kelowna-bc <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">E-scooter startup by 茄子直播 alumnus set to roll out in Kelowna, B.C.</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/DSC09959.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1hhlbT7x 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/DSC09959.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=3MIydWMb 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/DSC09959.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1x-ZydOZ 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/DSC09959.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1hhlbT7x" alt="A woman rides a Roll brand e-scooter in Toronto along the boardwalk downtown"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-08-02T10:34:59-04:00" title="Friday, August 2, 2019 - 10:34" class="datetime">Fri, 08/02/2019 - 10:34</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A woman rides a Roll brand e-scooter in Toronto (photo courtesy of Roll Technologies)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alexa-battler" hreflang="en">Alexa Battler</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-management" hreflang="en">Department of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hub" hreflang="en">The Hub</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">茄子直播</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innovation-entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/thisistheplace" hreflang="en">ThisIsThePlace</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">茄子直播 Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A University of Toronto startup is racing toward its goal: to introduce electric scooters (e-scooters) in a way that is safe, legal and tailored to Canada.&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.rollscooters.com/">Roll Technologies Inc</a>., whose CEO is 茄子直播 Scarborough alumnus&nbsp;<strong>Richard Cao</strong>,&nbsp;has reached a deal with the city of Kelowna, B.C., believed to be the first city in Canada&nbsp;to welcome a program of e-scooters. The startup will deploy 200 e-scooters and 50 electronic bikes (e-bikes) in September. Users will be able to find, unlock and rent the scooters via Roll鈥檚 app.</p> <p>鈥淓-scooters are a popular and effective form of shared mobility 鈥 and one that provides a green solution to a common urban transportation problem,鈥 says Cao, who is from Shanghai and graduated from 茄子直播 Scarborough's management program in June.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淚 want to provide a reasonable product to the market that people actually need and can use in a safe way.鈥&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>E-scooters appeared in the U.S. in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inc.com/magazine/201902/will-yakowicz/bird-electric-scooter-travis-vanderzanden-2018-company-of-the-year.html">September of&nbsp;&nbsp;2017</a>, but problems arose when they were made available without extensive instructions, helmets or invitations from government bodies. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/2/18526813/scooter-electric-injury-austin-cdc-study-head-helmet">Injuries</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boom-in-electric-scooters-leads-to-more-injuries-fatalities-2019-6">deaths</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jul/15/invasion-electric-scooter-backlash">public backlash</a>&nbsp;were rampant through 2018 and have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/electric-scooter-backlash-leads-to-new-laws-and-scooter-rage-july-2019/">continued in 2019</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淐anadian governments have been very conservative with e-scooters to minimize the risks 鈥 it鈥檚 a good thing, and one of the reasons American companies haven鈥檛 gotten into this market as quickly,鈥 Cao says.&nbsp;</p> <p>Cao鈥檚 father works in the Chinese manufacturing industry and has been making e-bikes and e-scooters for U.S. companies.&nbsp;This gave Cao the idea and connections to begin building a competitive startup.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>In March, Cao went to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.utscthehub.ca/">The Hub</a>, 茄子直播 Scarborough鈥檚 entrepreneurial incubator, and began working with its director, <strong>Gray Graffam</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do is differentiate him straight up from what the other companies are doing,鈥 Graffam says. 鈥淚鈥檓 introducing him to various politicians and governing agencies to say, 鈥楬ow can I work with the city to introduce these e-scooters in a safe way?鈥欌</p> <p>Cao built a team of six, and Roll has now launched its website, coded its app and crafted its bright yellow e-scooter.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/DSC00523.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>鈥淚 want to provide a reasonable product to the market that people actually need and can use in a safe way,鈥 says Richard Cao&nbsp;(photo courtesy of Roll Technologies)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The platform of Roll鈥檚 e-scooter is wider and heavier than those of&nbsp;&nbsp;major U.S. companies in an effort to make them more stable. The wheels are also larger, to help prevent them from getting caught in curbs or uneven street surfaces.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Epidemiology/APH_Dockless_Electric_Scooter_Study_5-2-19.pdf">A study&nbsp;of e-scooter use in&nbsp;Austin, Texas</a>&nbsp;by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 20 people were injured per 100,000 e-scooter trips, with half of those injured&nbsp;sustaining head injuries.&nbsp;</p> <p>The study noted head injuries could have been prevented by wearing a helmet, but only one of the 190 injured people in the study was wearing one. That鈥檚 why Cao is making wearing a helmet mandatory for all users, and is launching a free helmet program.</p> <p>The same study found that one-third of injured users were harmed on their first time riding an e-scooter. So, Roll鈥檚 app will identify first-time users and lock the e-scooters into a lowered speed.&nbsp;</p> <p>Roll is also working to make sustainability a priority, because while the&nbsp;scooters may seem eco-friendly, a short lifespan can send them on a fast track to the landfill.</p> <p>That鈥檚 why Cao has made durability a focus in his design. Part of Roll's daily operations will be investigating scooters and making every effort to repair them instead of replacing them.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 02 Aug 2019 14:34:59 +0000 noreen.rasbach 157407 at 茄子直播 study finds people have expectations of the ideal number of collaborators to make a product /news/u-t-study-finds-people-have-expectations-ideal-number-collaborators-make-product <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">茄子直播 study finds people have expectations of the ideal number of collaborators to make a product</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2019-07-26-maglio-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=L1VZtGQs 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2019-07-26-maglio-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mp_j65WV 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2019-07-26-maglio-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=XgMsPdl2 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2019-07-26-maglio-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=L1VZtGQs" alt="Photo of Sam Maglio"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-07-26T11:12:10-04:00" title="Friday, July 26, 2019 - 11:12" class="datetime">Fri, 07/26/2019 - 11:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">鈥淧eople have an estimate in their minds for the best number of collaborators to make the best possible product,鈥 says Sam Maglio, associate professor in the department of management at 茄子直播 Scarborough (photo by Yana Kaz)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/don-campbell" hreflang="en">Don Campbell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-management" hreflang="en">Department of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">茄子直播 Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When it comes to how people view the group size of a collaboration, new University of Toronto&nbsp;research finds there鈥檚 such a thing as too many 鈥 and too few&nbsp;鈥 cooks in the kitchen.</p> <p>The research, published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1948550619849108"><em>Social Psychology and Personality Science</em></a>, looks at what people expect from collaborations of different sizes.</p> <p>鈥淧eople have an estimate in their minds for the best number of collaborators to make the best possible product,鈥 says <strong>Sam Maglio</strong>, associate professor in the department of management at 茄子直播 Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management.</p> <p>There鈥檚 a lot of existing research looking at how managers can best construct their teams, but&nbsp;Maglio says this is the first to look at how outsiders evaluate collaborations of different sizes.</p> <p>In one study, participants were asked to judge the tastiness of a cookie after being told that it was made either by one, four&nbsp;or eight bakers. Despite sampling the same cookie, participants judged the cookie made by four bakers to be the tastiest.</p> <p>鈥淭his shows how our expectations shape the way we interact with goods and services,鈥 says Maglio, who is an expert on consumer behaviour.</p> <p>鈥淚f people have high expectations for what they are about to encounter, then they鈥檒l usually find a way to see that product as meeting those expectations.鈥</p> <p>The complexity of a task does seem to change our opinion of ideal collaboration size, Maglio notes. In two studies, participants were asked for the ideal number of collaborators to make more complex products, such as a pen, watch and lock. A more complex task made participants want more collaborators working on it.</p> <p>鈥淚t seems people believe in an ideal number of collaborators that鈥檚 often bigger than two, especially for complex tasks. At the same time, we never saw that ideal number go into the triple digits, so there needs to be a balance between not too many and not too few,鈥 he says.</p> <p>Once a collaboration becomes too large, we tend to view it as excessive, costly and unwieldy 鈥 and it can dampen our enthusiasm for it, he adds.</p> <p>Maglio was first inspired to do this research after witnessing the hype generated by a new beer made by a collaboration of three independent brewers in San Francisco.</p> <p>鈥淲e tend to think of co-branding as only two brands, but here were three brewers and people were lining up around the block for a beer they hadn鈥檛 even tried,鈥 he says.&nbsp;鈥淚t seemed, at least in this case, that three was better than two in terms of generating enthusiasm.鈥</p> <p>Maglio says there are clear lessons for marketers: They can do more to find the number of collaborators their customers would prefer and then promote it. At the same time, it鈥檚 also important to know when too many collaborators can ruin enthusiasm.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 important to know the number and not exceed it. Having three independent brewers may be close to ideal, but having 22 鈥 which has actually happened 鈥 may cause consumers to walk away,鈥 he says.</p> <p>The research received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 26 Jul 2019 15:12:10 +0000 noreen.rasbach 157376 at