Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles-born entrepreneur Julian Jackson is not into hard-core sales techniques. In fact, until recently, his preference when it comes to promoting his all-electric scooter is to stay in the background and let the bike and its customers do all the work.
His approach is a sort of viral selling where one contented customer begets another, and that person begets another until the orders just keep rolling in.
Jackson, who has been tinkering with electronics all of his life, introduced the Jules Electric scooter in May of this year, and interest is steadily growing. Jackson said there are a number of features that make his scooter so popular with people who have seen and tested it.
“The common man can afford it. This is being compared to the Vespa . . . there’s no oil, no fluid, no nothing. This is the ultimate in local transportation. It’s not for steep hills, though,” said Jackson, who added that 24 cents and 24 kilowatts of electricity will get you about 30 miles.
And for one price you get everything, added the entrepreneur. You don’t have to pay extra. The cost? A mere $2,495.
“The design for the scooter is in the public domain, and this design is used in a lot of places,” said Jackson, who put a more powerful motor and controller package into his bike. He manufactures the body in China and assembles the bike in Los Angeles, and the plastic used for the frame is made from 35% recycled plastic.
What prompted the music industry veteran to begin looking at electric scooters was his desire to back out of his driveway without ending up sitting in traffic. “People on a scooter zip right by you, and there’s always a place to park.”
Another critical by-product of his Jules Electric scooter is that it emits zero pollutants into the air, said Jackson, who funded his company very simply.
“I reached into my left pocket and pulled it out,” said the entrepreneur of his six-figure start-up financing. He did have one investor, but decided not to go that route, after finding that the “price” for those not-so-silent partners could be a little high.
As he has traversed the industry showing off his new scooter, there is another interesting fact Jackson has observed–he is typically the only African American around. Additionally, none of his customers are African American.
Changing that will take an awakening, believes Jackson.
“African Americans have to see, hear, feel and taste how this thing is going to make a difference in their lives. They have so many other things to concentrate on that a lot of times (an understanding of environmental awareness) doesn’t hit people.”
Jackson believes that gas prices today are beginning to make many people, including African Americans, take notice and begin to look for alternatives. He fully expects his Jules Electric scooter to be one of the choices.
