Interview with Magene Co-Founder & CTO; Frank
China Cycling
November 06, 2024
🔗 https://woto.ink/eY36ni - Magene's Website
🔗 https://www.pandapodium.cc/brand/magene/ - Magene products on Panda Podium.
📝 Thanks to Magene for inviting me and @gplama around their fancy new headquarters. We had the opportunity to check out the entire facility, from raw material processing through to testing and R&D. There was far too much to cover, so we focused on Smart Trainer Production, Power Meter Production and their Electronic Groupset. We also sat down for a chat with Magene co-founder and CTO; Frank.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This is sponsored content. Magene compensated me for my time and effort in making this video. I also sell Magene products on my website, Panda Podium, so of course I have some bias. However, this video is a real peak behind the curtain and you can judge what you see for yourselves. Thanks for watching, and thanks once again to Magene for this behind the scenes tour!
Magene
The video provides a behind-the-scenes tour of Magene's headquarters in Qingdao, China, featuring an interview with co-founder and CTO Frank. It reveals Magene's evolution from a 9-person startup to a 700-employee company focused on smart cycling products, with significant investment in R&D and manufacturing innovation.
Key Facts
- Founded in 2017 with 9 people initially, now has 700 employees
- Headquarters located in Qingdao, China
- R&D team accounts for 60% of non-manufacturing employees
- Spends nearly 50% of revenue on R&D annually
- Holds approximately 250 public patents, 30 trademarks, and 60 software copyrights
- Manufacturing facility includes 115 process equipment, 30% developed in-house
- Has 7 dedicated R&D labs and 1 type test lab covering over 1,500 square meters
- Uses over 70 testing equipment supporting more than 600 tests, with 80% developed in-house
- Applying for CNAS certification for type test lab to issue globally recognized test reports
- Factory features solar generation system on rooftop that can run the entire business
- Has full stack capability in hardware, software, algorithm, and cloud platform development
Interview Summary
Interview with Magene co-founder and CTO Frank covers company history, naming origin (combination of 'magnetic' and 'gene'), evolution from 9 to 700 employees, focus on R&D and manufacturing innovation, challenges of entering Western markets, and future vision for a smart cycling ecosystem. Key insights include their strategy of focusing on mainland China market first before expanding internationally, their approach to overcoming stereotypes about Chinese brands, and their mission to provide affordable, high-quality cycling products.
Brand Highlights
- +Developed first automatic wire bonding process for power meter strain gauges in the industry
- +Top tier brand in Chinese market for trainers, power meters, and bike computers
- +One Lap Fit software has over 1 million registered users with distance equivalent to 1,000 round trips to the moon
- +Focus on sustaining innovation rather than disruptive innovation due to startup risks
- +Integrated manufacturing and R&D in same building enables faster communication and iteration
- +Mission: 'to enable cyclists to have a safe, easy to use and enjoyable biking experience'
- +Goal to build a comprehensive smart cycling ecosystem similar to smart home concept
Products Mentioned
First product, affordable quiet smart direct drive trainer using electromagnetic resistance
Top of range trainer using magnetic drive motor resistance system
Power meter that competes with established brands like SRM
Virtual cycling software and professional training/data management platform with over 1 million users
Part of outdoor cycling ecosystem
First sensor using geomagnetic sensor technology
New product line mentioned as in development
New product line mentioned, power pedals
High-end spider power meter mentioned as in development
Part of outdoor cycling ecosystem mentioned