SafeKeeper: The story of an idea born from a party… and an e-scooter

Almost two years ago, it all started with a simple question. Jérémy, invited to Dougs’ annual party in Lyon, was thinking about how to get there. The car? Too much hassle. Public transport? A real headache. So he decided to take his e-scooter.

But just before leaving, a problem came up:

“What am I going to do with it once I’m there? Maybe they’ll look after it for me during the event, but what about afterwards, at the restaurant?”

In the end, he gave up on the idea and went for the car, resigned to the lack of a simple, practical solution. Stepping out of the shower, he came out with the sentence that would change everything:

“It would be so cool if someone could just look after it for me nearby.”

That’s where the idea was born. We looked at each other and said: “Yes! A service like Airbnb, but for looking after bikes and e-scooters!” The idea took root and, a few days later, we asked ourselves a real question:

“What if we actually did it?”

First steps: from an idea to a first version

Excited about this new adventure, we got out the computer, opened Figma and quickly sketched a few mockups. No need for them to be perfect, the important thing was to get the ball rolling. At the same time, Jérémy decided to learn Flutter and Firebase to build the app.

We went full speed ahead, sometimes a little too fast. The mockups stayed incomplete, and Jérémy coded live, adjusting features on the fly.

Our duo works well: we’ve been working together since 2018 and we know our strengths… and our flaws. But as the project moved forward, life caught up with us. The arrival of our little boy turned our priorities upside down. Short nights and busy days left little room for SafeKeeper.

Pause, reflection… and relaunch

A few months later, after juggling diapers and bottles, we decided to relaunch the project. This time, we took the time to think about our business model. How do you set a fair price? We wanted a reasonable rate for users, while avoiding losing money.

The idea is simple: connect Travelers (users who want their belongings looked after) with Keepers (the people who look after them). For example, a Traveler pays €2 to have their bike looked after. A small part of that amount goes to SafeKeeper, and the rest goes to the Keeper.

But we quickly discovered a major mistake: the bank fees on transactions. On some amounts, we were actually losing money. A rookie mistake we could have avoided with better preparation. But hey, it’s a side project, and you learn by making mistakes.

In the end, this first attempt wasn’t wasted: Jérémy learned Flutter, but we decided to start again from scratch.

A fresh start, new foundations

This time, we laid solid foundations. We dropped Flutter for React Native and chose Golang for the API. The mockups? We actually finalized them in Figma before starting to code. And we also started entering competitions to pitch our idea and gain visibility.

Summer 2024 marked a turning point. Thanks to the Lyon Start-Up program, we got three months of intensive support. We met inspiring entrepreneurs, structured our vision and made huge progress.

Meanwhile, we had a first version of the app tested. But then came a hard blow: total failure. Users got lost in the interface and didn’t understand how it worked. We had made a rookie mistake by not getting our mockups tested beforehand.

Bouncing back and learning

We didn’t get discouraged. With the help of Arthur, a design expert, we completely redesigned the app. This time, we worked on a clean, user-friendly interface. We tested this new version with more than 20 people. And this time, it was a home run: 100% satisfaction!

A few tweaks later, we finally have an app we’re proud of. We did all of this in the evenings, on weekends, during our little boy’s naps. We cut our social life down to the bare minimum to move forward. But the result was worth it: SafeKeeper is ready to see the light of day.

Our vision: from Lyon to Europe

Today, our ambition is to make SafeKeeper an essential service. We’re launching the app in Lyon first, with a gradual rollout across France, then Europe. Imagine a network of trust where anyone can have their bike, e-scooter or even other belongings looked after with complete peace of mind.

We still have 25% of the development left to finish, and the excitement is at its peak.

January 23, 2025

Marie-Charlotte – Co-founder, SafeKeeper