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VentureBeat published its interview with Leuschner on December 12, 2019, after speaking with him at Slush 2019 in Helsinki. The figures and strategy below describe what he and the publication reported then; they are not a snapshot of Tier or the scooter market today.
What Tier’s rapid rollout looked like in 2019
VentureBeat reported that Tier was founded in October 2018 and focused exclusively on Europe. Leuschner said the company had expected to launch in ten cities in its first year, but had reached 45 cities across 12 countries in about nine months.
“Sometimes I’m very surprised at the speed we are going,” he said. The interview also reported that Tier had 350 employees and had raised more than $100 million by publication time. Those are historical article figures, not current staffing or funding data.
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Why Leuschner called scooter sharing an operations business
Leuschner framed the company’s challenge as keeping a physical fleet usable, not simply building an app. “This is not a software game,” he said. “This is an operations game powered by technology. And the company who wins this is the company who has the highest efficiency.”
In his description, Tier employees collected scooters, charged and repaired them, and returned them to service. The company used warehouses and maintenance staff. Leuschner contrasted this with competitors that relied on gig workers to collect and charge scooters, arguing that in-house work gave Tier greater control over its supply chain and operations.
That was his business rationale, not a comparative study: the interview does not independently establish that Tier’s model was safer, more efficient, or more sustainable than competitors’ approaches.
How fleet maintenance and battery swapping worked in his account
Repair and service
Leuschner said, “There’s no part of the scooter we can’t repair.” He connected routine upkeep to both rider safety and the company’s responsibility to cities: “We are in the transportation system, and we have to take care of those scooters. We have to maintain them on a daily basis.” These statements express his view of the operator’s obligations; VentureBeat did not report an independent safety assessment.
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The interview reported that Tier scooters then lasted 18 to 24 months. That is a historical lifespan claim attributed to the company in the 2019 article, not a verified current specification or a general lifespan for shared or privately owned scooters.
Battery logistics
Rather than taking each scooter to a charging station, Tier staff could carry charged batteries on bikes and electric vehicles and swap them for depleted batteries in place. In Leuschner’s account, this reduced the need to transport scooters by truck for charging.
The interview described the logistics but did not measure the environmental impact of battery swapping against collection and centralized charging. It therefore supports describing the operational approach, not claiming a proven emissions advantage.
Why Tier focused on Europe and city partnerships
Leuschner said, “Europe is the best market in the world,” pointing to city density, public transport, bike infrastructure and policy ambitions around emissions. Those were his reasons for the company’s regional focus, not neutral findings that Europe is universally the best market.
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He described working with city authorities on deployment, routes, use of public space and certifications. He also presented scooters as a complement to existing transit: “Our goal is not to disrupt that, but to be part of that transportation.” The interview captures his strategy; it does not establish how every city or transit agency responded.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the interview said about capital and competition
VentureBeat reported that Tier had raised more than $100 million and attributed these funding totals to other operators at the time:
| Company | Funding reported in VentureBeat’s December 12, 2019 article |
|---|---|
| Tier | More than $100 million |
| Lime | $765 million |
| Bird | $548 million |
| Voi | $135 million |
These are the article’s 2019 figures, not verified current totals or a like-for-like assessment of each company’s finances. Leuschner was also considering debt to finance the capital cost of scooters, rather than relying only on equity. The interview raised that as a financing option, not as a full account of Tier’s later financing decisions.
The business lesson—and its limits
Leuschner’s central argument was that scooter-sharing companies had to make the economics of a maintained physical fleet work. His emphasis on repair, battery handling, city coordination and capital costs helps explain why he saw operational execution as decisive even amid rapid expansion. He compared the race to a marathon: “the person who wins the marathon isn’t the one that is the fastest in the beginning.”
Because this is a single interview published in 2019, it cannot establish what happened to Tier’s strategy, leadership, footprint or finances afterward. Nor does it independently prove the safety, durability or environmental advantages Leuschner associated with the company’s operating model.
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