An Interview with StriveCloud, a Wunder Marketplace Partner

Today we hear from Freek Borghgraef and Joris De Koninck, Co-founders of StriveCloud, one of our Wunder Marketplace partners.

Learn more at /marketplace/strivecloud.

Why App Gamification Is A Game Changer For Shared Mobility

Gamification specialist StriveCloud has one goal: help businesses across industries unlock the drivers of engagement and in doing so, support their growth through app gamification. Today, due to little differentiation possibilities and very low prices, the shared mobility industry is struggling to build a loyal user base and ensure profitability. By partnering up with StriveCloud, Wunder Mobility is offering clients a promising solution through the new Wunder Marketplace.

What started as an idea between two friends in a coffee shop has evolved into a successful business catching the eye of companies across different industries and in multiple countries. In this interview, Belgian entrepreneurs and masterminds behind StriveCloud Freek Borghgraef and Joris De Koninck look back at how StriveCloud came to be, talk about why they believe in this partnership, and lift a tip of the veil on what the future holds.

In your own words, who is StriveCloud?

Joris: “We are a Belgian-based company offering a powerful gamification solution that combines both technology and gamification expertise to help businesses maximize revenue streams by fortifying their audience’s engagement and loyalty.”

What’s the story behind it?

Joris: “It all started in 2016 when we started Kayzr, a tech start-up offering gamers an online platform. Both Freek and I have been gaming fans since we were very young. In the years up to Kayzr’s launch, esports - competitive video gaming - had been becoming more and more popular. It was attracting massive live audiences and millions of online viewers. The contrast with players like us was immense, and there was simply nothing in between. We wanted to close the gap between the teams in those hugely popular tournaments and individual gaming fans. That’s what we accomplished with Kayzr.

You’re probably wondering how this fits in with what we do at StriveCloud today. Well, we enriched the experience on the Kayzr platform with game-like elements to keep players coming back for more. And it’s the more or less the same principles that we’re introducing to businesses in other industries now.”

Freek: “While developing these gamification solutions for the esports platform, we were exploring to bring the same principles to platforms and apps outside of the gaming context. We were confident we had the tools to effectively activate consumers. And unlike many other solutions that fail to understand how to engage millennials, our gamification approach taps into the world of a younger generation. Eventually, in 2019, we decided to take the leap and launch StriveCloud. Today, we already successfully help different brands and sports organizations such as AB Inbev or the Belgian Pro League to engage fans”

What’s the benefit of app gamification for the shared mobility industry?

Freek: “Due to the strict regulation and requirements by cities, the shared mobility market is under high pressure. There’s little room or differentiation - a local shared mobility provider can only distinguish itself from competitors by lowering its prices. There’s a real price war raging and in the long run, this isn’t profitable.

Thanks to app gamification, shared mobility providers can enhance the user experience in such a way that it drives activity and loyalty, steers user behavior, and enriches the data that’s being collected.

Let’s get more specific. Firstly, a provider can stop competing on price and, instead, attract and retain users with a fun, game-like experience. Secondly, it gives a company the chance to cut down on the costs of redistribution of vehicles. Instead, smart gamification tactics such as achievements and rewards enable to motivate people to leave scooters in designated areas, for example. And thirdly, gamification allows a company to gather more key data about users. By linking important metrics - such as the number of rides, the distances traveled and for how long someone drives - to milestones and challenges, you get users to come back and, as a result, can generate even more data. The bigger your data sample, the more informed decisions you can take regarding your activities in cities.”

👉 If you want to know more about gamification, read this post by StriveCloud.

When did you and Wunder Mobility decide to partner up?

Freek: “We initially came in contact with Wunder Mobility through one of their clients, a Swiss shared e-scooter company. They were looking for alternative solutions to the challenge of attraction and retention of users. In their search, they came across StriveCloud, told their account manager and that’s how the ball started rolling.

The word about our solution quickly spread throughout the account managers within Wunder Mobility and they started to talk about us to other clients as well. And we can say that interest is quite big. A long-term partnership between StriveCloud and Wunder Mobility through the Wunder Marketplace seemed like a logical step to take.”

What app gamification solution are you offering through Wunder Mobility?

Freek: “We’re making it possible for shared mobility providers to start experimenting with gamification by offering a plug-in toolkit of tactics. To drive user engagement, for instance, providers can introduce levels. For every ride, users will gain points and level up. Providers will also be able to link drives to achievements and rewards. What’s more, providers can enable riders to enter in raffles. Every time someone uses an e-scooter, they will get a certain amount of numbered tickets based on the distance traveled or the place they drop-off the vehicle. Each ticket gives the user a chance to enter a lottery and potentially win nice prizes.”

Why should a provider choose the StriveCloud solution?

Joris: “This partnership offers them the chance to experiment and avoid high costs. Surely a company could get a team of developers together and start building their own app. Not only will this take long, but it also demands a high investment from the start. By trying out the StriveCloud solution through Wunder Mobility, they don’t have to pay big money for the development.

We even lower the threshold to play with it even more by setting a low fixed fee. How much a company pays is linked to the results they’re getting - so the number of returning users.”

Freek: “Also important: we bring a lot of expertise and a very lean way of working to the table. When a provider decides to gamify their user experience, we organize a workshop with the provider to discuss goals and expectations. Once everything is clear and talked through, we can set it all up very quickly.”

What’s in store for the future?

Freek: “The future for app gamification in the shared mobility industry sure does look bright! Soon, two of Wunder Mobility’s clients will start their experiment with app gamification and we’re already having talks with some others. Based on the experience of and collaboration with these providers, we’ll be able to further finetune the toolkit we’re offering and boost user engagement even more.”

Joris: “We’re very much looking forward to kick-off this journey with Wunder Mobility and their clients, to explore the challenges of the industry and come up with solutions.”

Want to learn more about StriveCloud or their gamification solution? Take a look at their website, read their blog, or request a free consultation through the Wunder Marketplace.