Micromobility has no shortage of bold ideas, but very few operators have ever proven that the model can actually be profitable. SWING, based in South Korea, is one of the rare exceptions. Founded by San Kim, SWING achieved profitability from its very first year and has since scaled to more than 100,000 vehicles, multiple business lines, and more than 64 million dollars in annual revenue.

In this episode, Prabin sits down with San to unpack the full story: how SWING started with less than 1 million dollars, how the team kept HQ costs almost nonexistent, how they made franchise operators profitable, and how they survived one of the harshest regulatory reversals in the world.

This is one of the most detailed and transparent founder interviews in the mobility space. San goes deep into numbers, strategy, failures, pivots, and his long term vision, which expands far beyond scooters.

The Early Days: Building With Almost No Capital

SWING entered the Korean market in 2018 at the same time more than 20 new operators launched. While global companies were raising hundreds of millions, SWING began with almost nothing. No SoftBank funding. No big capex. No large team.

San explains how the company relied on:

  • extremely lean SG&A
  • partnerships instead of city-by-city operations
  • recycling and extending the lifespan of vehicles
  • a culture of discipline and low burn

This set a foundation that global operators never had.

Profitability From Year One

Most operators have struggled to make the business model work, but SWING proved it early. San breaks down the real drivers:

  • Korean consumer behavior and respect for shared assets
  • five year usable lifespans for scooters and bikes
  • a partnership model that aligned incentives
  • franchise operators who actually made money
  • financial leverage through leasing instead of equity

While competitors were spending on R&D, custom vehicles, and bloated HQ teams, SWING stayed focused on unit economics and operational efficiency.

When the Market Collapsed: Korea’s Regulatory Shock

Korea once rivaled France as one of the largest micromobility markets in the world. But a dramatic regulatory reversal changed everything. A renewed requirement for driver licenses and strict enforcement cut ridership in half, then half again.

San shares insane numbers:

  • rides per scooter dropping from more than 3 to less than 1
  • government stings and crackdowns
  • rapid changes in public perception
  • why the industry narrative shifted to “cars first”

This forced SWING to pivot harder and faster than any other operator.

The Pivots: Subscription, Motorcycle Leasing, Shuttle Software, Robotics

Instead of collapsing, SWING expanded into entirely new lines of business:

  • e-bike and e-scooter subscription
  • delivery rider motorcycle leasing (now 40 percent of the business)
  • shuttle bus software with child safety tracking
  • robotics and autonomous mobility platforms

Many shared operators tried pivots. Almost none succeeded. SWING did.

San explains the hidden advantage: a modular tech architecture built for reuse across any vehicle, any IoT device, and any operational model.

The Bigger Picture: Why Global Mergers Are Nearly Impossible

Prabin and San discuss why the world is unlikely to see a second global player like Lime anytime soon. The reason is not operational. It is shareholder structure.

High valuations, liquidation preferences, and late stage rights have frozen meaningful consolidation. Even when founders want to collaborate, investors often prevent it.

The Future: Micromobility to Robotics

San is clear about where mobility is heading. Not just smaller vehicles, but:

  • delivery robots
  • running-dog style mobility robotics
  • fleets of autonomous devices
  • drones and sensor-driven logistics systems

The operators who manage small, distributed fleets today will be the ones who manage robotic fleets tomorrow. SWING intends to lead that shift.

Why This Conversation Matters

SWING is not just another scooter operator. It is a rare example of discipline, execution, and real profitability in an industry that has burned billions.

This episode is essential for:

  • founders building hardware or mobility companies
  • operators trying to reach profitability
  • investors analyzing the economics of shared mobility
  • policymakers considering the impact of regulation
  • anyone curious how micromobility can evolve into robotics