Talentor Global Client Case: woom - Pedaling Fast to Be the World's Leading Manufacturer of Children's Dream Bicycles

by Gertraud Eregger in News from Talentor — June 2022

Silke Ploner, Senior Sales Consultant at epunkt, discussed insights and expansion plans for her client woom during Talentor's partner call end of May.

When you visit Austria or Europe as a parent or bicycle enthusiast, you can’t help but notice that almost every child is riding a woom bike and wearing a woom helmet. Even the tiniest tikes cruise around town on woom bikes. It’s no wonder woom bikes seem omnipresent when you know that they make up one third of the children's bicycles sold in Austria.

woom found a different solution to the problem most of us faced as children. We started with training wheels that were raised, then removed as we got better at riding, with a few painful face-plants along the way. I don't recall ever seeing a light, easy-to-use children's bike during my childhood. They were all a little hefty; it took awhile to get used to riding them.

The current generation of children can sit on a lightweight bike as soon as they can walk. Because that bike is so light, they learn to balance quickly. woom has designed the lightest bikes on the market, so children start riding them within minutes – without training wheels and discouraging falls.

Christian Bezdeka and Marcus Ihlenfeld, the company's founders, launched woom in a garage in Vienna in 2013. The success story began with the sale of 500 bikes in the first year. In 2022, the company expects to sell 500,000 units.

woom bikes are a great way to invest your money if you don't want to put it in gold. The bikes have become so scarce on the market that they are sold used for virtually the same amount on online auction sites such as Ebay. When Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo of his youngster riding a woom bike, demand in the United States exploded.

woom is currently represented in 30 countries, with a major concentration on the DACH region and, as previously said, the US market.

Commenting on the rapid expansion of her organization:

Valerie Ferencic, Head of Employee Experience Global at woom

"Based on our rapid global growth we are constantly looking for the new talents to join our woom family. Currently we have open positions in all different areas as for example in Product Engineering, IT and Supply Chain. Our woomsters all have a strong purpose why they join woom and the fit between their purpose and our culture and values is the best basis for a future together. Not all of our woomsters are bike aficionados, but quite many love to ride their bikes themselves!"

Silke Ploner enthusiastically conveyed woom's story, focus, and passion. "woom is a compassionate team of bike enthusiasts. It's a pleasure to support the team on their growing adventure, and especially to be able to assist them in finding future woomsters who share our passion for cycling and can keep up with the organization's pace".

woom and Talentor International worked on two projects together. A Head of Quality Control Asia and a Regional Manager for France were on the team's talent wish list.

Sharing his project experience with us:

Michael Wang, Partner at Talentor China

‘'Collaborating with woom was a fantastic experience. Every briefing, and update meeting reflected the deep trust that the Austrian team had developed with the HQ. woom had a clear idea of who they wanted and was able to engage with each candidate in a short amount of time. The rapidity of expansion and the go-go-go spirit were evident, resulting in transparent and quick employment decisions."

Taking us through the highlights of the project and collaboration:

Benoit Charasy, Practice Manager at MacAnders in France

"Supporting woom in finding the future Regional Manager was a fantastic experience! woom hires bike aficionados — people that are passionate about the sport and enjoy every aspect of it. When the mix of true passion for biking, the woom spirit, and experience is offered, compassion for the core product is most vital and outweighs years of experience." On the LinkedIn profile, the hired candidate expressed his passion for biking. It demonstrated how LinkedIn has evolved from a business platform to a work-life platform where you can share your entire self with the world, making it easier for headhunters to match you with companies that truly fit you".

We were all inspired to get on our bikes and go for a ride in the woods (with or without kids), to explore additional cross-border collaborations, and to never stop learning while working on our projects looking for the leaders for tomorrow.

We'd like to thank Valerie, Silke, Michael, and Benoit for sharing their views and insider knowledge with us!

Gertraud Eregger

Partner Manager

International

Talentor International