Intrago Corp.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COMPANY - Interview

INITIAL LIGHT BULB: The creator of the G.E.M., the GM-then-Chrysler product that was the first neighborhood electric vehicle and remains the most successful one to date, Dan Sturges started Intrago in 2006 to fill a market need for "something that was between a bicycle and a car," as he puts it.

"I had worked in the field of introducing electric vehicles," Sturges says. "I was interested in smaller electric vehicles and how they'll fit into the mix."

Sturges says Intrago solves the "last-mile problem" with a combination of small electric vehicles and a platform that encompasses software and a security and recharging system.

Launching beta tests next month at a pair of Southern California resorts, the company has five employees split between its headquarters in Boulder and an office in San Diego.

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IN A NUTSHELL: "We're not a manufacturer," Sturges says. "We've developed a platform to run the software and the security for renting small electric vehicles."

Intrago customers will register and reserve a vehicle online--typically an electric bike or electric scooter--and pick it up from a rack-like charging station, unlocking it with a personal key.

"They snap in very Dustbuster-like," Sturges says of the fit between the vehicles and the charging station.

Users can return it to the same charging station or another closer to their destination. One location could install a dozen or more stations, each capable of hosting 200 vehicles.

Intrago's platform not only encompasses reservations and security, but the operator can also remotely monitor the vehicles wirelessly or via GPS. "It's a comprehensive intelligent system," Sturges says, and runs 24/7 without a human operator.

After beta-testing the concept and fund-raising in the first half of 2010, Intrago's business plan calls for scaling up production in the latter half of the year.

"We can run...