Tatseng Chiam, Tandem: “If you knew what COVID would bring, a shared transport startup might not be the natural company to launch.”

An EIS investment opportunity bringing low-cost transport to rural areas.

Transport dead zones are notorious in rural areas however, it is often these communities that have the greatest need for various transport modes. 1 in 4 of the working population in the UK lives in an area of weak transport connectivity and areas of deprivation. These relationships work hand-in-hand; lack of access to employment opportunities and vital services are exacerbated by poor transport connectivity and feed into systems on deprivation. Creating sustainable transport systems in these communities is no easy task - whilst traditional bus systems work in urban areas, they are too rigid for less populated dwellings.

After meeting at Zinc, founders Alex, Huw and Tatseng put their heads together to brainstorm how this vicious cycle of disconnection and deprivation could be solved. They wanted to find an efficient model that could be applied to smaller dwellings, connect communities to a wider pool of employment and services, whilst not compromising the transport sector’s sustainability and net zero commitments. After much deliberation they had their lightbulb moment and conceptualised Tandem. Through tech-enabled partnerships with local taxi, minibus and coach companies, Tandem offers a uniquely flexible alternative to public transport, providing employers, local governments and others with transport solutions tailored to their needs. To date, Tandem has received funding from Sustainable Ventures, the Foundation for Integrated Transport and Ascension. Continue reading to learn more about how Tandem came to fruition and the founding team’s favourite feel-good tunes!

1. Describe your startup in two sentences

Tandem is building a uniquely flexible model of shared transport - delivered in partnership with existing local taxi, minibus and coach companies. Our technology turns those fleets into smart, shared shuttles - available when they’re needed but incurring zero costs and creating zero emissions when they’re not.

2. What gave you the inspiration?

We met a group of Dads who live in a small town near Rochdale. All were looking for work and plentiful employment opportunities were available just 20 minutes away by car, but as none of them could drive, the lack of public transport alternatives left the group stuck and unemployed. At the same time, 21st century tech was bringing new modes to London and other big cities despite those places already having the best public transport. We saw the potential to borrow some of the principles behind these big city modes and build a model that could thrive in smaller towns and more rural areas.

Tandem was founded to ensure transport is never a barrier to work, healthcare, education or other vital services.

3. How did you meet?

We met on a pre-team, pre-idea incubator called Zinc in late 2018/2019. Zinc runs cohort programs themed by mission - ours was on building businesses to support communities left behind by globalisation. Before coming together as a team, we each worked with at least 5 other people in the cohort of 50, and from day 1 when we started working together the experience felt different in a good way. The definitive moment when we committed to each other as a founding team was our week of piloting in Skelmersdale - sharing (very!) budget hotel accommodation and trying to sign up factory workers at 5:30am in a dark, rainy industrial estate is certainly a bonding experience!

“If you had a crystal ball in October 2019 and knew what COVID would bring in 2020, a shared transport startup might not be the natural company to launch, so we’re proud of the 10x year on year growth we’ve been able to achieve despite circumstances.”

4. What has been your greatest success to date? And your greatest challenge?

Our greatest success has been recruiting a high-calibre, mission-driven team - we’re proud of the group we’ve been able to assemble, and look forward to recruiting the next set of team members following the completion of this seed round.

Our greatest challenge has of course been figuring out how to grow a shared transport startup in the midst of a global pandemic. If you had a crystal ball in October 2019 (when we began live operations) and knew what Covid would bring in 2020, a shared transport startup might not be the natural company to launch, so we’re proud of the 10x year on year growth we’ve been able to achieve despite circumstances.

5. How has Covid affected your business?

Partly due to COVID, we decided to prioritise transport for blue-collar workers, as this section of the population continued to need to travel throughout the pandemic as their roles could not be completed at home.

However, longer-term the pressure on the public finances as a result of pandemic spending is likely to mean that governments will be seeking increasingly innovative ways of ensuring public transport is available for all, particularly in those areas they are seeking to ‘level up’, which are Tandem’s key target markets.

As we start to focus on other segments e.g. white collar workers, we believe the impact may overall be positive on our business if the risk from the virus itself continues to diminish. Passengers who have historically felt the need to own a private car to commute five days per week may be easier to persuade to switch to Tandem given the cost saving will be more significant i.e. they’d still be owning a car full time but only needing to commute a couple of days per week.

6. What kind of impact is your business having and how do you measure it?

Climate Action - Currently offsetting 1000 MT CO2/Yr through the promotion of shared transportation with an average occupancy of 20+ people per Tandem vehicle vs 1.2 for the average commuter car.

Decent Work & Economic Growth - Enabling wages by allowing people to access work at affordable prices - we enabled over £600k of wages in September 2021 alone.

7. When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?

Alex: Player for Arsenal FC

Huw: A Doctor, an entrepreneur and a Welsh rugby player!

Tatseng: A Crystal Maze host

8. If you weren’t doing this, what would be your plan B?

Alex: Manager for Arsenal FC

Huw: Most likely at another startup that’s doing something innovative while trying to make a positive impact

Tatseng: Either an early-stage employee at another startup, or a full-time angel investor if I suddenly came into a decent amount of money!

9. What would you save in a fire?

Alex: The people are already safe, right? Then probably my little box of nostalgic bits and bobs - photos, clippings, mementos from trips...

Huw: My watch (given to me by my uncle) and my road bike (I’m not sure it’s insured)

Tatseng: Passport - lots of memories and want to feel mobile!

10. What is your happy track?

Alex: Who Do You Think You Are - Spice Girls...our first dance at our wedding...obviously.

Huw: All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem

Tatseng: Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon

11. What are your company values?

The core company value is that what we do really matters to people’s lives and so we need to be excellent in everything we do.

12. To round off a busy year, what are you most looking forward to in December?

Christmas! A festive time of year, a busy peak period for many of our clients, and also hopefully a chance to celebrate the close of our funding round.