In September 2025, MyPickup, a subscription-based electric mobility startup backed by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), shut down operations after three years of experimentation and struggle. The company cited two main reasons for its closure: failure to achieve true product-market fit and lack of access to patient capital. The decision marks another reminder of the fragile journey startups face when operating in capital-intensive sectors like mobility, where execution, scale, and financing must align with precision.
The Birth of an Ambitious Idea
Entrepreneur Abhijeet Jagtap founded MyPickup in February 2023 with a vision to disrupt urban commuting. Instead of relying on one-off ride-hailing or unpredictable shared transport, he introduced a subscription model for electric auto-rickshaws.
Commuters could book rides on weekly or monthly plans, paying fixed fares upfront. MyPickup eliminated cancellations, surge pricing, and price uncertainty, offering predictable and reliable mobility. For daily office goers, the idea sounded revolutionary: a blend of affordability, convenience, and sustainability.
The startup promised to combine two rapidly growing themes in Indian mobility—subscription-based services and electric vehicles. In a market where millions of commuters struggle with inconsistent fares and limited reliability, MyPickup attempted to stand out as a platform for stability.
Why the Subscription Model Struggled
The model worked well on paper, but operational challenges surfaced quickly. Subscriptions for auto-rickshaws locked customers into specific usage patterns. MyPickup saw strong demand during peak office commute hours but faced inefficiencies during non-peak times. Vehicles often remained idle, eroding unit economics.
The team pivoted four times over three years, testing variations in pricing, fleet deployment, and service experience. Yet, none of these changes brought the scalability or satisfaction that Jagtap envisioned. Customers valued reliability, but they also wanted flexibility. MyPickup’s rigid subscription model limited spontaneity, reducing mass adoption.
A Small but Loyal User Base
Despite the hurdles, MyPickup did succeed in building a small loyal community. By May 2025, the company ran just 19 electric vehicles and completed around 4,000 rides per month. Fewer than 100 subscribers actively used the platform, but retention stood at a remarkable 80%.
Those who stayed loved the service. Zero cancellations and predictable pricing resonated strongly with long-term commuters. For them, MyPickup offered peace of mind that conventional ride-hailing apps or local auto-rickshaws rarely delivered.
However, strong retention from a small base could not compensate for weak scale. For institutional investors, traction mattered more than loyalty ratios. Without hundreds of vehicles or thousands of active paying users, MyPickup struggled to make a compelling case for growth funding.
Funding and the Capital Crunch
Inflection Point Ventures backed MyPickup in July 2024 with a $179,000 seed round. This capital sustained the startup for a year, funding operations, fleet management, and small-scale growth.
But mobility startups rarely succeed with limited financing. Scaling fleets, paying drivers, maintaining charging infrastructure, and building technology platforms require millions of dollars and investors with long-term conviction. MyPickup lacked both.
Jagtap openly admitted that the company could not access patient capital. Short-term seed funds gave it breathing room, but bigger checks never came. The mismatch between investor expectations and operational realities grew wider over time. Ultimately, financial pressure forced the shutdown.
Product-Market Fit: The Elusive Challenge
Every founder chases product-market fit, the stage where customer adoption validates the business model. For MyPickup, this milestone never arrived.
The startup won appreciation from its small subscriber base, but the larger market never embraced subscriptions for daily rides. Indian commuters valued affordability but also demanded flexibility. A rigid plan could not match the appeal of pay-per-ride convenience.
At the same time, drivers and operators also showed limited enthusiasm. Managing fleets of electric vehicles under subscription models added complexity. Without strong incentives, driver participation weakened, creating further constraints.
The company tried multiple pivots, but none solved the structural gap. The offering remained too niche to attract the mass adoption required for profitability.
Lessons for the Mobility Ecosystem
MyPickup’s story reflects the broader challenges of building sustainable mobility startups in India. The case offers several lessons:
- Capital Intensity Demands Deep Pockets
Fleet-based businesses burn cash at high speed. Vehicles depreciate, charging requires infrastructure, and customer acquisition costs stay high. Startups cannot sustain such models on small seed rounds. Patient capital is non-negotiable. - Flexibility Beats Rigidity in Urban Commuting
Subscription plans may appeal to loyalists, but the mass market prefers flexibility. Customers want the option to book rides whenever needed without binding commitments. - Retention Alone Does Not Equal Scale
MyPickup achieved 80% retention, an impressive metric. But growth depends on balancing loyalty with new customer acquisition. A loyal small base cannot carry a capital-intensive business. - PMF Requires More Than Love From Early Users
Product-market fit requires alignment between business economics, customer behavior, and scalability. Strong feedback from a small segment does not guarantee larger market adoption. - Investors Need Conviction Beyond Metrics
Indian mobility startups often face skepticism from institutional investors, who prioritize quick metrics over long-term potential. Without investors willing to bet big and wait, scaling remains nearly impossible.
The Founder’s Perspective
In announcing the shutdown, Jagtap acknowledged the efforts of his small but committed team. He emphasized that while the company built trust among its users, the pivots and experiments failed to achieve the experience he envisioned.
He also pointed to structural issues in the ecosystem: mobility startups require patient capital, but the investment climate rarely supports businesses with long gestation periods.
For Jagtap, the closure represented not just the end of an experiment but also a learning curve in entrepreneurship—understanding when to persist and when to cut losses.
Broader Context: Indian EV and Mobility Startups
MyPickup’s shutdown comes at a time when India’s electric mobility ecosystem is both booming and fragmented. On one hand, electric two-wheelers and fleet operators attract huge funding. On the other, smaller experiments in niche models like subscriptions or community ride-sharing face steep hurdles.
The government pushes aggressively for EV adoption, but charging infrastructure, consumer behavior, and financing remain obstacles. MyPickup’s struggle highlights that innovation alone cannot overcome these systemic barriers without patient capital and large-scale execution.
The Road Ahead
For daily commuters in cities where MyPickup once operated, the shutdown leaves a gap in predictable mobility. But the model may still hold promise for future entrepreneurs who can blend subscription reliability with flexible options.
For investors and founders alike, the case underscores the need for realism in mobility startups. Building fleets, acquiring users, and sustaining operations require not just capital but also a deep understanding of consumer psychology.
As Jagtap and his team move on, the lessons of MyPickup remain valuable for India’s startup ecosystem. Ambition, loyalty, and innovation built the foundation, but without scale and capital, even the most thoughtful ideas can struggle.
Conclusion
MyPickup set out with an ambitious vision: to deliver predictable, subscription-based electric mobility in India’s chaotic urban commute landscape. It attracted investors, built a small loyal base, and experimented with pivots. Yet, after three years, the startup shut down due to lack of product-market fit and patient capital.
The story of MyPickup serves as both an inspiration and a cautionary tale. It shows how entrepreneurs push boundaries with new ideas and how market realities ultimately decide survival. For the Indian mobility sector, the case reinforces one truth: innovation excites, but execution, scale, and financing sustain.
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