One word to describe yourself: Disciplined
Alma Mater: Purdue University
As a woman, immigrant and first-time founder, Candice Xie took an uncommon path into the transportation industry. After studying business at Purdue, she co-founded Veo to end car dependency by making clean transportation accessible to all. Rather than starting in Silicon Valley backed by venture capital, Xie helped start Veo in Indiana, where she focused on building a resilient business model designed to solve everyday transportation challenges on college campuses and in cities and strong enough to withstand shifting market conditions.
As she grew the company, Xie prioritized in-house vehicle design, hired local fulltime operations staff and built long-term partnerships with cities. She taught herself the mechanics of the industry, from procurement and policy to product design, growing her role as the company expanded. Along the way, she’s built a team that shares her values: equity, transparency and a commitment to doing business the right way, even when it’s the harder path.
What began as a campus-based startup is now a national provider in more than 50 U.S. markets. Under her leadership, Veo has expanded beyond public markets into direct-to-consumer retail and business-to-business programs at campuses like NASA and Oyster Point. In 2024, Veo became the first in North America to achieve EBIT profitability. The company now offers six distinct vehicle types.
One of these vehicle types is a seated scooter, designed by Xie’s team from the ground up to fill the gap for those who can’t use standing scooters. With a low center of gravity, wide tires and a throttle for easier acceleration, the seated scooter is more accessible for people of varying ages, body types and abilities. Recognizing the benefits of seated, throttle-assist vehicles, several cities have since updated their fleet requirements to incentivize or mandate these vehicle types, and now, other companies have started developing their own.
Xie brings this same problem-solving mindset to her leadership. She encourages employees at every level to speak up, ask hard questions and push for better solutions. That environment has helped staff grow into leadership roles and create a workplace where innovation happens across teams. She and her team also work closely with advocacy groups focused on disability rights, transit access and street safety to help ensure that services are responsive to community needs.
Xie’s impact goes beyond company and employee growth. As one of the only female founders in U.S. micromobility, she’s used that position to help shift the industry’s culture from within. She mentors women founders in transportation and regularly shares her experience at events like CoMotion LA, TechCrunch Sessions, Women in Shared Mobility and MobilityXX, where she advocates for viewing micromobility not as a disruption, but as a true extension of public transportation that should serve all members of a community.
She’s also contributed to national conversations about the future of shared mobility with the National Association of City Transportation Officials, the North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association and other policy networks. Across these platforms, Xie has pushed for stronger public-private alignment and encouraged fellow operators to adopt more financially responsible business models.
Is there a specific experience that led you to where you are today?
When I lived in Chicago without a car, walking home alone at night often felt unsafe—especially in neighborhoods with broken sidewalks and limited transit. That experience stuck with me. Even in one of the most walkable, transit-rich cities in the country, the system wasn’t working for everyone. As we built Veo, I kept coming back to that.
Micromobility is about filling the gaps in our transportation systems with options that are safe, affordable and work for more people. That includes designing for women, older adults, people with disabilities and anyone who can’t or doesn’t drive. The connection between safety and access is personal to me, and it’s shaped how we build from the start.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that I’m always learning. Every city has its own pace and priorities. What works in New York City might not apply in Toledo, Ohio. I work with local leaders to align micromobility with broader goals, from campus mobility to first- and last-mile transit. I also learn from our riders.
I’ve heard from people who’ve sold their car, made it home safely after a late-night shift or gotten home earlier to spend more time with their loved ones because micromobility filled a gap nothing else could. Rider feedback has shaped what we build—from scooters with brighter lights to a cargo e-bike for carrying groceries. By staying curious and connected to the people we’re building for, we are able to ensure our programs meet their needs.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The hardest part of my job is also one of the things that makes it most rewarding: navigating uncharted territory. There’s no roadmap for building a profitable, sustainable micromobility company at scale. We’re often making decisions with limited precedent, imperfect data and high stakes. Regulations change, rider needs shift, supply chains break and we still have to deliver. It also means leading a team through ambiguity: staying aligned, keeping pace and holding onto our values as we adapt. There’s pressure in that, but also freedom because we get to define what success looks like.
What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of and why?
We’ve replaced millions of car trips with Veo rides while scaling our company responsibly. Financial and environmental sustainability go hand in hand; you can’t grow real impact if you’re constantly chasing funding or cutting corners. From day one, we’ve built for the long term: designing our own durable vehicles, hiring fully in-house staff and expanding at a sustainable pace.
That work paid off. In 2024, Veo became the first micromobility company in North America to achieve unadjusted EBIT profitability—the most rigorous and transparent measure of financial performance. We may not be global—yet—but we’ve already proved that micromobility can be a viable business and a long-term climate solution.
What is an accomplishment you would like to work towards in your career?
I want to move micromobility out of the “alternative” category and into the transportation mainstream. That means cities planning for bikes and scooters the way they plan for cars with dedicated infrastructure, accessible parking and long-term investment.
Mainstream adoption also requires inclusive vehicle design. Veo offers the most diverse fleet in the nation to meet a wider range of mobility needs, and nearly 20 percent of our riders identify as having a disability—proof that when we build for access, people ride.
My goal is to keep scaling access: more accessible vehicle types, better parking systems and targeted outreach to meet the needs of older adults, women, nonbinary riders and people with disabilities. With the right infrastructure and vehicle types, micromobility can be a true option for everyone.
What is your best advice/tip/best practice you can share from your area of expertise?
Curiosity, discipline and perseverance will take you far. You will be underestimated, especially if you don’t look like the “typical” founder or executive. I’ve faced that as a woman, an immigrant and a person of color but credibility is built through consistency. Keep asking questions, keep showing up and don’t wait for permission to lead. One of my goals is to make it easier for women and girls to step into leadership positions without having to prove they belong. We need more people in the room who bring different perspectives and the courage to speak up once they’re there.
About the Author
Megan Perrero
Editor in Chief
Megan Perrero is a national award-winning B2B journalist and lover of all things transit. Currently, she is the Editor in Chief of Mass Transit magazine, where she develops and leads a multi-channel editorial strategy while reporting on the North American public transit industry.
Prior to her position with Mass Transit, Perrero was the senior communications and external relations specialist for the Shared-Use Mobility Center, where she was responsible for helping develop internal/external communications, plan the National Shared Mobility Summit and manage brand strategy and marketing campaigns.
Perrero serves as the board secretary for Latinos In Transit and is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Marketing and Communications Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism with a concentration in magazine writing and a minor in public relations from Columbia College Chicago.