The plane was about to take off. It was overloaded, slow and did not have enough runway…

Millions of dollars in funding social media darlings and yet the place had a predetermined destiny towards bankruptcy. They had a good product too. Superior in many respects to the competition. Designed for the harsh Candian winters it could withstand anything – it was a tank.

The time was 2024 and the EV market was roaring. FLO EV dominated the Canadian market and they had the Quebec government pushing them towards growth, the Candadian banks in their back pocket. All of it was intoxciating but the place was on fire. It was a terrifying experience honestly.

I was the senior leader for their first plant in the United States. Seemed like a dream job and I loved the folks in Quebec that I worked for. They had a nice, supportive culture that abhorred confict. Somehow I got hired anyway. The problem was a lack of urgency – which drove complacency – which drove a lack of adaption to changing conditions – which led to their ultimate demise.

The first sign of concern was a 7 year sales forecast. No kidding, normally a sign of a well established and disciplined company. For a startup in a new market in a new industry it represented what was wrong with their culture. A stamping plant can estimate capital planning as they operate in a mature market. To the contrary a startup must be agile.

A successful startup must have urgency, there is always a threat. You are operating under durress. You have limited time, resources and there is only so much runway. If it conditions seem fat and successful, trust me it’s not.

When Tesla made changes to the charging standards, I found myself with warehouse full of obsolete material. I literally had 15 ft ( a mountain worth millions) of material to make product that no one wanted. The orders dried up. The company attempted to move their attention to higher margin fast chargers but it was too late. The competition was on their 3rd iteration before FLO had introduced their 1st.

If you are the senior leader in a startup, it is your responsiblity to drive urgency. If no one else can see it, well it’s lonely at the top.