The long road to scalability

Frustrated by commute times and unsustainable travel, friends Luke Sinclair and Kendall Bristow found themselves in a garage seven years ago, strapping a battery to a BMX. 

Unbeknownst to them, that moment would mark the birth of electric motorcycle manufacturer FTN Motion. 

Within a few months, angel investor Steve Thornton, seeing startup potential, would introduce Sinclair and Bristow to his daughter, brand and marketing expert Saskia. Thornton, who divides her time between the Netherlands and New Zealand, would soon take the mantle of FTN’s third cofounder. 

A few years later, FTN released the prototype of its electric motorcycle: the Streetdog. 

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From the start, the Wellington-based startup had global ambitions. The trouble was the team was told the growth trajectory would take longer than most investors would like. 

Sinclair recalls that after receiving this feedback, it took a while for the FTN team to realise the startup wasn’t facing a death sentence simply because it didn’t fit the standard SaaS model. 

Fortunately, the distinct style of the bikes caught the attention of both customers and investors, and a group of private investors including Angel HQ, came onboard in late 2020. 

Since its first capital raise, FTN has raised a total of $4.6 million, supporting the launch of the Beta Streetdog to Wellington-based businesses and customers in 2022. 

Having now successfully delivered 160 bikes to customers across New Zealand, and with a growing waitlist for the next production run, the startup has set its sights on Australia and Europe – which has required some changes. 

“We searched high and low for a bigger HQ in Wellington, and further afield, that allows us to do this – but eventually found what we need in Hamilton. The workshop is brand-new, purpose-built, and significantly more economical than other options. It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but as a start-up, we need to be as efficient as possible and moving helps us achieve this,” Sinclair says.

FTN will launch across the Tasman towards the end of 2024, with Sinclair saying he’s already filling up the Australian order book. 

The Hamilton move was bolstered by a pre-series A equity round in November 2023 that raised just over $1 million. Though it was less than the $3m maximum target, and considerably under the $5 million originally mooted, the startup did catch the eye of Jemaine Clement – yes, he of Flight of the Conchords fame – who now holds a less than one percent stake.

Sinclair and Bristow hold 20 percent respectively, while Thornton holds five percent. 

As FTN is a private company, it does not disclose details about individual investors. However, Sinclair says the startup has a good relationship with them all. “[They] believe in what we’re trying to do.” 

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What do you wish you knew starting out that you only learnt along the way?

I wish we knew earlier that there are many different ways to raise money. You don’t have to adapt your business to the money you’re trying to raise in any way. 

Fortunately, we haven’t, but there were definitely moments where we risked being pulled in that direction. 

If it’s a good product, a good idea and if it's got good legs, you’ll find a way. Stick to your guns. 

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What has gone wrong along the way? 

We’ve had lots of little mistakes; the main one – which didn’t really go wrong but, in hindsight, wasn’t the best idea – was that we tried to scale too fast. We built one prototype, then we built trial bikes, and then we built a hundred customer bikes. 

It doesn’t sound like big numbers, but every time there’s an issue or a mistake… Well, if you’re trying to make a hundred of something, then that mistake is multiplied by a hundred. 

It would have been better to progress more organically and not just choose arbitrary numbers. Multiples of ten probably isn’t the best business strategy. 

The upside is that we made rapid progress, but we probably spent more money than we would have if we had gone one, two, three. 

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Who helped you along the startup journey? 

Creative HQ was fantastic. They really opened the startup world up for us, in terms of educating us and getting introductions to the right people. 

And just Wellington in general. I’m not from there originally, but I found it incredibly easy to connect with investors and startup supporters of all kinds. It was a great environment to start a company.

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What’s the best advice you ever received? 

Don’t be a shit boss to your employees. 

It’s easy to get frustrated and stressed out at everyone around you, especially when they don’t understand exactly what you’re thinking. 

You have to remember to not take it for granted that people are interested in what you’re doing and keen to work hard. You’re lucky to have them.

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What advice would you give a founder starting out? 

Some people start a business expecting to make a quick buck; it’s not like that. 

You have to be passionate and really believe in what you’re doing. Otherwise, people will see through you pretty quickly. 

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What was your first taste of entrepreneurialism? 

My parents had their own business, and when I was about 12 years old, my brothers and I used to help. We would go to trade shows and sit at stands, trying to sell things.  

It’s funny because I would always watch my parents, see how stressful it was and think, ‘I never want to do that.’ But, subconsciously, I felt like it was something I was always going to do.

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Founder Feedback is a weekly series where founders are asked a set of questions profiling their startup journey so far. If you have a story to share, contact mary@caffeinedaily.co

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