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🚴🏼‍♂️ Overpromised, Underdelivered: Arevo’s Startup Meltdown

Arevo's $85M hype... down the drain

Author

Admond Lee
March 10, 2025

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Hey Founders,

Welcome to The Runway Ventures — a weekly newsletter where I deep dive into failed startup stories to help you become the top 1% founder by learning from their mistakes with actionable insights.

Today’s story is about how a company died because of overpromising and underdelivering to its customers. Let’s get to it! 🚀

Today at a Glance:

  • ☠️ 1 Failed Startup → Arevo

  • ⚠️ 2 Mistakes → Overpromised, Underdelivered

  • 🧠 3 Lessons Learned → Quality > Hype

  • 🔗 The Runway Insights → Seed-Strapping: The New Playbook for Building Profitable AI Companies in 2024

  • 💰 Southeast Asia Funding Radar → SmartSolar bags $1.85M (seed funding) to help SMEs cut energy costs with solar power

☠️ 1 Failed Startup: Arevo

🚀 The Rise of Arevo

🇺🇸 Founded by Sonny Vu and Le Diep Kieu Trang (the former CEO of Facebook Vietnam) in 2013, Arevo wanted to revolutionise the bicycle industry by leveraging cutting-edge 3D printing technology to produce fully customisable, unibody carbon fibre bicycles under the brand name Superstrata.

  • The Problem — 🚲 Traditional bicycles often come with limitations in customisation and durability.

  • The Solution — 🚴🏼‍♂️ With its proprietary Direct Energy Deposition (DED) additive manufacturing process, Arevo built 3D-printed bicycles that were stronger, lighter, more durable and highly personalised.

    • 😍 The technology allowed for unibody carbon fibre frames tailored to individual riders based on 18 precise measurements, offering over 500,000 potential combinations for customisation.

    • 🚵🏻‍♀️ The bikes promised lightweight construction, superior stiffness, and impact resistance — features that appealed to cycling enthusiasts looking for high-performance products.

⚡️ In short, Arevo empowered brands to manufacture carbon fibre composite products without pricey molds, lengthy leases, or prohibitive capital expenditures — and Superstrata was one of its brands.

Superstrata Bike

In 2020, Arevo unveiled Superstrata — the world's first 3D-printed custom unibody carbon fibre composite bike and e-bike.

This innovation promised a seamless frame tailored to each rider's specifications, eliminating joints and potential weak points found in traditional bicycle frames.

(I watched their video. It’s quite impressive.)

🚀 To bring Superstrata to life, Arevo launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in July 2020.

💰 And guess what? It was a massive success, raising over $7.1 million (72x the initial goal) — a record-breaking achievement for bicycle-related projects on Indiegogo. The buzz around Superstrata was sky-high and further amplified by the promise of groundbreaking innovation in bike manufacturing.

🤑 At its peak, Arevo seemed unstoppable. It attracted $25 million in funding from international investors and successfully delivered initial batches of bikes to some customers.

🇻🇳 The company expanded operations globally, including setting up manufacturing facilities in Vietnam to scale production. By positioning itself as both a B2C and B2B supplier, Arevo appeared poised for long-term success.

📉 The Fall of Arevo

Despite its promising start, Arevo's journey with Superstrata soon encountered turbulent paths. Backers who had eagerly supported the project began experiencing significant delays in receiving their bikes.

🤮 When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, manufacturing production timelines got delayed. Even worse, many reports emerged highlighting the subpar quality of the bikes that had been delivered.

📌 Here’s what happened to Arevo:

❝

They have conveniently ignored all my emails since the refund amount for the carbon wheels due to me is more than the shipping charges, so now they don’t want to ship the bikes and refund the balance. No response to my emails for weeks now.

— shared by one of the frustrated customers

🚴🏻 Bikey, Bikey

  • 2013 — Arevo was founded, focusing on revolutionising additive manufacturing through advanced materials and robotics.

  • May 2018 — 💰 Secured $12.5 million (Series B) led by Asahi Glass, with participation from Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Leslie Ventures, and Khosla Ventures.

    • This investment aimed to commercialise Arevo's technology across various industries.

  • 2020 — Launched Superstrata 🚀🚀🚀

    • Jul — Launched Superstrata via Indiegogo campaign, successfully raising $7.1 million from 4,493 backers.

    • Aug — Raised $26.3 million (Series B) led by Defy, GGV Capital.

    • Oct — Crowdfunding campaign concluded. So much hype about Superstrata. Production began amid high expectations.

      • Following the successful crowdfunding campaign, Superstrata launched its online store, allowing customers to order personalised bicycles through a configurator platform.

  • Aug 2021 — Raised $25 million (Series B) led by Khosla Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $85 million (including non-disclosed funding)

  • Feb 2023 — Arevo announced the successful fulfilment of 96% of their Superstrata-branded custom carbon fibre e-bikes, totalling 3,301 bikes produced for 2,858 backers.

🫣 High Expectations, But Low Quality

  • 2021-2022 — 😡 Delays plagued deliveries and customers reported substandard quality upon receiving bikes.

  • 2023 — Shit hit the fan.

    • Apr — 👎🏻 Reports emerged highlighting the subpar quality of the delivered bikes, with reviews criticising them for being heavy, overly stiff, and poorly assembled.

    • Jun — ☠️ Arevo ceased operations at its Vietnamese manufacturing facility due to financial losses and inability to produce carbon materials competitively, effectively halting production of the Superstrata bike.

  • 2024 — 😤 Mounting customer backlash leads to widespread criticism. Not just that, Arevo also faced lawsuits and demands for refunds.

    • Mar — 🙏🏻 Stratasys Ltd. announced the acquisition of Arevo's technology portfolio, including its intellectual property, noting that Arevo had ceased operations.

    • Dec — Arevo had been ordered by a court to pay up to a VND7 billion (USD 250,100) debt owed to Arico (its HCMC-based supplier).

↘️ Arevo’s ambitious vision was undermined by poor execution, supply chain disruptions, financial instability, and an apparent lack of expertise in bicycle manufacturing.

While its innovative technology showed promise on paper, the company failed to translate this into reliable products that met customer expectations. Mismanagement during the pandemic further compounded its struggles, leading to operational shutdowns and irreparable damage to its reputation.

Want to learn more about Arevo’s downfall?

⚠️ 2 Mistakes

Mistake 1: Overpromised, Undelivered

Arevo hyped up their Superstrata bikes with mind-blowing promises — imagine a 3D-printed, fully customisable carbon fibre bike offering over 500,000 configurations. They painted a picture of lightweight, high-performance, and ultra-durable rides that would revolutionise cycling.

However, when customers finally got their hands on these bikes, reality hit hard → the products turned out heavy, overly stiff, and poorly assembled.

This huge gap between what was promised and what was delivered not only shattered customer trust but also fuelled negative reviews and lawsuits.

🚴🏼‍♂️ This was further supported by the detailed analysis review by James Huang (bicycle tech expert):

❝

The only problem is that many (most?) of Arevo’s claims never turned into reality, and while the finished product bears a lot of visual resemblance to what was presented in the initial campaign, very little functional resemblance made its way to production. Despite showing so much initial promise, the production Superstrata has proved to be a terrible bike, and a rolling showcase of inexperience and hubris. 

In fact, my particular test sample proved to be downright dangerous, and the litany of errors prompts me to suggest that backers who have already received their bikes should take them to a reputable shop for inspection to see if theirs is similarly unsafe.

Mistake 2: Lacking domain expertise and focus

❝

Arevo may claim to be experts in 3D printing carbon fibre, but the company clearly doesn’t know much about bicycles.

— shared by James Huang (bicycle tech expert)

Sure, Arevo had a revolutionary additive manufacturing process, but when it came to mastering the intricacies of the bicycle industry, they fell short.

Their approach was a hybrid B2C/B2B model that tried to serve both individual enthusiasts and brand partners, yet it lacked the deep operational know-how of traditional bike manufacturers.

🧠 3 Lessons Learned

Lesson 1: Quality > Hype

Hype is short-term. Great quality is long-term.

When your story sounds too good to be true, make sure the product can back it up.

🌮 Key Takeaways:

  • ⚡️ Prototype, test, iterate

    • Before you launch a bold crowdfunding campaign, run controlled pilot programs.

    • For instance, if you’re rolling out a high-tech bike in a market like Singapore, start with limited releases and robust third-party testing.

  • 🎯 Set realistic milestones

    • Break down your big promises into achievable, measurable targets.

    • Use customer feedback loops to fine-tune performance.

  • 🤝🏻 Transparent communication

    • Update your backers and early adopters honestly about what’s working and what’s not — this builds trust even when things don’t go perfectly.

    • I once bought a “ground-breaking” pillow from an Indiegogo campaign. Got ghosted — zero replies to comments and emails. Many early backers faced the same problem. That was my last time backing Indiegogo campaigns 🤦🏻‍♂️

    • So yes, make sure you have transparent communication with your early backers or customers. The last thing you want to do is to ghost them, and trust is destroyed forever.

Lesson 2: Make sure you know what you’re doing

Whatever business you’re going to enter, make sure you have the domain expertise. If you don’t have one, find someone who knows. Because the cost of ignoring that is just too high.

🌮 Key Takeaways:

  • 🤝🏻 Partner with industry veterans

    • If you’re venturing into new territory, look for partnerships or strategic hires.

    • For example, if you want to manufacture bicycles in Asia, teaming up with a seasoned bicycle manufacturer (like Taiwan’s Giant or Merida) could infuse your project with decades of practical know-how.

  • 🔥 Invest in specialist talent

    • Build an advisory board with experts from the bicycle world.

    • Their insights can help tailor your tech innovations to meet industry standards.

  • 💪🏻 Focus on core competencies

    • Don’t spread your resources too thin by trying to serve both B2C and B2B markets simultaneously.

    • Pick one channel, master it, and then expand.

Lesson 3: Align your business model with your capabilities

There are many ways to make money. But when you’re first starting out, it’s important to focus on ONE revenue channel before branching out to more channels.

A flashy business model is nothing if it’s not grounded in what you can actually deliver.

🌮 Key Takeaways:

  • 🚀 Segment your market

    • Start by targeting one group — either individual consumers (B2C) or business partners (B2B) — rather than juggling both.

    • This focused approach helps you refine your product and build a loyal customer base.

  • 🌏 Scale gradually

    • Once you’ve perfected your offering for one segment, use that success as a springboard to expand.

    • For example, a pilot launch in a major Asian city can inform a broader regional rollout.

  • 🧠 Learn from your competitors

    • Regularly study your competitors. In Asia, brands with streamlined operations and focused strategies have a stronghold on customer trust.

    • Learn from them — understand what makes their production efficient and their quality consistent.

🔗 The Runway Insights

  • Seed-Strapping: The New Playbook for Building Profitable AI Companies in 2024 (Link)

  • Culture handbooks for founders (Link)

  • How to prepare for a successful exit process (Link)

  • 5 interesting learnings from Procore at $1.2 billion in ARR (Link)

  • The 9 laws of GTM success (Link)

  • How to launch your startup without a launch (Link)

💰 Southeast Asia Funding Radar

  • SmartSolar bags $1.85M (seed funding) to help SMEs cut energy costs with solar power (Link)

  • Zentide raises $525K to turn the tide on sustainable agriculture in Indonesia (Link)

  • Arus Oil secures investment from 1337 Ventures to convert waste into renewable energy (Link)

  • Furlenco, an Indian furniture rental startup, bags $7M (debt funding) from Northern Arc Capital and CredAvenue (Link)

  • Finory raises funding from 1337 Ventures to enhance AI-powered lending and personal finance solutions (Link)

🤝🏻 Before you go: Here are 2 ways I can help you

  1. Founder Office Hours: Book a 1-1 call with me, share your problems and questions, and I'll help you cut through the noise, avoid costly mistakes, and get clear next steps that actually work. I help early-stage founders with:

    • Validating ideas & building MVPs

    • Tech & product development

    • GTM strategy & fundraising

    • Finding PMF & growth hacks

    • Growing & monetising newsletters

    • Attract customers & investors by building a solid founder brand on LinkedIn

  2. Promote your business to 18,000+ founders: Acquire high-value leads and customers for your business by getting your brand in front of highly engaged startup founders and operators in Asia.

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That’s all for today

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed today's issue. More than that, I hope you’ve learned some actionable tips to build and grow your business.

You can always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter and we can chat.

See you again next week.

- Admond

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