Levi Conlow’s journey into entrepreneurship began seven years ago as a Grand Canyon University student selling homemade electric skateboards from his dorm room.
Building upon the success of his homemade skateboards and a passion for transportation, Conlow and childhood friend Robby Deziel founded electric bike startup Lectric eBikes in 2019.
In a few years, the pair have taken the company from humble beginnings in a small Valley garage to a 130-person operation and a headquarters in north Phoenix — an ascent fueled in part by YouTube influencers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Lectric eBikes claims it's now one of the fastest-growing companies of its kind in the country, having sold more than 350,000 electric bikes since its inception. The company is on-track to sell 170,000 bikes this year and also recently launched pre-orders of a new all-terrain electric bike, the Lectric XPeak, Conlow said.
“We'll be bringing out a lot more products in the next 12 months. When this company started, we only had one design of the bike,” Conlow said. “We really wanted to do these other things, but we didn't have the bandwidth. We were too consumed with trying to keep up with all the business. Now, we have more structure to our business. We've built out the team and that’s allowing us to explore some of these other designs. And that's what makes me really excited.”
From garage to overnight success
The idea for Lectric eBikes was prompted by Conlow’s father, Brent, who wanted to buy an electric bike at a more affordable price than existing models on the market.
He approached Conlow and Deziel to build a high-quality electric bike and provided the duo with an initial investment from his retirement fund to produce the company’s first model: the Lectric LX.
Conlow and Deziel created a website and Shopify store for the bike, but it wasn’t an immediate hit. That led the co-founders to go back to the drawing board and they designed the company’s flagship foldable electric bike, the Lectric XP.
“We doubled down and created about a dozen versions of the new design and then we sent those (bikes) out to YouTube influencers,” Conlow said. “Those influencers were our whole marketing tactic. If that didn't work, then it was over, essentially.”
The Lectric XP became an instant hit with customers for its affordability and portability.
“We leveled up from my apartment living room to renting my friend's garage for $300 a month,” Conlow said. “We were doing about $1 million to $2 million in pre-orders per month. It was a really fun time and more or less of an overnight success because in the first six months, we had over $8 million in sales and pre-orders.”
The company sold about 8,000 bikes in 2019. When the pandemic hit a year later, Lectric eBikes saw an even greater boost in sales as customers gravitated to online shopping and outdoor activities.
“We sold roughly about 30,000 bikes in 2020,” Conlow said. "It was Robby, myself, and a dozen other people working on the business at the time. We were a pretty small team, but crazy efficient.”
Lectric eBikes brought on an undisclosed private equity partner in 2020 to further scale the company, he said.
In 2021, the company moved its headquarters to 2311 W. Utopia Road in north Phoenix. It also released new models of its electric bikes, including an electric trike and a premium version of the Lectric XP.
“We have been able to continuously grow, which has been really cool for us. It allows us to try and take a bigger part of the whole market,” Conlow said. “We sell over 20% of all the electric bikes in the United States. We have the single most popular electric bike model. We have the single most popular electric trike model and we have the single most popular cargo bike model.”
Lectric eBikes' growth, however, has not come without challenges.
In September, Lectric eBikes recalled about 45,000 of its electric bikes due to mechanical disc brake calipers that posed a risk of failure, which could potentially cause injury or crashes.
Conlow said the company took swift action in handling the recall by immediately notifying customers and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Lectric eBikes provided a free set of replacement mechanical brakes and $100 toward the installation cost. It also offered customers an upgrade of hydraulic brakes, which are now used in the company’s newest iteration of its Lectric XP bikes.
“We did not spare any expense, and it's because we have built a good business that we can do the right thing,” Conlow said. "People say customers are the most important thing to their business. I think Lectric has proved that is actually true."
Lectric XPeak
On Wednesday, Lectric eBikes launched pre-orders of its new all-terrain, off-road bike, which is expected to ship to customers in January, according to the company's website.
The Lectric XPeak is equipped with hydraulic brakes, a UL battery system, 26-inch wheels, RST Renegade front fork suspension system and M24 motor technology that is “significantly quieter” than the company’s other electric bikes, Conlow said.
The bikes also underwent a rigorous testing process to meet International Organization for Standardization safety requirements and ensure it can handle off-road conditions.
“We have pretty high expectations,” Conlow said of the Lectric XPeak. “We wouldn't be surprised if it became our second best-selling bike almost instantaneously.”
