Image Credits: Bryce Durbin
Russia's war in Ukraine has taught the employees at Delfast how to work from bomb shelters while on the move and under threat of violence.
The usual priorities of a startup have not been put on hold, but they are now much lower on Delfast. Delfast's top priority has been to get the Ukrainian team out of the most dangerous parts of the country.
Delfast's small team of seven employees based in Los Angeles have been pleading with politicians in the US and Europe to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles and fighter jets.
The co-founders of Delfast, Daniel Tonkopi and Serhiy Denysenko, say they have always believed in the future. When they founded Delfast, they knew that providing green transportation options would be important to the company's operations.
The most important thing for an entrepreneur, and in general for any leader, is to protect the team and be completely honest with them during a tough time. Daniel Tonkopi, co-founder of Delfast
The founders realized that a bike with the power, range and battery life they needed didn't exist, so they set out to build one. The startup won the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest distance traveled on an electric motorbike on a single charge after it raised $165,000 through a crowd funding campaign.
The Delfast Top 3.0 e-motorbike won Forbes' fastest e-bike of the year in 2022.
We spoke with Delfast's co-founders to find out what it was like to run a startup during a war, how the startup is considering breaking into new business, and the importance of always having a Plan B.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Serhiy Denysenko's answers were translated from Ukrainian by a member of Delfast's team.
Serhiy, you are on the ground in Kyiv. What is your day-to-day like?
Every morning, Denysenko starts with a check-in on Slack with his colleagues. It is important to keep in touch and know that everyone is okay.
I have been helping with volunteering, getting supplies and medicine to people, and this is something that most Ukrainians are doing. I relocated my family to Hungary so I feel more safe, and I'm just trying to work as much as possible and do my best, whether that's supporting the company or supporting Ukraine in general.
How are you handling this crisis? What has changed?
Denysenko said that they have a task tracker where everyone can see his or her task. We have an online meeting on Mondays. We used to have these meetings at the executive level, but now during the war, we are gathering all together, just to see each other's faces, and ask how they are doing. Just to talk with everyone.
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