"Zak Pashak, 37, built a successful career in Canada running concert venues and a popular yearly music festival called Sled Island. But he grew bored with the business and after failing in a 2010 run for Calgary’s city council, he seized on the idea of promoting urban cycling. In 2011 he moved to Detroit, a city that had fascinated him as a child, and launched a company, Detroit Bikes, based on a contrarian idea. Though 99% of the bicycles sold in the U.S. are imported from Asia, he thought he could manufacture a superior commuter bike and market it to socially and environmentally conscious city riders. But Detroit Bikes has yet to turn a profit, posting a $150,000 loss on 2016 revenue of $3.5 million. In this interview, which has been edited and condensed, he describes the mistakes he made as he tried to realize his vision.
Susan Adams: Where did you get the idea for your company?
Zak Pashak: I thought re-urbanization was important, that people should live densely together and that bikes could help that cause.
Adams: Why did you leave Canada and start a company in Detroit?
Pashak: Five generations back my family came through Detroit and I grew up feeling a connection to the city. Also for me, the places people tell you not to go are the most interesting."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/06/12/at-detroit-bikes-idealism-meets-the-reality-of-manufacturing-in-the-u-s-a/#393b86cc36af
Susan Adams: Where did you get the idea for your company?
Zak Pashak: I thought re-urbanization was important, that people should live densely together and that bikes could help that cause.
Adams: Why did you leave Canada and start a company in Detroit?
Pashak: Five generations back my family came through Detroit and I grew up feeling a connection to the city. Also for me, the places people tell you not to go are the most interesting."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/06/12/at-detroit-bikes-idealism-meets-the-reality-of-manufacturing-in-the-u-s-a/#393b86cc36af