I have a similar comment on the same article elsewhere recently, but "darling" is a really tech industry-centric way to describe them. The people most likely to spend $1k+ on a bike are people who already ride bikes. These don't particularly appeal to those groups.
We go through a new one of these companies every few years but the thing is simply that "people with no bike opinions who want to buy an expensive bike" is not a large market at all. Bikes, even e-bikes, are a very mature, well-understood technology and "innovation" is incremental and easily copied if effective.
The "my first bike is an electric bike" group is addressed by cheap utilitarian east asian ebikes. The "my first bike costs $3500" group is addressed by every single bike manufacturer, they all compete aggressively in that segment. The intersection of the two is just too small.
We go through a new one of these companies every few years but the thing is simply that "people with no bike opinions who want to buy an expensive bike" is not a large market at all. Bikes, even e-bikes, are a very mature, well-understood technology and "innovation" is incremental and easily copied if effective.
The "my first bike is an electric bike" group is addressed by cheap utilitarian east asian ebikes. The "my first bike costs $3500" group is addressed by every single bike manufacturer, they all compete aggressively in that segment. The intersection of the two is just too small.