Motorized skateboards have been around since the early 1970s, but until Boosted Boards launched in 2012, almost no one noticed. Started by Stanford University engineering students Sanjay Dastoor, John Ulmen, and Matthew Trand, Boosted Boards introduced an ultra-cool line of motorized skateboards to the marketplace. Those leading Boosted Boards had the idea to create an electric skateboard that was portable, lightweight, easy to use, and of outstanding quality. The idea was so well thought out that it was backed by Stanford’s StartX accelerator program. The entrepreneurs also launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, with the goal of raising \($100,000.\) The campaign was titled “Boosted Boards— The World’s Lightest Electric Vehicle.” In just 24 hours, the campaign blew by its goal of \($100,000\) by raising \($467,167.\) Pause for a minute and go to Kickstarter’s website at www.kickstarter.com. Type Boosted Boards into the search bar, and you can see the Kickstarter campaign. There is a three-minute video that articulates Boosted Boards’ original vision, which was big and convincing. The video is well worth a watch. Initially, everything went well for Boosted Boards. The firm launched its first products—the Single, the Dual, and the Dual+ boards—in 2014. The models had one or two motors and varied in range, power, and price. They were a hit, with some people calling them the “Apple” of e-boards due to their quality and attention to detail. These products were not inexpensive in that their price was \($1,000\) plus. Still, they sold and garnered popularity on social media sites. Along the way, Boosted Boards received \($10\) million in funding and garnered a cultlike following. Then, the biggest break a company could hope for came Boosted Boards’ way. A YouTuber named Casey Niestat featured Boosted Boards in many of his videos with one video— named Aladdin Magic Carpet Prank—going viral. The 2-minute, 14-second video showed Niestat seemingly riding a magic carpet through the busy streets of New York City, expertly weaving in and out of traffic. The red carpet rested on top of a Boosted Board, and the result was entertaining and impressive. Bystanders looked on and wondered, How is he doing it? What’s under the carpet? This event generated interest among people and got them talking about Boosted Boards. To watch the video, go to YouTube and type “Aladdin Magic Carpet Prank” into the search bar. Boosted Boards became so popular it was hard for the company to keep up with the flow of orders it was receiving.....

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think Boosted Boards’ entrepreneurs believed that their firm should grow quickly? Had the firm pursued a more measured growth strategy, do you think it would be in business today?
2. Make a list of the internal and external growth strategies that Boosted pursued in its eight-year existence.
To what extent do you think Boosted Boards tried to do too much too quickly?
3. Make a list of the growth strategies that you think would yield more positive outcomes for Boosted Boards compared to what happened to the firm.
What positive outcomes might have come to Boosted Boards if the firm were to follow the strategies you are recommending?
4. What are two takeaways from Boosted Boards’ experiences that could inform future entrepreneurs’ decisions and actions?