Supersonic Jet Efficiency Breakthrough

A former Groupon product manager started a company to bring back supersonic commercial air travel, aiming to create flights from New York to London in 3.5 hours by improving upon the Concorde's design with modern technology.

Key Points:

• Core Value Proposition:

  • Cut flight time in half (NY to London in 3.5 hours vs 7 hours)
  • Make supersonic travel commercially viable

• Business Validation:

  • Secured $5 billion in Letters of Intent (LOIs) from Virgin/Richard Branson
  • Presented at Y Combinator Demo Day in 2016

• Technical Strategy:

  • Need only 30% improvement in fuel efficiency from Concorde
  • Leverage 50 years of technological advancement
  • Modern design tools vs. Concorde's slide rulers and wind tunnels
  • Validated physics with Stanford professor

• Initial Launch Strategy:

  • Self-funded with founder's life savings
  • Recruited 6-10 key team members
  • Poached former chief engineer from Gulfstream
  • Estimated $200M needed vs. Concorde's $1B cost

• Addressing Historical Problems:

  • Safety issues from Concorde crash
  • Heat management
  • Noise/sonic boom issues
  • Price accessibility
  • Limited passenger capacity