Leadership
Together, audience members watched as the sleek, autonomous two-seat aircraft soared over snow-capped mountains, red rock canyons, and long, sandy stretches of coastline.
According to Adcock, innovation in aerospace is long overdue. “With the advent of electric propulsion, you can create a new class of vehicle that is far cheaper, safer, and quieter than what exists today,” he explains. “Archer can be a piece in the puzzle of helping cities move to fully sustainable forms of transportation. We also want to help solve urban congestion so folks can spend less time sitting in soul-crushing traffic and more time with their loved ones.”
Looking ahead, Adcock and Goldstein envision a fleet of zero-emission aircrafts that can take off vertically like a helicopter, fly forward like an airplane, and land on a traditional helipad or retrofitted landing site – no airport commutes required.
Of course, Archer has a long way to go in bringing this vision to life, and Adcock recognises that many challenges lie ahead. “What we’re doing at Archer is really difficult,” he explains. “Running any start-up is really difficult. And obviously, we’re definitely working against the odds here. But I think it’s important to take a step back and realise that it actually is possible for a company like ours to really make it. There’s a strong sense of aspirational energy around that.”
Serial problem-solvers
As former hedge fund analysts and HR software executives, Adcock and Goldstein may seem like an unlikely pair to lead an aerospace company. But they suggest that being outsiders has actually worked to their benefit. Above all, says Adcock, he and Goldstein are professional problem solvers. In other words, it’s arguably not about the industry – it’s about the approach. “This is a new industry with new learnings, but one core thing is still the same: we need to clearly define what problem we want to try to solve,” explains Adcock. “We want to be able to bring the right folks in and solve those problems, and then execute really well and build a great consumer experience.” At Vettery, he and Goldstein learned how to create a company that consumers love. Now, they’re applying the same business playbook to building Archer, focusing on the fundamentals while a talented aerospace team drives technical execution. “Across the engineering, piloting, battery, motor, manufacturing, and supply chain organisations, we have experts in their fields who have been in aerospace for decades and really know what they’re doing,” says Adcock. “Having that support is fundamental to making sure we’re successful.” In any industry, emphasises Adcock, entrepreneurs should follow three clear steps: “Hire exceptional people, build a great product, and execute well.”
Chief Executive Officer /
www.the-chiefexecutive.com
The duo may have launched their leadership journey in HR technology at Vettery, but Adcock says that labels don’t define them. “I never thought of myself as an HR person,” he explains. Instead, he and Goldstein simply focus on solving problems and building great products. At Vettery, that happened to mean inventing HR software that connected top talent with some of the world’s most innovative companies. “But nothing we were doing was traditional recruiting,” emphasises Adcock. “We were in a new online marketplace format, using machine learning, doing things completely differently,” he adds.
Above: Archer Aviation envisions zero-emmission aircrafts in the future.
Opposite page: The aviation start-up has been hailed the “Uber of the skies”.
“With the advent of electric propulsion, you can create a new class of vehicle that is far cheaper, safer, and quieter than what exists today.”
At Archer, he and Goldstein started from scratch once more: applying their entrepreneurial spirit to an entirely new problem. “It’s a totally different industry,” says Adcock. “But at the end of the day, we’re still just trying to build a great product.”
Frequent fliers
One of Adcock and Goldstein’s most significant accomplishments to date is building the Archer team. Fortunately, getting people on board doesn’t seem to have been hard. In fact, many early Vettery employees followed their co-founders clear across the country, moving from New York to California to join Archer. “As an organisation, I think the progress you make is the sum total of your people,” says Adcock. “We’ve been very lucky to have some of the folks that really helped build Vettery follow us over to Archer. Our team is just incredible. We set out to hire the greatest folks in the world across several disciples, and what we have today is the best team we could have possibly put together.”
$1bn Market Watch 29
The Archer Aviation purchase order from United Airlines.
Archer Aviation
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