Photos by Ralph Freso
Levi Conlow earned two degrees at Grand Canyon University, so he knows a bit about how to put on a hyped event. Music blared, free coffee flowed, T-shirts were handed out, and when Conlow took the stage to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” the crowd of employees and guests didn’t just applaud. It was more like a scream.
“Back to back! Back to back!” they chanted.
A banner on the ceiling unfurled at the Lectric eBike company he co-founded, proclaiming it North America’s top-selling ebike company in 2024 for the second consecutive year. It also was launching its XP4 model in true techie fashion – thousands of customers joining online to see a mik’d up, jacked up chief executive officer pace the stage, out of breath from jumping around leading the cheers, his long locks flapping.
“Back to back shows we are not just talented, we are truly obsessed. That is the DNA of Lectric. The job at Lectric is to be the greatest urban transportation ever, to electrify movement,” Conlow said. “At the end of the day, that is our job.
“How can we do more? It’s to look beyond the bikes and serve our community in more than just that one way.”
With numerous GCU staff and leaders looking on, including Provost Dr. Randy Gibb and Colangelo College of Business Dean John Kaites, Conlow upped his commitment to community service, even before he talked about his new product.
He said his interest in helping foster children led to Lectric’s sponsorship of 10 students to full-ride scholarships to GCU through its Fostering Futures program. It’s been so successful, he said, that he’s increasing the number who receive the Levi Conlow Scholarship to 30.
“It’s a really cool sponsorship. I’m stoked to see the long-term benefits this creates.”
Afterward, Conlow said he came to the idea of not only helping students at GCU coming out of foster care but also a $1 million investment in two orphanages in Africa, because of his upbringing in Minnesota.
“I realized at a very young age that my parents are a huge asset for me,” he said. “I called my dad this morning; I was nervous. I called him during high school, college, my parents were always there for me. They took out a loan against a childhood home in order to give me the $40,000 to start this company. My parents are amazing people.
“The reality is, not everyone has that resource. I have to figure out a way to solve for that. That’s why I am so passionate about it.”
He learned firsthand of the challenges the children face as a volunteer mentor. “So anything I can do to relieve that, that’s what I am going to do.”
Conlow also has donated hundreds of eBikes to families in need through GCU CityServe.
He was happy to see the Lopes in the front row at the event at the Lectric facility off West Utopia Road in north Phoenix. “It’s awesome. I’ve known Randy (Gibb) for many years. He has always been a cheerleader of mine, when I had my first business idea and first business failure. He’s been able to watch it all.”
Conlow had his initial idea in a GCU business class as he studied toward a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurial and small business operations and a master’s in leadership. He was the first to occupy a space in what today is called Canyon Ventures, a startup business incubator at GCU, with electric longboards, said Robert Vera, Canyon Ventures founding director who cheered him on Tuesday.
It’s been exciting to see how Conlow used that experience, he said.
He used it to grow an industry leader in just six years.
“I just love the energy. It’s a young team. I’m excited about it, they get excited about. I don’t know how to ramp it down,” Conlow said. “I don’t know how not to do that.”
Lectric’s success has been steered by its flagship XP model, currently the third best-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., behind only Tesla Model 3 and Model S, according to Electrek, which tracks and writes about the electric vehicle market, including a positive review shortly after the product launch of the XP4.
Lectric says the XP alone drives about $100 million in annual revenue, so the launch was much anticipated.
“Man this is sick!” he told the crowd of its success before launching into the model.
The XP4 features a new mixed-terrain tire that is smooth in the middle and knobby on the sides, new handlebars for a better reach, an upgraded color monitor with user-friendly readouts that go well beyond speed, a newly designed torque sensor and upgraded Shimano Atlus derailleur, and other new features and colors.
It’s keeping the 500-watt base model at the same price of $999, despite fears of tariffs.
“That’s the job. Our job is to not affect customers,” Conlow said afterward. “So that is what we will lose sleep over. We will find efficiency, build the business, get more scale and get more leverage against everyone else. We have competitors that are triple the size of us but sell one third. We are fundamentally more efficient and smarter and can pass on the savings in the price.”
If he sounds excitable, he is. As he left the stage, employees chanted, “Threepeat! Threepeat!”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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