> Under a deal reached in November 2020, Canoo reimburses Aquila Family Ventures, an entity owned by the CEO, for use of an aircraft. In 2023, Canoo spent $1.7 million on this reimbursement — that’s double the amount of revenue it generated. Canoo paid Aquila Family Ventures $1.3 million in 2022 and $1.8 million in 2021 for use of the aircraft.
> Separately, Canoo also paid Aquila Family Ventures $1.7 million in 2023, $1.1 million in 2022 and $500,000 in 2021 for shared services support in its Justin, Texas, corporate office facility, according to regulatory filings.
sound familiar?
> The 11-story office building at 88 University Place was leased to WeWork and co-owned by Neumann, the company's co-founder and CEO. It was one of many buildings that WeWork leased from Neumann. Critics called the leases a conflict of interest for WeWork and an example of self-dealing by its charismatic leader.
Obviously, too late for canoo, but if you're running a startup you can learn from his mistakes.
Honestly at this point the reputational damage is enough, that the CEO should probably resign, if for no other reason to boost market confidence in the company and raise the value of his own shares.