In the Pacific Northwest, an ambitious startup is revving up to disrupt the dirt bike market. Dust Moto, based in Oregon, is designing electric dirt bikes that promise to deliver the same adrenaline-fueled performance as their gas-powered counterparts, but with a twist — they’re leveraging electric technology to make the sport more accessible to a wider audience.
“We’re developing electric dirt bike that brings all of the passion and performance of a traditional gas bike, but uses the electric tech to lure the bear of entry for more riders,” explained Colin Godby, CEO and co-founder of Dust Moto. “So really hoping to be able to get more folks into the sport.”
Unique Path to Funding
While most hardware startups turn to Kickstarter or similar platforms for early funding, Dust Moto has taken an unconventional approach. The company launched a WeFunder campaign, opening an equity round as part of its pre-seed fundraising.
“We’ve been quite open on both sharing the development journey and story with our followers,” Godby said. “We elected to open up a WeFunder campaign as part of our pre-seed round. We really believe there’s a lot of value in creating those evangelists along the way.”
This decision wasn’t made lightly. Dust Moto’s founding team, experienced in mobility and hardware development, faced challenges raising traditional venture capital in a crowded electric vehicle (EV) market. Godby noted that many investors were hesitant due to the niche nature of dirt biking compared to broader mobility or utility-focused EV solutions.
“We thought one of the best ways to develop traction is actually to get the mission in front of customers and see if they would vote with their dollars,” he said. Early on, the company built a mailing list, shared designs, and even secured pre-orders from 50 customers based on 2D renders — a move that signaled significant traction to potential investors.
Content-Driven Marketing and Organic Growth
Dust Moto has focused heavily on content and community engagement to build its brand, amassing over 30,000 followers on social media without even releasing a production bike. The secret? Partnering with content creators, professional athletes, and motorcycle enthusiasts to test and promote prototypes.
Being willing to show up and make organic connections with content creators has been sort of a silver bullet for Dust Moto. This grassroots approach has resonated with a passionate audience, many of whom are excited about the prospect of an American-made dirt bike.
Godby added, “What we’ve seen is people reaching out like, ‘I’m so down with an American dirt bike. I’ve been wanting to see this my whole life.’”
Challenges of Domestic Manufacturing
Manufacturing in the United States comes with its own set of hurdles. Godby pointed to higher costs, slower speed-to-market compared to overseas suppliers, and a lack of mid-volume manufacturing options as significant challenges.
“Cost is always going to be a challenge,” he said. “Honestly, speed is sometimes a challenge here domestically as well.” The domestic supply chain is going to have to sort of relearn if businesses like theirs are going to succeed.
Despite these obstacles, Dust Moto is committed to building its bikes in the U.S., leveraging the country’s reputation for quality and performance while filling a gap in the market.
“There’s this massive gap of high-quality, high-performance, domestic-branded products,” Godby explained. “We knew that an American brand is not going to compete in the race to the bottom mentality of extremely low cost products.”
Looking Ahead
Dust Moto plans to launch its production pre-order campaign in early December, unveiling the final design of its much-anticipated Model 1. Enthusiasts can follow the journey on the company’s website to secure their spot in line.
“We’re excited to build the order list so that people can get excited for next year,” Godby said.
