What are the key takeaways from this The Pitch episode?

Key insights include: **Hardware unit economics:** STAG sells electric mini skid steers at $54,900 to dealers with 20% discount, manufacturing cost of $29-30K per unit, generating $12K margin per machine plus attachment and telematics revenue streams.; **Distribution strategy advantage:** Partnering with established multi-location dealers like Bobcat, John Deere, and ASV provides immediate access to existing customer bases, service infrastructure, and national accounts without building costly brick-and-mortar retail operations or direct sales teams.; **Product market validation:** Secured 25 unit orders worth $1.1M across six dealers before production by driving 40,000 miles for in-person demos, proving blue-collar industries require hands-on product testing and relationship building over digital marketing approaches.

What did Elizabeth Ian and Jesse Middleton discuss on The Pitch?

Adam and Patrick pitch STAG, their electric mini skid steer construction equipment company, seeking $1M at $2.3M pre-money valuation with $1.1M in dealer orders already secured. Key topics include: **Hardware unit economics:** STAG sells electric mini skid steers at $54,900 to dealers with 20% discount, manufacturing cost of $29-30K per unit, generating $12K margin per machine plus attachment and telematics revenue streams.; **Distribution strategy advantage:** Partnering with established multi-location dealers like Bobcat, John Deere, and ASV provides immediate access to existing customer bases, service infrastructure, and national accounts without building costly brick-and-mortar retail operations or direct sales teams..

How long is this episode of The Pitch?

This episode is 43 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

The Pitch

#173 STAG: The Tesla of Construction Equipment?!

November 5, 2025

43 min episode · 2 min read

Elizabeth Ian,Jesse Middleton,Laura Lucas

Episode

43 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Productivity, Relationships, Investing

AI-Generated Summary

Published Jan 11, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓Hardware unit economics: STAG sells electric mini skid steers at $54,900 to dealers with 20% discount, manufacturing cost of $29-30K per unit, generating $12K margin per machine plus attachment and telematics revenue streams.
✓Distribution strategy advantage: Partnering with established multi-location dealers like Bobcat, John Deere, and ASV provides immediate access to existing customer bases, service infrastructure, and national accounts without building costly brick-and-mortar retail operations or direct sales teams.
✓Product market validation: Secured 25 unit orders worth $1.1M across six dealers before production by driving 40,000 miles for in-person demos, proving blue-collar industries require hands-on product testing and relationship building over digital marketing approaches.
✓Capital efficiency milestone: Invested $650K of founder capital to reach production-ready prototype with dealer commitments, requiring only $500K-1M VC funding to bridge six-to-eight months until PO and AR financing becomes viable at scale.

What It Covers

Adam and Patrick pitch STAG, their electric mini skid steer construction equipment company, seeking $1M at $2.3M pre-money valuation with $1.1M in dealer orders already secured.

Key Questions Answered

•Hardware unit economics: STAG sells electric mini skid steers at $54,900 to dealers with 20% discount, manufacturing cost of $29-30K per unit, generating $12K margin per machine plus attachment and telematics revenue streams.
•Distribution strategy advantage: Partnering with established multi-location dealers like Bobcat, John Deere, and ASV provides immediate access to existing customer bases, service infrastructure, and national accounts without building costly brick-and-mortar retail operations or direct sales teams.
•Product market validation: Secured 25 unit orders worth $1.1M across six dealers before production by driving 40,000 miles for in-person demos, proving blue-collar industries require hands-on product testing and relationship building over digital marketing approaches.
•Capital efficiency milestone: Invested $650K of founder capital to reach production-ready prototype with dealer commitments, requiring only $500K-1M VC funding to bridge six-to-eight months until PO and AR financing becomes viable at scale.

Notable Moment

Elizabeth Yin initially passed in the pitch room due to hardware cash flow concerns, then requested a follow-up call days later to clarify financing mechanics and ultimately invested $150K after understanding their path to credit lines.

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Episode Transcript

Welcome to The Pitch, where startup founders raise millions and listeners can invest. I'm Josh Muccio. And I'm Lisa Muccio. And before we get to The Pitch We are doing a live show. Oh, okay. In Brooklyn on December 4. Your favorite VCs will be there, and we're gonna do a happy hour after the show. Tickets just went on sale. Grab yours at pitch.show/live. On the show today, we have Stag. They're raising $1,000,000. Whatever the blueprint is for Venture and the things that they invest in, this is nothing like that blueprint. Like, we meet these guys. They were on the Slovakian national swim team, and now they're building electrified construction equipment. I just really love Adam and Patrick. They're, like, best friends that feel like brothers. And so there's, like, that really strong trust that your cofounder's got your back. Yeah. Like, me and you. Just like brothers. The the trust part. I love companies like this that are just so outside the venture mold, but yet the more you dig in, the more you think, like, this is actually a really, really compelling investment. I told the team, it feels like a long shot bringing these guys on the show, but I would regret it if we didn't invite them. And then I heard the price tag. The price is so good. So good. God, I sound like a VC. Well, you are. The pitch for Stag is coming up after this. Lisa and I, we're gonna be touring different cities, meeting listeners and LPs. We're in Austin right now. And next week, we'll be in New York because we're raising fund too. You can RSVP to join us at one of those meetups at pitch.show/events. It's true that some things change as we get older. But if you're a woman over 40 and you're dealing with insomnia, brain fog, moodiness, and weight gain, you don't have to accept it as just another part of aging. And with Mitty Health, you can get help and stop pushing through it alone. The experts at Mitty understand that all these symptoms can be connected to the hormonal changes that happen around menopause. And Mitty can help you feel more like yourself again. Many healthcare providers aren't trained to treat or even recognize menopause symptoms. MiddI clinicians are menopause experts. They're dedicated to providing safe, effective, FDA approved solutions for dozens of hormonal symptoms, not just hot flashes. Most importantly, they're covered by insurance. Ninety one percent of Middi patients get relief from symptoms within just two months. You deserve to feel great. Book your virtual visit today at joinmidi.com. That's join,midi,.com. Welcome back to the pitch for Stag. Let's meet the investors. Elizabeth Ian with Hustle Fund. Can I ask you a very direct question? Jesse Middleton with Flybridge. I'm so sick of people that are building stuff for building stuff's sake. And two new investors to the show, Laura Lucas with Latitude Ventures. You are everything I …

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