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Sebastien Gendron

Our vision is a world where people, cities, and businesses are connected with affordable and sustainable ultra-high-speed transportation.

TransPod is developing the next generation of affordable and sustainable ultra-high-speed transportation for a better connected and fossil fuel-free society.

Tell us about yourself?

Entrepreneur with the primary objective to build TransPod as an alternative to the relatively expensive, slow, and environmentally harmful means of travel we have today. With the mission of creating a tech leader based in Canada, I bring more than 15 years of experience leading engineers at global transportation manufacturers, including Bombardier, Safran S.A., and Airbus Group.

With a proven track record of delivering change management and engineering projects, I can count on solid management skills, including managing international teams in challenging environments. I am dedicated to leadership, people development, personal development, and self-awareness. My leadership principles are credibility, authenticity, respect, discipline, integrity, and enthusiasm.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Keep going. You are on the right track. To quote Winston Churchill, “Always act as if it is impossible to fail.”

What problem does your business solve?

TransPod is building solutions to solve humanity’s most significant upcoming challenge. The way people move is not sustainable. As the population demands faster deliveries and transport, developing new transportation systems capable of moving people quickly and clean is critical.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

TransPod is a Canadian startup company developing the next generation of an ultra-high-speed transportation system to allow people and goods to travel safely at speeds up to 1000 km/h. Our new transportation vehicles and multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects will drive substantial economic and employment growth, improve affordability and efficiency for passenger travel and commerce, and dramatically reduce carbon emissions. And we are working with a high level of complexity regarding the path to market, with an emerging business model that is difficult for many people to imagine.

The inspiration is to develop truly disruptive innovation that has the potential to change the way people live their lives fundamentally. It requires a different magnitude of imagination, invention, and ingenuity. We are embarking on this incredible journey to demonstrate the impossible is achievable with a good mix of passion, courage and inclusiveness.

What is your magic sauce?

Our uniqueness comes from the team’s diversity and know-how. TransPod has the recipe and the perseverance to make this 5th mode of transportation a reality.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

The plan for the next 5 years is to fully develop the technology and kick off the construction of the first infrastructure project in Canada.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

When it comes to breakthrough innovation, the loudest rebuttal and biggest obstacle to general acceptance is the argument that ‘the technology has not been proven.’

So while we have a lot of supporters who want to see this technology come to life, we also come across people who think our work is a moonshot that will never land because the technology has not been proven.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

The people at TransPod (www.transpod.com) want to make their dreams a reality and understand that with the right pinch of courage, respect and talent, everything is possible.