Electric aircraft founder Kyle Clark threw out the Silicon Valley playbook

Beta Technologies founder and CEO Kyle Clark piloted the Alia CX300 electric aircraft in November .

The Vermont startup hopes to be the first eCTOL certified for commercial flight this year or by 2026 .

Beta's go-to-market strategy is different from competitors Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation .

The startup has 46 charging sites across 22 states and New Zealand , with 23 more in development.

Beta has raised $1.15 billion from institutional investors, but Clark says the startup’s “fundamental efficiency” has maximized impact.

In February , Beta hit a critical milestone when its pilots flew the CX300 on its first airport-to-airport mission between four regional airports in New York .

Clark is also a pilot and a flight instructor who has built and flown “ at least 20 airplanes”.

Beta put investor dollars toward its $170 million bespoke factory.

Clark says he expects net profitability to be “greater than 12 months away” Investor funds have largely gone toward building out manufacturing facilities and certifying aircraft, he says.

“The process is the product, but it’s almost more important than flying a beautiful quiet airplane,” Clark said.