So what went wrong? Well, even without the insider knowledge, one thing is evident to me: the lack of focus.

You see, besides reinventing delivery vans, Arrival was also reinventing the manufacturing process. And the latter had brought unexpected difficulties requiring more time than they had left.

Did they have the runway too short? Not at all. In Arrival case, and any other pre-revenue company, the runway length is as long as the rate you spend the funding at your disposal. You may stretch it if you allocate money in a smart way.

Arrival's team had a pile of cash: over $1b in total. They could have had more time if they had stayed focused and followed rigorous consistency in tackling the most uncertain matters before everything else.

Instead, they started to go after new vehicles (the bus and the ride-hailing car), pursued the second microfactory despite the first one wasn't up and running, and supported the founder's pet project (499 pieces of luxurious electrified 67' Ford Mustang cars going under the brand name of Charge Cars).

Arrival's leadership team reconsidered the chosen battles too late — the reduction of costs by half and layoffs of 800 employees happened just a year ago.

The lesson Arrival offers is straightforward: be ruthless in doing only the necessary things until your idea gets off the ground.