CALIFORNIA
2019
In February 2019 my roommate Diego and I decided to rent out two ski bikes from a local rental shop 30 minutes away from our local ski resort. We had to wake up early to ensure we were the first people at the rental shop because the rental shop only rented out 2 ski bikes. We successfully showed up on time and were able to rent the 2 ski bikes.
Once we finished the paperwork, we realized that the ski bikes were not going to fit in our car. So we ended up taking the ski bikes apart, borrowed some tools from the rental shop and reassembled the ski bikes at the ski resort. I kept asking myself why the ski bikes were not rented at ski resorts. I came up with the conclusion that ski resorts did not have the space to offer ski bike rentals.
making the
prototype
The following day I borrowed my friends engineering lab key and over a week I designed a rental locker that ski resorts could purchase in order to rent ski bikes.
I made multiple phone calls and ended up speaking with the CEO of SkiByk. I told him about my idea and I asked him if I built this locker for ski bike, would he like to partner in order to get into every resort around the nation. He loved the idea and asked me if I could have a locker built in less than 30 days. I ended up completing the locker just in time.
testing the
product
During the demo day, we had over 100 surveys completed by skiers and snowboarders that wanted the locker offered at the resort as soon as possible. I had people coming up to me for manufacturing, and sales and at that, moment I really knew I had something. I ended up creating other lockers that offered kayaks, paddle boards, and surf boards.
locations
established
After filing for a utility patent, designing the logo, filing for a trademark, creating an LLC, and putting together a business plan, I arrived in Pensacola, Florida in April 2021.
Since then I have managed to gain a contract with Innisfree hotels who own and operate over 15 hotels from Orange Beach to Panama City Beach. They are brand sponsors for Holiday inn, Hilton, and Marriott which will help us gaining an experience contract with those three major hotel names. I have also raised a little over $200,000 in our Pre-Seed raise which has assisted me in manufacturing 2 ski bike lockers, and 1 skim board/body board locker. These lockers will be our test lockers for both seasons.
2022 Operations of prototype locker
February 04, 2022
We tested our prototype locker at the Holiday Inn on Pensacola Beach this past 2022 summer. Our app was not completed yet due to unexpected delays so we had to man the locker and conduct sales the old fashioned way. This allowed us to understand the location of installation and allowed us to explain the company to everyone that rented a skimboard or bodyboard. We had a great summer and learned how to make our business better before we install our automated lockers!
2023 plans
We are starting off 2023 with a huge step into innovating the outdoor recreational rental market. Installing 36 rental lockers at 5 locations on Pensacola Beach! That are now completely controlled by our IOS and Android app! This summer is going to be a test in how we operate and how are plans for maintenance, safety, security, and customer service unfold. We have done everything we can to this point to give each location the best lockers and equipment we can with a simple but effective app. There will be flaws, bugs, and lessons learned. But I hope that we can make it through the summer with great sales and be one step closer to offering our lockers across the country!
