Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Fierro.
Hi Carlos, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always been the rebellious type, never wanting to work for anyone but myself. I guess it’s in my blood – my whole family owns their own businesses, and I grew up helping out in the family biz. So, when I graduated college in Ecuador, I started my own adventure as a tour guide, showing German tourists all the best parts of my country – the historic cities, the wild jungle, and the beautiful Galapagos Islands. My travels eventually led me to Germany and back to the United States.
I settled in Miami and started my own concierge service, helping busy executives plan their trips to the city. But growing the business was tough, so I ended up moving on to property management at luxury high rises. Unfortunately, that job just wasn’t for me – I always had the entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to own my own business again. So, I turned to finance, studying everything I could to break into the industry. I held a couple of financial licenses and became the principal of my own firm. But after a while, the financial world just became too stressful, and I lost my passion for it.
That’s when I had a brilliant idea: I teamed up with a friend and started a mobile dessert company called Zombie Ice. We were the first food truck to use video screens for digital menus (now you see them everywhere), and we even had a screen dedicated to playing movies for kids to watch while they enjoyed their frozen treats. We also used video screens to advertise local businesses during big events, and we even had smoke machines, lasers, and live entertainment like face painters and magicians to keep our customers entertained.
People told us we were crazy for investing so much in a shaved ice truck, but our customers loved it, and we were voted Best Dessert and Best Food Truck of South Florida for three years in a row. We even came in as runners-up for Best Dessert Truck nationwide one year. Our unique approach caught the attention of Cirque du Soleil, and we partnered with them on a pilot project where our Zombie Truck transforms into a show truck to promote their traveling Ice Show Crystal. The project was a success its first year and we were brought back to promote it once more and then expanded to the show Amaluna. We traveled all over the US and Canada promoting these shows via our experiential marketing approach and were ready to start a much bigger partnership with Cirque….and then COVID hit.
We had to pivot and came up with what today is known as The ZombieIce Happiness Experience. An interactive party experience that brings together all the activities we used to promote Cirque, but this time focused on a single event, be it a birthday party, a corporate event, a wedding, etc…
None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my family, who have always been there to celebrate my victories and lift me up after setbacks. I hope that growing up in a family business will give my own kids the same opportunities I had and maybe even inspire them to become entrepreneurs themselves someday.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Let’s face it, nothing ever goes smoothly in the world of entrepreneurship. There are always struggles and setbacks, and if you’re not constantly thinking of ways to grow and expand, you might as well just shut down your business. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes along the way, but I always try to learn from them and come back stronger. In fact, I think one of the most important qualities for any entrepreneur is the ability to bounce back from failure and try again, armed with all the knowledge you’ve gained from your mistakes.
It’s not easy living life without the comfort of a steady paycheck every couple of weeks, but that’s just part of the gig. This kind of lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and there have definitely been times when I’ve second-guessed myself. But I keep pushing forward, trusting that I’m strong enough to overcome any obstacle that comes my way. And if I ever doubt myself, I just remind myself that I’m tougher than I think.
The biggest struggle was of course during COVID, we had to pivot and find a way to survive. I have to say that thankfully we did a great job in using what we had available to transform our business to bring happiness to the people during those tough times.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Zombie Ice started out as a humble shaved ice company with a little trailer, but we’ve come a long way since then. These days, we specialize in corporate event catering and something we like to call the Zombie Ice Happiness Experience – basically a complete party on wheels. We bring the delicious frozen treats, of course, but we also provide customized digital menus with the party kid’s name, a video collage for everyone to enjoy during the party shown on an exterior LED screen like the ones on roadside billboards, snowball fights, foam party options, and an entertaining digital photo booth with customized digital frames so everyone can get a great shot to post on social media. And just for fun, we even shoot snow from the top of our Zombie Truck for everyone to play in.
We’ve evolved into an entertainment and experiential marketing company with a really cool frozen dessert component. But what makes me the proudest of Zombie Ice is the partnership we had with one of the top entertainment companies in the world, Cirque du Soleil.
It all started with a project to hand out shaved ice and advertise their first-ever ice show, Crystal back in 2018. But after seeing the media and entertainment capabilities of our Zombie Truck, the project grew and I drove the truck (now transformed into the Crystal Van) to several states on the East Coast, executing experiential marketing activations in each market where the show was playing during the summer.
That summer, the project expanded even further, and I traveled with my family across the East Coast and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, executing activations in over 15 markets and even making local media appearances as an ambassador for the Cirque du Soleil brand. Then the Zombie Truck transformed again to promote a new show, Amaluna and headed out to San Francisco in the Amaluna Van. The project was going to grow into promoting all traveling shows around the US and Canada, but unfortunately, COVID hit and put a stop to all shows.
But this gave birth to what was known as The Drive-By Happiness Experience.
One day, a lady contacted us and asked if there was any way that we could deliver some shaved ice treats to her nephew. It was his birthday and his trip to Disney had been cancelled due to all the closures. But he loved our icees and she thought that would cheer him up.
I had an idea, I asked if she could send me some pictures of him. I created a little video collage. When I arrived to his house, I played music as he came out with his family, then I started shooting snow from the side of the truck (which is what I had created for the Crystal show). His eyes grew wide and had the biggest smile! He danced with his mom under the falling snow, and you could see tears of joy coming from his mom. I then showed them the video collage and the tears kept flowing. Lastly, I handed them a bag of premade shaved ice treats using a long stick to avoid any contact.
I then realized that this is what I would during this time to bring happiness to people and to save my business.
We now have evolved and added so many features that we are the most complete option for when you are having a special event.
We even offer adrenaline-filled rides in a slingshot as part of the Experiences along with Glow in the Dark Foam Parties, CO2 Canon, etc…
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I have a YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@officialCarlosFierro) where I try to inspire new entrepreneurs by showing them the things I have learned and the mistakes I have made so they know what they are getting into.
Starting a business can be a challenging and rewarding endeavor, but it’s important to approach it with caution and consider the potential challenges you may face. Here are some tips to keep in mind when starting a business:
[1] At the end of the day, customers want to know how your product or service can affect them. That’s more important to them than hearing about how it has affected you.
[2] Make sure you understand their specific needs pre-pitch so you’re not wasting their time. Then, tailor your explanation to only discuss how your product specifically benefits them. They don’t need to hear any excess.
[3] Starting a business takes an insane amount of work. Work-life balance is a joke for founders of successful companies; this term does not apply to the startup …
[4] The ability to start a business is not easy. It requires resiliency, endurance, and stamina. It requires getting knocked down nine times and finding the strength to get back up a tenth time. It requires rejection, hard work, and perseverance in order to see a business to fruition.
Starting a business can be a rewarding experience, but it’s important to be prepared for the challenges and hard work that it may require. Make sure to focus on your customers and their needs and be prepared to put in the time and effort to see your business succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zombieice.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/zombieice
- Facebook: www.fb.com/myzombieice
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/zombieice
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@officialCarlosFierro
Image Credits
Zombie Ice
