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Meet Brandon Appel of BikeCrUz in Boca Raton

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Appel.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My background, education, and passion has always been for the hospitality and tourism industry. I always knew I wanted to own a hotel or a tour company. After discovering this multi-passenger pedal powered party bikes while studying abroad in Europe, it dawned on me that this would be a great concept in the US. I also, figured this would never pass any code or permitting process in the US. So I went on with my life, finishing my education and gaining a diverse work experience post college. All the while, this idea was stuck in my head.

So a few years after college I began researching these “bikes”, to discover that they could pass local and state codes and receive operating permits. I discovered an importer/distributor, located in the US, of the original European model I saw years ago, along with other domestic fabricators making their own models. I reached out to the importer/distributor to gain more knowledge on these “bikes” and businesses. I immediately saw the potential and spent the next several years developing my plan and concept. Finally, in 2015 I had decided it was time to pursue my entrepreneurial spirit and leave the stability of the corporate world for the uncharted waters of a small business startup. I’ve been told there is never a right time to start a business. You just prepare yourself as best you can, take a deep breath, and jump in. But there are no rewards without risk. So that’s what I did, I prepared, I took a deep breath, and was as ready as I would ever be to jump.

I researched manufacturers and found a custom built, very high-end bike built right here in South Florida. This was the Rolls-Royce of pedal powered vehicles. I knew that this “bike” fit my business model to a T. I was opening a party bike business in Boca Raton, a challenging location for such a party on wheels. This business needed to be high-end, classy, sophisticated, fun, safe, and provide a unique experience. There were other bikes I could have purchased at a much lower cost, but this bike was perfect for our market, demographic, and would allow me to provide the caliber of service I wanted to. I knew the Boca Raton market would be a tough market, but it was my intent all along to build this business to prove the concept in order to expand it to other locations. And that is exactly what I did.

I launched the bike at the end of 2015 to rave reviews and constant head turns and photos. Very quickly BikeCrUz became the #1 local attraction on TripAdvisor. I added new tours, like the Boca BrUnchHop and WineCrUz tours in addition to our custom charter tours and “pub-crawl” tours. Every time the “bike” is out in public, it stops traffic. Everyone wants to know what it is, take a picture, watch it, or get on it. The people in cars behind us wave, not honk.

The passersby would take photos, clap to the music or run up and high-five my guests. It is the smiles that BikeCrUz brings to people’s faces that to this day, doesn’t get old for me. To watch my guests, interact and enjoy and to see the people we pass by smile, and enjoy, makes all the risk and stress worth it.

The last few years have been a tremendous learning experience and every day is something new and exciting. There is still much more for me to learn, as everyday feels like an entire semester of college courses crammed into one day. The last several months have been particularly exciting and challenging as I have paused taking reservations for our Boca Raton location in the slow, hot, summer months, and am helping our affiliate location in Nashville TN expand their business. I am also looking into new and very exciting locations to licensee/franchise our model and proprietary technologies to. I am working with the industry leader in pedal bike fabrication to build new and exciting bikes for our Florida location and future partner locations. It’s been an interesting ride full of highs and lows. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
All new businesses have a rocky road. And it is always a learning curve and education. Especially in a business that operates a unique, custom built human powered vehicle that transports people, who have usually been drinking. There is an immense amount of liability and responsibility that I must be attentive to. But I also need to balance the seriousness of safety with providing a fun, energetic, lively and customer oriented experience. Being I am on every tour, and have been since the first tour, finding that balance of good cop/ bad cop was a challenge in the beginning.

Another struggle I had in the beginning was the utilization of various discount, e-commerce companies. These platforms can really help boost sales, but they come at a very high cost and need to be managed accordingly to ensure revenues and brand value are not diminished. This was a very expensive learning experience for me.

I believe the most challenging struggle from day one and through today has to be capital. Raising capital to start and now raising capital to expand the brand and offer licensing/franchise opportunities in new and unique locations. In hindsight, I started the business slightly underfunded. But I have fought my way thorough those struggles and learned from my experience. Today, in addition to managing the brand, working with our affiliate location, and planning for the next phase; I spend much of my time fundraising, which is something I do not like doing, but is necessary. I have all the elements in place to expand this brand, but am missing the crucial element of capital to do so. It is very frustrating but must be done for this to succeed.

BikeCrUz – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
BikeCrUz is a multi-passenger pedal powered vehicle offering an interactive social experience. BikeCrUz offers a variety of tours for both charter groups and individual reservations. From pub crawls, WineCrUz tours, and BrUnchHop tours, to corporate events, birthday parties, special events, and bachelorette/bachelor parties, BikeCrUz can provide a unique and exciting element to any gathering or outing.

We specialize in fun! Taking a BikeCrUz tour is interactive, healthy (sort of), and different. We take a normal evening out, or corporate event, or party, and add a new element that puts a smile on everyone’s face and creates a memorable experience. While there are many other companies around the country doing pedal powered tours, what sets us apart is our customer service, attention to detail, and high-quality bikes. Having a hospitality and customer service background, I apply my skills and experiences to BikeCrUz. When taking a BikeCrUz tour it’s not just about the bike and the party and the bars/restaurants. It is about the experience. I want my customers to be wowed from the second they log on to the website and long after they have taken their 1st or 2nd or 3rd tour with us.

Yes, our bike is a one of a kind, beautiful, high end marvel of engineering. Yes, it is a new and exciting element to the Boca Raton activities and nightlife scene. But what really sets BikeCrUz apart is the customer service and attention to detail that each guests experience. Every BikeCrUz tour is a “pedal tour”, not every “pedal tour” is a BikeCrUz!

The thing I am most proud of and that I enjoy seeing everyday, is the smiles we put on people’s faces. When I can watch a group of strangers interact and get to know each other over the course of a tour, and end the tour as friends, exchanging numbers and friending each other on Facebook, that is the best feeling in the world to me. When strangers interact both on and off the “bike” is an amazing feeling. When passersby look up from their phones and wave and interact with our customers and their faces light up with excitement, this is the reason why I started this business. BikeCrUz is not about the drinking, or party, or pedals.

BikeCrUz is about the interaction, the shared social experience, and about providing people with something different.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There have been many milestone achievements that I am proud of in addition to my immense sense of pride for just taking the risk in starting a business. But the one tangible achievement I am most proud of with BikeCrUz, is obtaining our #1 ranking on TripAdvisor.

While it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, it is an affirmation that my customers are appreciating and enjoying the service and experience I have created.

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Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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