Dave Weiner was the CEO of an international software company and his technology career had been cranking for over a decade. He was flying all over the country, meeting with clients and he had built the business up to 285 employees. So what he do? He pulled the ripcord on his life as a technology CEO and quit, and he founded a bicycle company. And not just any bicycle company. A commuter bike
company.
He set out to produce bikes that were comfortable and dependable, that didn’t require a lot of the normal maintenance and rarely got flat tires. Dave wanted to validate his idea and see what the market thought so he turned to Kickstarter. He set a goal of $30,000 and in less than 30 days, he’d raised $550,000.
His idea was officially validated and he launched Priority Bicycles.
“I wanted to make low maintenance bicycles. I wanted them to be beautiful and I wanted them to be affordable.”
Now almost 3 years into it, he’s cranking, literally. He’s still a CEO but he’s the CEO of Priority Bicycles based in New York City.
In this episode we discuss…
- Him feeling unfulfilled as his technology company grew and being further away from his customers.
- Always being the ‘bike guy’ and the person that his friends turned to when they had questions about bicycles.
- Filling a need for Joe Consumer wanting to ride their bike to work and get there on time.
- Going global to find the right manufacturer and providing bicycles at the right price point.
- Turning to Kickstarter and raising $550,000 in 30 days.
- Scaling Priority Bicycles while selling direct to the consumer.
“If you are not fulfilled in what you do in your day job, how can you feel fulfilled when you get home?”
Show Notes
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