Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Powell.
Aaron, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Houston and originally came to the Dallas-area to pursue Music Education at UNT in Denton. I became a school band teacher, first for Midlothian ISD, then up in Denton. That all changed the day, my daughter was born. The instant I saw her face, it was like a switch flipped in my brain and I knew I had to pursue something that would give me the flexibility to put my family first. So I took a three-month maternity leave and used that time off to start my first business, an ecommerce shop selling imported jewelry. After 18 months of putting in long nights and weekends, I turned that first $500 order into a sizeable business that was making twice my teaching salary and gave me that freedom I was after.
To celebrate, we took a family trip to Sweden and it was there that I saw family cargo bikes for the first time. When we came home, I just wanted to buy one for myself, but when I couldn’t find a good option on the market, I saw an opportunity to share the joy of family biking with North America. So I sold my other business and used that to get Bunch Bikes off the ground in 2017.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I knew that starting a bicycle company would be tough, but I severely underestimated the challenges. Our first manufacturing partner was not a good one. The product had to be re-worked after receiving it, and a lot of inventory just had to be scrapped. They were dishonest and once actually shipped us an entire container full of flood-damaged goods in that first year. We quickly burned through all of the start-up capital I put into the business and took a 6-figure loss in 2018.
I’ve also had to go through the growing pains of becoming a leader… going from “solopreneur” to leader of a team of 6-full time and growing has been a challenge. I learned the hard way that culture doesn’t just happen, it has to stem from the founder through clarity of vision and communication.
Please tell us about Bunch Bikes.
Bunch Bikes is the leading family cargo trike manufacturer in North America. The Bunch Bike is an electric cargo bike with a box in front for carrying kids (or dogs!) You can engage with your kids while you ride, talk and laugh with them, and turn your everyday errands into fun family adventures.
I’ve taken inspiration from great entrepreneurs like Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and made a commitment from day one that we were going to put families first and take care of our employees. Bunch Bikes is a wonderful place to work where each person is respected and given the freedom to excel in their job.
We pride ourselves in providing an exceptional customer experience. Our goal is to pleasantly surprise customers at every turn: from the first time they call us to the day they receive their dream bike in perfect condition. The reviews speak for themselves here, and our customers have become raving fans and ambassadors for the brand.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I have a tendency to pile responsibility on myself to try and do it all. I was the kid in school who just did the whole group project by himself. My biggest mistake early on was not finding a co-founder whose strengths and weaknesses balanced with mine. All of the struggles we’ve had has been in areas that I was weak in and could have been avoided. There’s nothing like repeated failure to teach you the hard lessons, though, and so ultimately, I emerged from it all as a stronger business owner and leader.
Experience is a great teacher, though, and through sheer will and resilience, the challenges were overcome, and now we’re profitable and have the ability to hire great talent to fill out the team.
Pricing:
- The Original – Electric Family Cargo Bike – $4295
- The K9 – Electric Cargo Bike for Dogs – $4495
- The Preschool – 6-seater Electric Cargo Bike – $4795
Contact Info:
- Address: 2170 Collins Rd
Ste. 103 Denton, TX 76208 - Website: www.bunchbike.com
- Phone: 940-536-0597
- Email: info@bunchbike.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/bunchbikes/
- Facebook: facebook.com/BunchBikes/
- Twitter: twitter.com/bunchbikes/
- Other: Aaron’s Twitter: twitter.com/cargodad
Image Credit:
Aaron Powell
Zach Samuell
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