Movie Discount Net Dealflicks founder: driving a wandering business

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Dealflicks founder Kevin Hong and Evan Fan in the trunk.

When Kevin Kevin Hong gave up Wall Street's job as an entrepreneur, he didn't know it meant he would spend months in a van.

Kevin Hong, 28 years old, is co-founder of Dealflicks, a start-up company. The company hopes to become a "movie-oriented Priceline (American online travel service provider)". Recently, Kevin Hong spent a lot of time with his father's van, Evan Fan (Evan Pham), from one city to another, trying to sign up with a movie theater to get the movie theater to participate in the company's online discount program.

To save money, Kevin Hong and Evan Fan bathed in the gym, begged for breakfast and persuaded the hotel to provide meals in exchange for candles obtained at some meetings. Another 3 co-founder of the company runs their business in San Francisco. At night, Kevin Hong and Evan Fan sleep on mattresses in wagons. This is a Toyota Sienna, Kevin Hong with his own Acura TSX and his father in exchange for the car, and began his journey in March. He tore down the rear seat of the van and put it in a mattress. They often hung T-shirts on the front windshield so that passers-by could not see the car.

"I never thought I would experience this as an entrepreneur," Kevin Hong said via Skype. "He was using the McDonald's free WiFi hotspot to surf the internet, and the hotel lobby was often their reliable temporary office."

They have travelled more than 15,000 miles and have traveled more than 20 cities. They think that face-to-face communication is better than a phone call. Dealflicks spent 10 months signing 100 cinemas, 6 of which were signed by phone and Mail, 3 contracted through outsourcing companies, and 91 signed up entirely from face-to-face contact. In order to attract the attention of the cinema, they visit various cinemas throughout the United States. They start with warm southern states, and that has worked. In the past 3 months alone, they have contracted 45 cinemas.

"What we're discovering is that, especially in the cinema industry, this is a relationship-driven business," says Evan Fan. If you don't talk to them face-to-face, you'll be at the bottom of their work list. ”

For most start-up start-ups, the cost of making two founders full-time out of the market is too great, but Dealflicks has found an effective way. By sleeping in the car and thinking of other ways to solve the problem of eating and bathing, Kevin Hong and Evan Fan reduce the cost of travel to very low levels. They save 2000 dollars a month because they don't have to pay rent or bills. Their main cost is the car's oil money, about 1500 dollars a month.

They also found that their travel stories helped impress customers. When dealing with movie theater managers and owners, this is one of their differences.

Despite occasional difficulties in entrepreneurship, Kevin Hong said he did not regret abandoning his job as a stock trader. "It's all worth it, because you're fulfilling your dream," he says. When you start a business in America, they put a carrot in front of you and you always want to win the next prize. ”

At the same time, Kevin Hong and Evan Fan that living in a car is perfectly feasible. They will continue this wandering lifestyle for some time to come. At the very least, this will save the cost of renting.

This paper is reproduced from pandodaily