Mates since kindergarten we (Andrew and David) grew up together in Auckland.
Taking different paths into our 20s and 30s the catchups grew less frequent, especially as kids came into the picture.
The genesis of Storm Rides was in fact a kids birthday party.
After hanging out for the day, it was agreed that we needed an excuse to spend more time together, and we were both also looking to take a run at a business.
It was decided that we would meet early in the morning before our day jobs started, and late at night to build an ecommerce site (back before Shopify made it easy), and import a variety of products until we found something that stuck.
With that phenomenally detailed business plan sorted, we got underway...
Bootstrapped on credit cards, the enthusiasm was high but the funds to risk were low...
A cascade of product samples ensued... and it was all about to go under when we latched onto a craze for inflatable air couches - if anyone remembers they were those things that everyone bought but nobody could fill with air 😂
We sold just enough to try another couple of products before going bust...
A mate had also recently imported a crazy looking fat tyre e scooter from Germany - but it was just too expensive to sell many in NZ.
So we found something similar from China, with a more approachable price point and dumped the last of our cash into it.
There were many more trials and tribulations along the way, but the gist of it is, we loved these new machines and rode them everywhere! They sparked our love and passion for sustainable personal electric vehicles.
They were popular, we kept selling them and we became a business (at least enough to pay off the credit cards). Fortunately right at that time Lime rental scooters were entering NZ and popularised personal E Scooters. So we began testing those and became an early mover into the kick scooter space.
Fast forward 8 years and we are now one of NZ's leading E Scooter importer / retailer / distributors. Still a small industry, we aren't rich yet, but the business is still here, so are more children, and we now get to spend way too much time together! 😊