Podcast: ReddyYeti finds out where Slap Bag came from

ReddyYeti is a community of outdoor sport enthusiasts who want to discover and support innovative and ethically run startups related to skiing, snowboarding, climbing, hiking, camping, kayaking, mountain biking, and surfing. Check out all of the startups we’ve helped grow so far on the Outdoor Startups Page.  

MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST...

Josh sits down with Slap Bag founders Chris Boyd to discuss where the idea of Slap Bag came from and where his company is headed. SLAP BAG is a Simple small Accessory Pouch that mounts to the handlebars and stem of your road, mountain, cruiser, fixie or kids bike. It opens and closes with one hand for quick snacks for long hauls and to carry your gear from point A to point B like a charm. Where you’re out for a quick trip or a long journey, Slap Bag will ensure that everything you bring is on hand and accessible, while on the go.

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•  How did you come up with the idea of Slap Bag? [01:24]

  • Slap Bag founder Chris Boyd explains he created Slap Bags as a way to get over a hurdle he kept running into as an Adventure Racer.

    • “...One of the hurdles I kept running into was nutrition. I’d be totally fit for the race and 8 hours into an event I would crash…I was trying to come up with better ways to access my food...”

• How did you come up with the initial design of your product? [04:12]

  • Chris describes how he based the design of Slap Bag off slap bracelets that snap around your wrist.

• Are Slap Bags waterproof? [05:56]

  • “...The bag is made of a waterproof fabric, but the closure itself is not waterproof…Getting a fabric that was quite stiff and durable was important...”

• After a 10 years since building your prototype, what’s taken so much time to get it to the point where you’re just now wrapping up a very successful kickstarter? [07:42]

  • “...Really the idea was bouncing around 10 years ago and it got so far that I turned it into a prototype; and I made 15 or so, handed them out to buddies, and everyone told me how cool they were. But, life gets busy...in the last two years is when it really came back to me...”

• What is your full background? [10:24]

  • “...I went to college in Ohio and was a pack a day smoker...I was in college going into senior year when I was quitting, and I added up how much money I’d spend on cigarettes a year … and so I took that money and I bought the most expensive used mountain bike I could find...”

• What was it like finishing up such a successful kickstarter campaign? [14:10]

  • “...It was a roller coast, It wasn’t the journey I expected my kickstarter path would take me on. It ended up very successful and that’s awesome…”

• While you’re building Slap Bag are you involved in any other projects? [15:24]

  • “...I own a company in Boulder, colorado called Technology Helper. It’s a company where we are the IT department for small and mid-sized companies…”

• What has your experience as an entrepreneur been like? [15:59]

  • “...I’m learning every time I do something, everyday is different… this is new, my only background in this industry was when I worked for a company that was an outdoor gear manufacture…”

• Where did your entrepreneurial spirit come from? [17:19]

  • “...I suppose I have always had an interest or aptitude for that kind of path...it was a tough choice, it was a very lucrative safe place to be at this company with a great opportunity to grow or not know what is going to happen tomorrow and try to put the pieces together as you’re doing it…”

• Is there anyone creating anything similar to Slap Bag? [19:07]

  • “...The bento bags and the bags that mount onto the frame of your bike, they do some things quite well...My phone is with me and I never felt safe to put a $600 phone in my bento box.

• How have your mentors influenced you in your business? [20:55]

  • “...When it came to the kickstarter choice, there was a great event here in Boulder called Boulder Startup Week; it’s a week long entrepreneurial gathering, and I went to one of them called ‘when to kickstart’ … I found a connection in that group…”

• Tell us more about your manufacturing process. [23:47]            

  • “...I actually just pulled up some online searches for manufacturing … this one we’re manufacturing with in the United States really rose to the top and worked with me a lot on the prototyping process…”    

• What is the culture behind your organization? [30:06]

  • “...Well, it’s me and my wife, and my product development team, which includes people like my children; my gear testers … It’s a family and friends business…”

• What would you say was one of the hardest parts of starting your business? [33:23]

  • “...I think the kickstarter was the hardest part, but I thought it would be the easiest part … I thought it would take on this life of it’s own where it creates its own energy and momentum…”

• What ultimately made your kickstarter campaign so successful? [34:58]

  • “...We were trying to get the word out to, not just individuals, but groups of cyclists. Folks who might be doing touring rides and trying to get some traction from that area…”

• What would you say is one of your biggest fears with Slap Bag? [36:52]

  • I think just going back to something I said before, ‘Not knowing what I don’t know’...Really trying to find the right path is the thing that I’m visiting the most...”

• What advice would give to someone trying to start a business? [39:22]

  • “I would try and ask a lot of questions of other people who have gone through something similar...I think if you got an honest opinion from a lot of people, in any walk of life a lot of people are figuring it out as they go…”

• What’s in store for the future of Slap Bag? [41:41]

  • “...If I answered that with what I knew going into it I think what I would have said is, it would be a platform for other creative products… I have another cool product that may come out of this experience...”

• What would you say has been the best part about running Slap Bag

  • “I think some of the coolest parts have been with my son who uses it. I have a son and a daughter and they both have Slap Bags on their bikes. The way that he talks about his Slap Bag is very personally fulfilling… the second one is the kickstarter process and getting it successfully funded…”