Bret Voelkel's guest appearances

Bret Voelkel

The MuscleCar Place

DO IT FOR A LIVING

365 Driven

Tony Whatley

Trevor Doelling

Ryan Fisher

Ryan Michler

Lynn Marie Morski

Ben Strader

Paul Yaw

Tony Palo

Chris Delgado

Shane Tecklenburg

Jim McIlvaine

Mike Lewin

Jay Payson

Chris Jewell

John Veloso

OwlTail

Bret Voelkel is the founder of Air Ride Technologies, which later rebranded as Ridetech, and was eventually acquired by Fox Factory in 2019. Now in his retirement, Bret owns four businesses, and shares the hard lessons and wisdom with entrepreneurs, and those aspiring to build a business.  Through building and owning multiple companies, and going through the trials and tribulations that come with starting a business, Bret learned some difficult lessons along the way. He shares his advice and tips for maintaining relationships with your consumers, the significance of great branding, the necessity of outsourcing, what to expect when putting your business on the market, and much more.  Key Highlights  The lessons Brett has learned from the companies he worked for or built You are who you surround yourself with, and knowing this can change your life and your business One of Bret’s first business lessons involving a lawsuit with another company Why a patent is just a marketing device How to grow and maintain being number one Bret’s story of his 6 year old daughter creating his company logo Why you should outsource and why you can't afford not to Bret’s advice to new business owners  For more information about this episode, visit: https://365driven.com/episode234/

Bret Voelkel is the founder of Air Ride Technologies, which later rebranded as Ridetech, and was eventually acquired by Fox Factory in 2019. Now in his retirement, Bret owns four businesses, and shares the hard lessons and wisdom with entrepreneurs, and those aspiring to build a business.  Through building and owning multiple companies, and going through the trials and tribulations that come with starting a business, Bret learned some difficult lessons along the way. He shares his advice and tips for maintaining relationships with your consumers, the significance of great branding, the necessity of outsourcing, what to expect when putting your business on the market, and much more.  Key Highlights <ul> <li>The lessons Brett has learned from the companies he worked for or built</li> <li>You are who you surround yourself with, and knowing this can change your life and your business</li> <li>One of Bret’s first business lessons involving a lawsuit with another company</li> <li>Why a patent is just a marketing device</li> <li>How to grow and maintain being number one</li> <li>Bret’s story of his 6 year old daughter creating his company logo</li> <li>Why you should outsource and why you can't afford not to</li> <li>Bret’s advice to new business owners</li> </ul> For more information about this episode, visit: <a href="https://365driven.com/episode234/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://365driven.com/episode234/</a>

Business Lessons from Ridetech - with Bret Voelkel - EP234

Bret grew up in Jasper, IN and dabbled with cars during high school. After high school, he worked various jobs in Jasper and then took a job in Florida as a tech rep for the NHRA Drag Racing circuit. A few years later, he started working for a company in California to work for Blower Drive Service. He had been traveling about 300 days per year and decided to settle down back in Jasper with his new wife. He worked a tool truck and was building his own pro-street hot rod. He wanted to be able to adjust the ride height so he could drive the car to the track and then lower it to race. He took inspiration from semi-trucks with their air springs and sourced one small enough for his project. He built a few more of these systems for his buddies and incorporated Air Ride Technologies in 1996. Within a couple years, things were really starting to take off. Bret’s wife was able to quit her normal job and come work with Air Ride Technologies and they quickly grew to 20 employees. The company continued to grown until the economic downturn in 2008. Through hard work and streamlined business practices, Bret was able to keep the company open and survive the tough times. He did have to lay off some employees but has been able to bounce back strong and now employs 60 people. They have made a big push in the last few years to engineer and build new products and bring them to the market. Now, they are working on marketing and demonstrating the products.

Bret grew up in Jasper, IN and dabbled with cars during high school. After high school, he worked various jobs in Jasper and then took a job in Florida as a tech rep for the NHRA Drag Racing circuit. A few years later, he started working for a company in California to work for Blower Drive Service. He had been traveling about 300 days per year and decided to settle down back in Jasper with his new wife. He worked a tool truck and was building his own pro-street hot rod. He wanted to be able to adjust the ride height so he could drive the car to the track and then lower it to race. He took inspiration from semi-trucks with their air springs and sourced one small enough for his project. He built a few more of these systems for his buddies and incorporated Air Ride Technologies in 1996. Within a couple years, things were really starting to take off. Bret’s wife was able to quit her normal job and come work with Air Ride Technologies and they quickly grew to 20 employees. The company continued to grown until the economic downturn in 2008. Through hard work and streamlined business practices, Bret was able to keep the company open and survive the tough times. He did have to lay off some employees but has been able to bounce back strong and now employs 60 people. They have made a big push in the last few years to engineer and build new products and bring them to the market. Now, they are working on marketing and demonstrating the products.

140: Bret Voelkel of RideTech explains how his company emerged from the 2008 recession stronger than ever