In Feb 2009, I was in Bangkok, Thailand with friends. On our way to the our hotel we noticed these cool looking 3-wheeled vehicles known as Tuk Tuk. These Tuk Tuks were everywhere so just like everyone else in the country, we used them as our main source of transportation. (In the attached photo is Layna and I in a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok.) During times of high traffic, exhaust fumes is overwhelming in the city, but we still had a great time using the Tuk Tuks. The entrepreneur in me immediately knew something like these Tuk Tuks was needed in the USA, but without the bad exhaust fumes. Layna began telling me about the lack of parking, the limited hours for public transportation, and the poor air quality Boise experiences in the summer. The entire trip I picked her brain as I was visioning Boise was be a great place for me to own a Tuk Tuk business. We then started talking about how cool it would be for Tuk Tuks to be larger so more people could fit in them because all of the Tuk Tuks we seen in Bangkok only had two seats. I then started saying that if Tuk Tuks could fit 4-6 people and be electric then that would make them more fun to have and be safer on the environment which would answer the poor air quality for Boise. (Little did I know that years later that larger Tuk Tuks that were electric would exist.) Unfortunately, I was still active duty Air Force with plans so the timing just wasn’t right for me for me to pursue the Tuk Tuk dream. I was stationed in North Dakota with plans on retiring in late 2012 so the vision of owning a Tuk Tuk business in Boise was placed on hold.
Prior to retiring in 2012, Halliburton contacted me for a managerial position. The money was too good to pass up so I negotiated my terms, accepted the position, then relocated to Colorado. The pay checks were awesome, but I learned real quick that money doesn’t buy happiness. I couldn’t let the vision go of owning Tuk Tuks in Boise so I resigned from Halliburton in early 2014 then flew to Phi Phi and Bangkok, Thailand to research more about Tuk Tuks.
While in Phi Phi, what they called Tuk Tuks was completely different than the Tuk Tuks in Bangkok. These were basically Japanese truck converted into very cool looking party and touring vehicles. The Japanese trucks were already in the USA so I knew getting some wouldn’t be a major challenge; however, I wanted a similar 3-wheeled Tuk Tuk like I seen in Bangkok. I was unable to find a manufacturer that could send me a 3-wheeled Tuk Tuk that would meet the DOT standards in the USA so owning a 3-wheeled Tuk Tuk in Boise began to fade away from my mind.
In 2014-15, I traveled the world using many forms of public transportation for that specific country. Some forms of transportation was very interesting suck as the Jeepneys in the Philippines, but it wasn’t what I was wanting. I traveled back to the USA and tried to find a source in Thailand for Tuk Tuks. In mid 2015, I traveled back in Bangkok and of course using Tuk Tuks as the primary source of transportation. I wasn’t able to find a reliable source that could build me a Tuk Tuk with the specification I wanted, but this trip did reignite my desire to own Tuk Tuks. When I returned back to the USA, I expanded my searched throughout Asia and Europe. I found two companies in Europe that made Tuk Tuks that were larger than the Tuk Tuks I seen in Bangkok and these were electric. I just couldn’t believe it because this was the vision I had six years prior in 2009. What was even better was these Tuk Tuks met EU laws so they could be driven on public roads. Because I used to live in Italy I knew that I had a chance of having them meet DOT laws in the USA. As I explored the companies’ website, I saw a link on one of them with the title, “We now ship to the USA.” I selected the link and it brought me to eTuk USA. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading. What surprised me even more was eTuk USA was only 30 mins away from my Colorado home. During this time I was residing more in Boise so I traveled between homes pretty often. I called eTuk USA and spoke Michael, one of the Co-Founders of the company, just to make sure everything that I was reading was true. I was so excited to hear him say he does sell electric Tuk Tuks so I made an appointment to view eTuk USA and to get a look at the Tuk Tuk. I flew to Denver the following day to meet with Michael.
Michael provided me tour of the company and did an excellent job explaining the pros and cons of the Tuk Tuks. I do recall seeing a sign in his office that stated how many Tuk Tuks were sold and their team goal. At the time eTuk USA had sold just over 10 Tuk Tuks and the goal was 50. (To date, those numbers has drastically changed for the better.) As I was ready to make the move towards purchasing Tuk Tuks, I got nervous just like any other business person then started to second guess my decisions. I had to reassure myself that Boise’s market truly could benefit from Tuk Tuks to make sure I wasn't making an impulse decision. The market and demand was there, but I felt like my decision was too rushed. I needed more long term data to ensure the city wouldn’t make a drastic change that could have a negative impact on me aiding in the public transportation. As a result, I decided to give myself a few months to ensure I was making the right decision.
From 2015-16, I traveled throughout the USA, Philippines, Japan, France, Italy and various parts of the world. I didn’t see any Tuk Tuks as I hoped for, but it didn’t matter. I was enjoying retirement and making new friends while I traveled. I still continued to vision owning Tuk Tuks, but it was solely a thought by this time and not something I was even close to taking action on.
In 2017, I accepted a Station Manager for Delta Airlines that relocated me to Reno, Nevada. I worked among some nice people, but Reno just didn’t feel like home to me. I found myself constantly going to eTuk USA’s website just to see what the latest Tuk Tuks looked like. I also started to research businesses around the world that were using Tuk Tuks. That distant memory I had in the back of my mind of owning Tuk Tuks was now in the front. I started questioning myself if I made the right decision to work for Delta because owning Tuk Tuks was truly in my heart. I also needed to be closer to friends and family. I started studying Boise’s market again and of course asking friends detailed questions about their pros and cons for going downtown. Everyone said the same thing such as the parking and traffic was terrible and it cost too much money to explore downtown. I gathered enough information from solicitation and constantly driving the city streets when I was in town so I felt comfortable with making a huge decision. In December I discussed with my family about leaving Delta and they all supported that decision. On Jan 4, 2018, I decided to leave Delta Airlines which gave me the opportunity to redirect my full attention on bringing Tuk Tuks to Boise.
I flew back to Denver to tour eTuk USA again in March and to look at the 2018 models. I wrote out my business plan then aggressively studied the market for Boise. With the information I received about the new models and realizing my business plan was a good fit for Boise, I flew back to Denver in May to make the purchase for a Tuk Tuk. Now I'm just waiting on my shipment from Thailand to Denver so the Tuk Tuk can be assembled. I’m only a couple of weeks away from bringing this 9yr idea to reality.
One lesson that I’ve learned is to never stop pursuing goals. The desire and passion to succeed might not be as immediate as desired, but reaching those long term goals does come true. I feel great about my decision so I’m anxiously waiting to bring this new form of transportation not only to Boise, but to Idaho.
The goal now is to bring a fleet to Boise so Star Tuks can truly have the potential to be the #1 source of transportation for patrons' short distances while we cater to private Tuk Tuk services, beer, wine and food tours, proms, weddings, parties, or just taking patrons from one place to another in the downtown market. Additionally, “We'll Build Brands For Businesses” with our mobile marketing campaign. I’m excited to launch the Tuk Tuks in Boise as this is just one of the few ideas I have for this city.
I’ve thanked everyone for supporting my decision, but I truly owe Layna majority of the praises as she was the person that initially sparked in Bangkok then continued to feed the idea as I asked questions about Boise for several years later. If the conversation in Bangkok was never entertained then there wouldn't be Star Tuks.
