Meet Innovator of the Week
Jeff Kelley
CEO and Co-Founder of BevNow
Tell us about yourself and your company.
We are the answer to a question that almost every golfer has asked, “Where is the beverage cart?” The average golf course is 200 acres, and cart tenders have to drive around, hoping to connect with golfers. BevNow is a mobile application that golfers use to request and pay for service from the food and beverage cart. It’s simple and easy.
Golfers just need to press two buttons within the app: one to request the beverage cart and another to confirm payment. Then cart tenders can use their phones not only to see the location of all golfers on the course but also to know who wants service.
Who or what was your best resource for starting your company?
My BevNow team and partners are integral, and they’re responsible for me being where I am today. I owe a huge part of my success to all of the incredible people who are involved with BevNow. I cannot express how much they mean to me. Through their support and their trust, they gave me the confidence to leave my “real job” and pursue BevNow on a full-time basis.
In addition, Mark Kaplan and Josh Cyr at the Alpha Loft have been a tremendous resource in refining my approach to the business world, particularly within the tech industry of NH. During the month of February, BevNow was selected to participate in the Alpha Loft Accelerate NH program. Through Accelerate NH, we have been in touch with multiple tech industry leaders around the state, and these professionals have helped us define and hone our business plan and growth strategy.
What’s the best advice you have received?
My mentor, Peter Chase of ScribeSoft, shared this with me:
A startup is a manic experience. You are going to have days when nothing seems to be going right and days when you feel like you can conquer the world. In a startup, those highs and lows are amplified. Remember, when things are great, they are never as great as you think they are, and when things are bad, they are never as bad as you think they are. Learning to modulate those feelings is key to withstanding the grind of a startup.
What about the NH lifestyle appeals to you?
New Hampshire is just an incredible state: the people are great, and the culture is great. In a world that is constantly evolving, New Hampshire does a good job of balancing the rapidly changing times, while maintaining a healthy eye on our past traditions.
I love NH’s sense of community and the ability that every citizen has to connect. We have one of the most accessible state governments in the country. Anyone who wants to get involved with government, or a particular set of issues, is able to reach out to their leaders and work to make a real difference.
Aside from the chance to engage civically, NH provides me and my young family with an unbelievable quality of life. It’s a safe, beautiful, and friendly place to raise a family. It’s amazing that we are able to hike in the mountains in the morning and spend the afternoon and evening by the ocean.
What does the future look like for your company?
There is a lot of work ahead of us at BevNow. We have the immediate short-term goal of implementing our software at golf courses within NH and ensuring a successful debut. On May 1, 2015, BevNow is launching at The Derryfield in Manchester, Loudon Country Club in Loudon, Beaver Meadow in Concord, and Rochester Country Club in Rochester.
Following our NH introduction, we intend to expand with golf courses throughout the US. We are also encouraging golfers to advocate for the use of BevNow at golf courses everywhere, especially since we don’t charge the courses for our service. Our Facebook page and website will be updated with new course partners on a regular basis.
What was your biggest obstacle in starting your company and how did you overcome it?
The biggest obstacle for BevNow was figuring out how to turn an idea into reality. I had a fairly basic problem that is common among golfers, and I came up with a simple solution for it — though, at first, I had no way to actually make it happen.
How many of us have had a “million dollar idea” but haven’t done anything with it? The problem is that we never talk about our ideas, let alone act on them. Once I overcame my fear and the obstacle of someone potentially stealing my idea, I began discussing it with others. It turned out to be a concept that people could immediately grasp. We were able to build a team of people around this idea, and all of us have worked to turn the concept into a business that has enormous potential for growth.
Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn
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