1. Tell us the origin story of Forgot or Knot and how that led to you creating TIED.

I will say I’ve always had a thing for giving gifts– but I grew up with 11 brothers and sisters, and a huge community. I don’t know about you, but I just cannot remember that many birthdays. So, when I was looking to start my business, that’s the exact problem I wanted to solve. I started talking to people and found that most don’t find they have trouble remembering the actual birthday, just the gift itself. I took that and I began personally shopping for people’s gifts. Later on, I learned that people enjoyed recording videos for their loved ones when they received their gift, so I began carrying around an iPad. Thus, my baby Forgot or Knot was born. Since then, we’ve expanded Forgot or Knot into a personalized luxury company. When I started TIE, I made it a big mission to leverage the luxurious, personalized experience Forgot or Knot has to offer.

2. What does TIED stand for and what’s the significance of the name?

TIE stands for Time is Everything– which pretty much explains itself. Everyone wants to feel relaxed and enjoy what’s in front of them without time restraints, especially during those special moments. We want every customer that enters into our space to know they can count on us to give them an equally enjoyable and timely experience.

3. What made you want to enter the luxury car rental/transportation space?

I love serving my customers at Forgot or Knot, but my birthday came up this past year, so I went out to hang out with some friends, and we wound up on the idea of getting a party bus. I called around and everything was $700+ dollars for one night. Honestly, I was stunned. The business side of me kept thinking, ‘Seven hundred dollars? I could do that.. And better too.’ Sometimes in life you just see or think about something you just really feel like you feel called to do. I assumed it would be great addition to Forgot or Knot, so I

4. When did you know this would become a business and what did you learn from your first client experience?

I knew this could really become a business when I got a quote from the first company I called on my birthday, ha. My very first client experience was a wedding for an old friend. My van was in it’s infant stage, and didn’t have very much to it– no lighting, entertainment, nice ceiling – nothing. Just a white van and some seats. I remember being so embarrassed because I couldn’t provide the ideal experience for all of my passengers. But, I observed everyone’s experience to see what I could do for my next customers. Passengers in the back shining the flashlight to find a dropped item? Let’s put some lights back there. Everyone wants to get loose before their night out? Let’s put a television in for them to watch music videos– things like that. What I learned is not only taking in customer feedback, but examining your customer’s experience for yourself is really how you can constantly improve the quality of your business practices.

5. What has been a barrier to entry for you entering the rental/transportation space?

I think this is usually true for most entrepreneurs, but capital was my biggest barrier—it was extremely expensive to get started. I ended up taking proceeds from Forgot or Knot, selling some assets, and using savings to get started. It was worth the risk

6. What do you know about entrepreneurship that you wished you knew when you first started?

One thing I wish I knew about being an entrepreneur was that it’s not what you see in the media. You don’t come up with a good business idea, blow up, and get your first $100K just like that. 60% of the entrepreneur journey is patience, patience, patience. The other 40% are the consistent actions you take. The strides I’ve made so far have been because of those two ingredients.

7. If someone wanted to book your service today, walk us through the process for those who don’t know.

Easy— go to tiedfw.com fill out a quick form and leave the rest to us! We pride ourselves in allowing our clients to be as specific and out-the-box as they desire, so we don’t have a ‘rulebook’ to go by.

8. We have to ask, what differentiates TIE-D from other companies in the industry?

Sometimes, you don’t need a big niche to be a top competitor in the market– the small things can make a huge difference. For us, it’s our top-tier customer service and hourly rates that choke out our competition.

9. What is your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Best advice for any entrepreneur? Like I said, applying action is the only way you have a chance at succeeding in your venture. There are no shortcuts in that. Persistency is how you get what you want. Consistency is how you maintain it once you get. You need a mixture of both.

10. Last but not least, who are 3 entrepreneurs you #COSIGN and want to highlight? 

The three awesome entrepreneurs I want to #COSIGN:

Mercedes with Food Magnet 

Brandon with ROOG

Nail with Platinum Cutz & Perfect Cutz