Founder and CEO, ElectricBikeReview.com
Court Rye knew there would be sacrifice involved in pursuing his startup business full time. So the two years he spent living in his Toyota Prius were all part of the plan.听
鈥淵our business is a living thing鈥攜ou need to take care of it for it to work,鈥� Rye said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing this because I want to have something authentic that helps people looking for honest answers when they buy an e-bike.鈥澨�
Rye鈥檚 business, ElectricBikeReview.com, offers thousands of bike reviews for hobbyists and newcomers alike. In almost 10 years, the site has generated millions of page views from people who come to EBR for simplicity and authenticity, instead of being sold on some fancy marketing.
Rye has worked at big companies鈥攊ncluding Google and Accenture鈥攁s well as smaller ones over the years, but he鈥檚 always had a taste for the startup life. On nights and weekends, he would practice programming and launch side projects, two of which he sold when he lived in Silicon Valley.
鈥楾here鈥檚 no extra credit鈥�
Turning to startups was a natural, but not always smooth process for Court. He participated in the entrepreneurship program at Leeds, but failed to earn the official certificate after receiving a C in the capstone course.听
鈥淚鈥檓 really thankful for that C,鈥� Rye said. 鈥淚t was the lowest letter grade I earned at CU and it reflects the reality of business鈥攊t鈥檚 not just about how hard you work, and there鈥檚 no extra credit.鈥�
鈥淵our business is a living thing鈥攜ou need to take care of it for it to work.鈥�
Court Rye (Mktg鈥�06)
It鈥檚 safe to say the lesson stuck鈥擡BR shows no signs of slowing down. Rye still creates virtually all the content for the site, and even a brief sampling of his videos shows obvious enthusiasm for what he does. Luck and timing have played a role in his success, he said, but so does his hard work; the site is the longest running independent resource for e-bikes on the web.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a couple of good offers to sell,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 honest, it鈥檚 a special place, and I want to preserve that. My plan is to keep EBR independent.鈥澨�