5 Ways to Build A Successful Business in an Industry That Doesn’t Exist

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By Adam Olalde, CEO of Xtreme Xperience

When we first started Xtreme Xperience in 2012, there was no other company in the world that provided the same services as us. Not only were we faced with the challenge of building our business from the ground up, but we also had to invent and define the industry our company would become a part of. When it came to putting Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches on a racetrack, we were in the driver’s seat all by ourselves. There were no rules, no industry regulations, and no industry leaders to study. On the flip side, we had no competition but ourselves, so we defined the market and others followed.

Today, my company Xtreme Xperience is the industry leader. We operate at 37 of the nation’s top racetracks with a fleet of the top supercars in the world. We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings and we’ve learned some truly invaluable lessons along the way.

1. Listen, Learn, and Take Advice

We’ve offered a supercar experience longer and at more locations than any other company, giving over 250,000 people the opportunity to grip the steering wheel of the car of their dreams. We are now the experts in an industry we started. That being said, we realize that key to remaining experts is continuing to learn and to grow. One of the ways we grow– and keep ourselves humble — is by gathering feedback from our customers and our amazing employees. Although we essentially created the market, we never stop taking notes, listening and responding to feedback so we can continually improve.

Adam Olalde, CEO of Xtreme Xperience

2. Use The Best Tools (You Can Afford)

One of the easiest ways to succeed, is to equip your team with the proper tools. When launching a company in a market that doesn’t really exist, it isn’t just the CEO navigating the new waters, it’s the entire team. As a result, we take advantage of every tool at our disposal. We provide our team members with the best technology on the market – from a larger garage that houses dozens of supercars and every possible tool to more effective software – so they can make fast decisions and focus on improving customer experience. If — and when — our team members literally or figuratively break things, we make sure everyone learns a lesson and moves on. Having the safest and most advanced tools possible, reduces liabilities and allows team members to focus on testing what works and exploring the boundaries of the newly defined industry.

3. Give Access to the Inaccessible

Some of the best entrepreneurial ideas are born out of helping people realize their dreams. Before launching Xtreme Xperience, we identified our target audience, those who had aspirational dreams of owning or at least driving a supercar. We saw that there were generations of people – like ourselves – had  posters of a red Ferrari or a jet-black Lamborghini adorning their wall growing up. We knew that we could make their dream of driving that car a reality. Their pent-up demand was an industry waiting to be created. Identifying the dreams and desires of your target audience allows you to discover an idea that can grow into a company – and sometimes, like Xtreme Xperience, a new industry.

4. Cast A Future Vision Together

Xtreme Xperience began as a team vision, and we intend to keep it that way. There is no way to establish a company in a new market segment without one cohesive message. Our vision got us from 5 rented supercars, no office, and a team of five, to a massive garage/office with over 50 owned vehicles, and a multi-department team. There was a lot that we didn’t know at the beginning, but we all were clear on our vision. Whenever we identify a new vision for the next chapter of our company, we ensure everyone is on board. We don’t make room to engineer, test, or act on that vision until everyone agrees that it’s something they believe in. Because here’s the deal — once we hit the road, failure is not an option, and our success banks on our entire team.

5. Build Something Original – And Have Fun!

Personally, I found joy in building something original, creating a company and industry out of nothing. The excitement that comes from pursuing my own goals, while also encouraging others to fulfill their own goals, is what gets me out of bed every morning. And that’s the basis of Xtreme Xperience. We have fun together.

In the beginning, we didn’t do everything perfectly. We fumbled, we experienced challenges – broken supercars included, and we learned a lot of hard and expensive lessons. But our minor setbacks and bare-bones approach didn’t distract us from our vision and having fun making it happen.

We make dreams come true using some of the fastest and most exciting supercars in the world, and we have a lot of fun doing it – that’s never going to change. It’s what made us industry leaders and keeps us as experts, allowing us to keep casting a vision together for the future of our industry.