Baby Got Backstory BGBS 006: Ryan Evans | Inboard Technology | Stoked! From Kitebro to Electric Vehicle CEO
Dynamic, charismatic, intelligent, passionate, storyteller, athlete, leader, and futurist are words that describe Ryan Evans of Inboard Technology. It’s a transportation company that strives to have fewer cars on the road and replace them with short-range, electric vehicles. Ryan and his partner, Theo, are two passionate action sports athletes looking to redefine electric vehicles and urban transportation by offering an e-transportation suite of innovative, safe, and fun vehicles.
You’ll Learn…
- Marc’s first memory of Ryan: Kiteboarding in the middle of the Pamlico Sound where it’s raining and windy; Ryan is screaming, “Yeah… Gutmaaaaan!”
- As a kid, if Ryan had a robot that broke, he would open it and find the electronics; Theo would open it, figure out how it worked, rebuild it, and make it better
- Theo was an early influence on Ryan; support from mentors and others made a difference in Ryan’s pursuit
- Most entrepreneurs don’t realize how complex and challenging something will be; you need to have drive and passion because you can’t fake it
- How Inbound went from being in a dusty garage to actual office space with carpeting and adding locations in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles
- A consistent feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing what he was doing made Ryan realize that he needed to embrace opportunities and risks to grow
- Inboard’s future involves making its products better, beautiful, safer, and easy to use to empower riders
- Concept of Freedom: Ryan has always had a thirst for living life to its fullest
- Create value in this world by improving the lives of the people around you; have a vision to build a community, inspire people, be a leader, and have fun
Resources
Pure Action Sports Best Kiteboarding
Quotes:
“You just knew he was destined for bigger things.” – Marc Gutman
“Naivete. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.” – Ryan Evans
“I think for a lot of entrepreneurs, you don’t have any idea how complex, how challenging it’s going to be. You’ve got to have that drive and that passion.” – Ryan Evans
“Our goal was…we want to give this freedom to everybody. That was always in our DNA.” – Ryan Evans