By: Joshua Finley
Paul Kacir is not just another entrepreneur; he is a man who wants to bring something new and exciting to the people. Having founded RVnGO as the chief executive officer, Kacir ventured on a mission to disrupt the RV rental industry. This outlook and his own experiences have influenced his business plan and entrepreneurial vision as he seeks to make people closer as a society without the presence of middlemen and extremely high transaction fees. Since its establishment, RVnGO has flourished in the market under the strong leadership and determination of its owner; therefore, it can be noted that not only has the company provided the necessary services to RV owners and renters at low prices, but it has also supplemented it with user-friendly services in return.
The Inspiration Behind RVnGO
Ideally, RVnGO started as an idea when Kacir was on the highway on one of his road trips. “I was on a road trip from Scottsdale back to Vancouver, British Columbia, to do a charity bicycle ride for cancer research,” Kacir recalls. Kacir’s background includes legal expertise, having served as general counsel for a significant technology company in British Columbia that was eventually acquired by Kodak. He later relocated to Arizona to establish a company named First Solar. Over time, he significantly increased its market presence. A pivotal road trip would eventually inspire a career-changing idea for him.
“I was admiring the Airbnb business model,” Kacir explains. “They monetized the utility function of underutilized assets, like extra homes or bedrooms.” As he was driving, he saw several RVs on the road and thought, why not RVs like Airbnb homes? The idea of RVnGO was developed, and Kacir began the process of building the software system to enable RVs to be rented out cheaply and easily while also offering RV renters a unique travel experience.
Overcoming Early Challenges
Like any new start-up, RVnGO had its fair share of challenges it had to overcome in the initial years. “The real trick was there was no insurance that really did what we thought it needed to do,” Kacir recalls. This led to the writing of a white paper and shipping it around to different underwriters until he got one that offered the kind of coverage needed for RV rentals. The company earned its first dollar last summer of 2018, and this signal was the beginning of further development.
Looking back at his journey, Kacir emphasizes patience when establishing a business. “It just takes more money, and it takes longer to raise the money than you think,” he notes. Furthermore, creating a software platform that would meet all the needed requirements within the company’s financial capabilities turned out to be very complicated in terms of technical and technological aspects. Also, the company faced the problem of engineering in creating a software platform capable of solving most of the company’s needs under a strict budget constraint. Kacir faced some obstacles, but due to his corporate experience and knowledge of how companies operate, he was able to overcome these hurdles.
Differentiating from Competitors
The business models that the company uses are one of the major differences between RVnGO and its rivals. “We realized the last thing we wanted to do was create a business model that just introduced a new middleman into the value chain,” Kacir says. That is why RVnGO is designed to directly connect people, providing an opportunity to avoid extra charges and maintain reasonable prices for both sides, RV owners and renters.
Scaling the Business
Kacir looks forward to the future of RVnGO, and he is very hopeful that the business will succeed. The company now has numerous registered users of RVs posted in each state across the country. “Our biggest goal is to grow our organic traffic,” Kacir states. As a result, a more solid foundation has been established here, and the company aims to continue to increase its exposure and enhance the user experience.
Even though the platform is mostly focused on the United States, Kacir does not exclude other markets either. “We’ve built a foundation, and now it’s time to invest in growing the traffic,” he explains. The company is also considering IPO opportunities and aims to list soon as markets become favorable for small-cap IPOs.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
During his interview, Kacir stressed the importance of sticking to what one knows and believes in. “We don’t have a mission statement,” he says. “Our core belief is bringing people together.” Ending the conversation with this powerful statement, RVnGO has remained loyal to its initial core belief of people unification and has made a valuable contribution to the platform’s users and the RV rental market in general.
Discover more about Paul Kacir’s journey and RVnGO—connect with him on LinkedIn.
Published By: Aize Perez