Episode 164
Marc Sellouk, Flewber Air Taxi Service
In today’s episode, we chat with Marc Sellouk, an entrepreneur CEO changing the aviation industry by bringing an on-demand air taxi to the skies called Flewber to the world.
Flewber connects travelers to hundreds of private aircraft throughout the Northwest region. They leverage their own aircraft along with a vast network of partner operators, to deliver on-demand, private and regional flights.
Marc spent almost 20 years in the technology industry where he upon selling his company, made a good fortune from it. His passion had always been to get into aviation as an aviator. but he needed to figure out how to take that passion and turn it into a business.
Taping into the existing frustrations of frequent flyers, his passion met his entrepreneurial spirit. His journey in the past 4 years since he started Flewber, has included: First-year to identify the void and build that proof of concept. Second-year was about building revenue. Third-year was about putting those two together, putting it out in the marketplace, and getting customers to bite- to buy into the product.
Marc tells us a couple of things he has learned from being the CEO of a groundbreaking company such as Flewbers
- It's important to be able to pivot. As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to be dynamic enough to be able to shift, to acknowledge this isn't working and this is not going to be able to scale.
- Set your objectives by: Surrounding yourself with the right people, executing what you've laid out, and being confident in the product to actually put it out there
- Your sign that whatever product you have built will be a success is when you take that product and put it out in the marketplace and people bite, people are subscribing to try it out, people want to be involved in the initial try out, people are talking about it then you know your product will be a success.
- You have to be able to adapt to scale properly, there are two things Marc considers when scaling: People and how people affect the growth of the company, and systems, how systems play into effect that growth.
- Team collaboration is very key in any companies growth. You have to be able to bring on new people and delegate, take on suggestions, listen to people, listen to what they have to say.
Flewber's focus moving forward into 2022 is customer-centric. Getting right customer experience, customer satisfaction, and customer service. Marc and his team are listening and making those changes and showing the consumers that we're listening to them.
In addition, Marc and the Flewber team want to take this model and expand not only nationwide, but globally, across various markets.
Resources
Flewber Website: Flewber.com
Flewber on ios Flewber App
Flewber on play store Flewber App
Facebook Flewber
Twitter FlewberAir
Transcript
auto generated transcript
Mark (:Well, welcome back friends to our podcast, unlocking your world of creativity, the podcast for listeners that want to get over the obstacles to getting their ideas out into the world. And if 2022 is the year you say, I'm finally going to launch this thing, this book, this TV show, this record, this app. Well, you're going to get a lot of encouragement and a lot of insight and practical knowledge, and experience from today's guest. I'm just so happy to have Marc Sellouk with me, Marc. Welcome to the program
Marc (:Glad to be here. Thank you for having me.
Mark (:Marc is the president, the founder, the CEO of a terrific flight-sharing service. You heard me right. Not ride-sharing, flight sharing. It's called Flewber. Mark this is a really exciting time. Isn't it?
Marc (:I think so. I think we're finally bringing a breath of fresh air into the aerial market. Quite a few companies have done it in the breast shield market and we said, Hey, what the heck? Let's make it a reality for the air. And so hence Flewber.
Mark (:The aviation market as it was the industry, but just the flight experience hasn't done all that it was cracked up to be in the last couple of years. And I think maybe your company is I'll say moving into that, or capitalizing on some of the frustrations we frequent flyers have.
Marc (:Well, I have to tell you, I'm one of those frustrated, frequent flyers, quite frankly. And I used to travel often in the New York area to DC and Boston and for an 11 o'clock morning meeting, I'd have to wake up at five in the morning, get myself to the airport, for an eight o'clock flight. And just getting through that process was, just aggravating. And, you're thinking to yourself here I am, a three-hour or four-hour drive away and a 45-minute flight. And I'm, I'm spending all day at the airport, something's wrong here. And so, we found that with that problem, we identified the problem in the marketplace and we're, we're attacking it with the solution that we think is going to bring a breath of fresh air into the industry.
Mark (:Well, and so many people have said, boy, if I could fly private aviation, that'd be an awesome alternative. But of course, it was out of reach for most of us.
Marc (:Well, if you think about it private aviation historically has been associated with the upper echelon of the marketplace. And again, similarly, with the black car service, before some of these ride-sharing companies came out, who were black cars associated with? When you saw them lined up, I'm giving you another example here in New York it was very popular, the park avenues of the world and the wall streets, all these fancy executives. I mean, they were catering to the upper echelon in the marketplace and I build a parallel to what's happening in the aviation industry. Because again, what do you associate private jets with, who they cater to. You associate it with the upper echelon, with the wealthy executives, the C-level guys.
Marc (:And so, we want to make that a reality for everyone. And so we made it easy to use. By developing an app, that's free to use actually, and without any memberships and annual fees and we're making it a reality. We have a very specific marketplace that we're going after the void is really in the regional marketplace, because if you look at the industry itself, going from New York to Florida or California to Jersey, the airlines are doing a good job at facilitating those routes. Where it becomes an issue is for these regional markets and how these, especially after the pandemic with the pandemic, these airlines, they're eliminating 90% of those regional routes, A they don't want to fly big tin there. B consumers don't want to go through a whole day, of a headache to get, to deal with a two hour or hour or two meetings that they have to, be at. So we're, directly attacking that void in the marketplace. We're saying, Hey, folks want to fly private today. They don't want to pay a lot of money and they want to be able to do it on demand through an easy-to-use app. And so that is the product that is the breath of fresh air that we're bringing into the industry. And I think that so far, the reception has been phenomenal.
Mark (:And I wondered how big that market was, and then I read an article you recently wrote that said there were over 300,000 of these private flights, just in October of 2021. That's a bigger market than maybe I expected,
Marc (:Well, look, everyone wants to fly private today. Every time you turn on the news and you open the newspaper, you read about someone getting into a fight with, a flight attendant or at an airport with an agent. Then, it's, it's becoming clear that something's wrong and something needs to change. And this is what we're going to do. We're going to change the marketplace. We're going to make it fun to fly again, and imagine getting to an airport 10 minutes before your flight boarding an aircraft and getting to your destination really within an hour, not having to spend four hours, which quite frankly, should take an hour of your day. And so that's something that I think is getting a phenomenal reception in the marketplace, and we're going to capitalize on it, we're going to keep rolling with it.
Mark (:There you go. Well, you're about to reach a major milestone you've been working in this regional area. You had your first app-based booking back in the fourth quarter of 2021, but what's now ahead in the first quarter of 2022 for you?
Marc (:Well, obviously we want to take this model and expand that not only nationwide, but we want to expand it globally. We think this is a solution, not just for the US market, but really for any market across the world. I mean, who doesn't want to fly private and who doesn't want to make things simple as it relates to travel, of other terrestrial companies have done a phenomenal job in marketplaces around the world. And we want to follow that suit and make similar changes.
Mark (:That's exciting. Well, I definitely want to get into your own creative process, but first, to understand the product itself, how does Flewber work?
Marc (:Well, essentially, we want to make the experiences as easy to use and as easy to book as possible. So essentially you download the app you identify the origination and destination choose either a round trip or a one-way brings up the flights, select the dates and times, and within a minute and a half you're booked. That really is all that. That's all about it.
Mark (:It's so good. So good.
Marc (:Essentially, that was the concept that we had. We want the consumer to be able to book a flight within a minute and a half. , when you go through different websites, you use different apps, it's really convoluted, very complicated, and all these different fees, we make it really straightforward. And I invite folks, listening to the show to just download the app to try and just get the feel of what we're saying and how we're changing things.
Mark (:Yeah. Well, I'm definitely going to check it out. And you mentioned this sort of limo aura, that ride-sharing used to have, and I will never forget the first time I clicked on a button and this black limo pulled up, after I hit the button and I thought I was in Bourne identity, I thought, how did this person know where I was? And it was so good. And so I can't wait to hit a button and walk up to a private plane and head out.
Marc (:I think that we're making that a reality, in the past folks would never have imagined getting into a black car, a private limo that it can get that simple. And today I think it's become almost like a given really. become the standard of terrestrial travel. I'm going to book this company or that company. On my app and I'll have a car here, no time. So it's really changed the marketplace. And I, feel that we have something here that's really going to do the same in the aerial market. And we're excited about it and we're looking forward to that change. And we're looking forward to the marketplace and consumers taking advantage of this new way of flying.
Mark (:Well, thinking about your own creative approach to this company, certainly there's an aura, an image of a founder in a CEO of an upstart like yours, but talk about the team process. Talk about the collaborators, the board members, the investors, everybody, or the programmers. I mean, everybody that really contributed to this, how meaningful was that teamwork to your success?
Marc (:Well, for starters, it starts with me, myself, and I. And I know those two other guys very well.
Mark (:You had a lot of conversations with them,
Marc (:And I tell you it's one thing to have a passion for something. It's another thing to really create a business out of it. Especially a business that is sexy in the marketplace that has legs that can actually change a business, change, a marketplace change in environment. I spent about 20 years in the technology industry. I was fortunate enough to sell my company, had a nice exit, and wanted to really get into aviation as an aviator. It was my passion, but then I needed to figure out how to take that passion and turn it into a business and turn it into something that has legs. And that's where your creativity comes out. That's where the experience and the skillset come out in how you identify voids in the marketplace. How do you take the challenges that are presented to you?
Marc (:And let me tell you, it was no small task to get that done. It took me about six months to identify the void to identify all the ingredients, if you will, to put them together and make them work, and make a nice recipe to get a tasty dish out there. it was challenging. I won't deny that it was really challenging. In fact, I had several people that told me I was crazy for doing it, but I believed in it. And I believed in the vision, I believed in the changes that it could bring to the marketplace. And when you take on those challenges head-on and you don't let anything get in your way, the results could be tremendous. And I was fortunate enough to have taken those risks on my own to start building a team, including some of the folks that were with me in the past.
Marc (:And first two years, first-year was about building that proof of concept. Second-year was about building revenue. Third-year was about putting those two together, putting it out in the marketplace, and getting someone to bite. And so when you look at that methodically and you're able to achieve each one of your objectives and hit a checkmark, a success checkmark, then you're able to turn around and say, Hey, three years later, look at where I am. And we're fortunate enough in year three to put a plan together to show that proof of concept and get someone to bite on the vision. And they actually did. And here we are on our second round of financing and the trajectory is exciting.
Mark (:Well, and the excitement comes through it. It really exudes from you, Marc. And I will say though, that, what you're describing is a creative process. So many people go through as creatives. , the book is not the same book. Maybe they started, the record, the restaurant, isn't the same concept I started with. You made some shifts and some changes along the way. It sounds like
Marc (:It's important to be able to pivot. I mean, keep in mind when I first started, even in my previous business, which I spent 22 years in, when I first started that business, it looked nothing like the business I sold 22 years later. And so the same thing here, even though it's in its infancy three years ago, when I had this vision. I had a passion, I had a vision, but what ultimately turned that into was a direct result of me understanding the marketplace and the understanding the needs in the marketplace and how to put these different vehicles together, to get me to that marketplace and get people, believing in that change in the marketplace. And so absolutely. And you have to be able to shift, you have to be dynamic enough to be able to say, okay, this isn't working and this is not going to be able to scale.
Marc (:And if you're not able to scale, you're not going to be able to achieve your success. And so the experience from my past enables me to look at things really almost like you're five or 10 steps ahead of the game. And saying, all right, well, I know I have something here, but how's it going to look if I really want to get to what my objectives are with this? And so, I was fortunate enough to be able to A. Surround myself with the right people, B. Execute and C. Just continue on the path of being able to, pivot and,, run with the success.
Mark (:Well, I'm glad you used that word executer because I was also going to pick up on yes, there are naysayers, but there are also people that are like, Hey, come on, let's go. It's ready. It's ready. It's ready. When did you know that you have to make the decision it's good enough, or it's time to launch. And we'll do a 2.0 later. When did you have the confidence to hit the go button?
Marc (:When people actually paid me. So when you're actually putting a product out there, A. You have to be able to buy that product. If you believe in that product, you have to be able to know that there's a need for that product. But what really defines that moment is when you take that product and put it out in the marketplace and people bite, people want to fly. People are asking for it. In our prototype period, which was in 2019, we had over 3000 people that signed up on our website just through some organic social media posts and things like that. And we were able to gather about 3000 sign-ups that were interested in the service. So not only were people booking it just that as a testbed, but they were also really interested. And so that was really the moment that I think that I, turned around and said, Hey, we have something here.
Mark (:Yeah. You let the market tell you.
Marc (:Absolutely. And that's the way it's driven me. And as I said, it's one thing to have a passion for something. It's another thing to have the marketplace bite. I can love to fly all I want. That's great. And I'll be able to get on a plane and fly that aircraft. But, how do I make money with this? And how do I get this to a place where people will understand this, new era, if you will, in, this particular marketplace, being aviation,
Mark (:And as you're starting now to expand and build what resources are and maybe connections are you looking to create, what else do you want to build? What do you need to tack onto your operations now?
Marc (:Well, it's important now that it's a much different company now, we have a structure within the organization. It's important for us to be able to scale the company and to scale the operation. Again, it's one thing to be able to have to start something and fund something on your own, but now you need to scale on, it looks really different on that side. And you have to be able to understand, people and how people affect the growth of the company, how people affect, the scale of a company and systems, how systems play into effect that growth. And look, I've seen it, this is almost, this is not my first rodeo. I've seen these things over my career. And if they're not done right, if they're not executed properly, they can really hold you back.
Marc (:And so, part of the challenge here is having the right people in place. And luckily, for this company today, we have a tremendous pedigree behind the company that allows us to understand what we need to do to get to where we want to be. So everyone's holding hands, everyone understands the vision, and yes, we make pivot one way or another and dynamically roll with, some changes. But we're all holding hands. We all understand where it needs to be. And from top-down, we're holding hands and, and working together for that common objective.
Mark (:And as you look out over that bridge to where you want to be, I've often had other entrepreneurs tell me that, it's not the same process and people to get you to the next stage as it was to build it to where you are today. Do you see those kinds of expansion or shifts or, not just in processes, but also in the team?
Marc (:I think it's, like, what I said, it's, it's, you have to be able to be dynamic and be able to pivot. You have to be able to adapt. If you're not going to be able to adapt, you won't be able to scale properly. And so you have to be able to roll with some changes. You have to be able to bring on new people and delegate and, take on suggestions, listen to people, listen to what they have to say. It's not all about what I believe. I believe in something that's great, but, I have a whole team out there that have their own opinions, quite frankly, some of those opinions can be more valuable than we can ever think. And so we, have to welcome that.
Marc (:We have to be able to run with that. And oftentimes what was the biggest question folks to ask in the past, especially in the business world, what's your exit strategy? Right. Well, that's different. It looks different. You have to be able to adapt to that as well. , ultimately yes, we want to be able to build a solid company with solid revenues and solid returns, and excitement. But you have some of the largest streaming companies out there that haven't made money in years and years and years, but they're changing the marketplace with the type of subscribers they're bringing on. So it's really adapting to how the market welcomes this product. And I think that's an important variable, especially these days with, how social media interacts with folks and, things of that nature. So we're thinking outside of the box, I'm a big believer in guerrilla marketing. So we're thinking outside of the box and how to educate the marketplace with what we're doing and how to, again, make people excited about flying again. It's, all about the customer experience and customer satisfaction, and customer service. I've always been a believer in that.
Mark (:absolutely well, and I think you're exploiting a gap, in that sort of global aviation industry, customer service frustrations of fliers. What have you been doing in Flewber to sort of ensure a better customer service experience, not just the flight itself, but the entire customer service experience.
Marc (:Well, you have to be able to listen to what the consumer is looking for. And you have to be able to be that customer yourself to understand what that customer is looking for. So that changes as well.. You'll have a consumer download the app and you'll always have someone that'll come back and say, look, this doesn't make sense or that doesn't work well. You take all these things and really take them into consideration as opposed to, making them a checkbox on spreadsheets that will ultimately be done one day. So we're actually making a point to listen and make those changes and show the consumers that we're listening to them. And I think that makes a big difference.
Mark (:Yeah. And you used a great word a minute ago, dynamic. It's like, you've got to be that responsive and you've got the advantage right now being the smaller, nimble player.
Marc (:Yeah. And I think technology plays a big factor in that. , who, where can you book a flight within a minute and a half out there? A regional flight within a minute and a half? A lot of folks say they're going to do what they can do it. Maybe they might do it, but it doesn't exist. And so we want to make it a reality. And I think that that will be our differentiator in the marketplace.
Mark (:That's fantastic. Well, listeners, my guest has been Marc Sellouk. He's the CEO, founder, and president of Flewber the flight, a sharing service. Can't wait to download the app and look forward to our first flight and, congratulations on expanding, going national, and looking forward to going global. How can folks find you and connect with you and follow the work of the company?
Marc (:Well, they can visit our website at Flewber.com, download the app at Flewber and follow us on social media @Flewber. And look, we're excited about this marketplace. We're building a new marketplace and I think that's the message that should resonate with folks. And they're looking forward to hearing from your audience.
Mark (:Yeah, well, let's provide marks and feedback and it's always fun. I always want to say, one day we'll look back and say on this episode of unlocking your world of creativity, Marc Sellouk was on. Remember that day when Flewber was just kind of in its infancy, we can say we were there. That's all right. And we'll be so humble.
Marc (:I'll still be the same, Mark. And I'll still always be welcome to connect and speak with everyone.
Mark (:There you go. Well, less than it's come back again for our next episode, we've had so much fun talking with Marc Sellouk, and I know you'll want to follow us on our global journeys where we checked our passport today and New York, we're going to be taking some regional flights, but we'll also take some global flights and we'll be following Flewber journey, but we'll also be following our own creative path. As we learn from other creative practitioners, we'll learn what gets them inspired, how they organize their ideas, and most of all, how they gain the confidence and the connections to launch their work out into the world. And that's what we're all about. So until next time, I'm Mark Stinson and we've been unlocking your world of creativity. See you next time.
