Welcome to Boostly Podcast Episode 518. In this podcast episode I will be talking with Madison Rifkin who's the CEO and founder of a service called Mount.
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[00:00:00] Liam: Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you are when you're watching this. Uh, welcome to the, uh, Boostly Spotlight series. This is the mini series on the Boostly Podcast, which focuses the spotlight on businesses, products, and services that you, as a host and hospitality owner, uh, could help you with either reducing, uh, you know, sort of hassle or you could increase, uh, profit or even just save yourself some.
[00:00:25] So the whole reason we do these Boostly Spotlight series is to really draw your attention to people services that will help you in your journey. So thank you. If you tune in on the live, um, if you are here, just drop a gift in the comment section, your favorite gift, just so we know that you're on the live with us.
[00:00:44] Also, hi to you if you're tuning in on the podcast or on the YouTube after it's been recorded. My name's Liam Carolan I'm the co-host of the podcast, and today we are joined by Maddy Rifkin. She's the CEO and founder of a service called, Now, if you haven't [00:01:00] heard of Mount, you're gonna want to tune in for the next sort of 30 minutes to really find out how it can help your business.
[00:01:05] And she's here to share as a hospitality owner, um, as you as a hospitality owner, how you can make extra income and increase your guest experience through these additional services. Um, she's also gonna give us a sneak peek into the exciting and up and coming, uh, book. She's actually a published author in the book, uh, the book.
[00:01:25] Blueprint, which is getting released in December. Um, and if you haven't heard obviously, uh, then you can go to Bruce lee.co.uk/blueprint to get on the pre-order list. Or if you're listening to this after, uh, it's been released, which is December, 2022, uh, you'll be able to buy the book there and find out more about.
[00:01:46] So, um, Maddy's actually joined us all the way from New York on, uh, the other side of the pond. And if you're tune in on the live, make sure you're dropping a comment as to where you're watching this from, cause we'd love to know. Um, so without further ado, let's dive in. Um, [00:02:00] hi Maddy and welcome along.
[00:02:01] Madison: Hi, Liam.
[00:02:02] Thanks for having me on.
[00:02:04] Liam: It's exciting to, to have you here. I know we've, uh, spoke before at the SHORTY Awards in London, uh, earlier on this year, which was fantastic to see. Didn't you? Uh, you were one of the nominees of the, uh, shorties and Yeah.
[00:02:15] Madison: Yeah, I was, I, uh, for the Rising
[00:02:17] Star Award.
[00:02:18] Liam: Amazing, amazing
[00:02:20] Um, so. For the people listening in who don't know what Mount is, can you explain as simply as possible what Mount is and what it does?
[00:02:30] Madison: Yes. Uh, so Simply Put, Mount is a new software tool for hosts, property managers and owners to basically increase your revenue per door. So essentially we'll take anything you own, new or old, whether it be an electric bike, a golf cart, firewood, scooter, podcast studio.
[00:02:49] I mean, it's limitless. Uh, and we turn it into a rentable amenity for the guest. So when I say rentable amenity, it uh, gets a QR code, it gets gps tracked, it gets [00:03:00] insurance, and the guest shows up and uses our app to rent everything. So it's pretty much self-service. You get a check at the end of the month with all of the revenue.
[00:03:08] The premise is let's stop calling, upselling, uh, early check in and late checkout, and really get back to what it actually means, which is amenities and operate similarly to a hotel.
[00:03:20] Liam: So why should a host consider mount?
[00:03:24] Madison: So I'd say Mount is one of the only companies out there right now that really allows you to upsell these type of amenities without adding on a lot of extra work.
[00:03:34] Mm-hmm. , you have a little extra work in setting it up as with all new technology. But after that it's more of a, you become a marketer of Mount, you have to tell your guests that the amenities are there, but in terms of renting them and using them, that's the guests, that's what they do. So it's like having a rental shack on your property essentially.
[00:03:51] Um, so. I mean, a hotel right now is making upwards of 30% of their total revenue from amenities and, and upsells. And I would say that's [00:04:00] not the same percentage for short term rentals. Uh, and it definitely should be. So, I mean, right now there's about 80 million being, uh, transacted in the short term rental industry with, with upsells, but it's happening off property, whether it be at the electric bike shop, the boat company, the private chef, and that's all money being left on the table that you should be able to.
[00:04:21] So that's really what Mount is opening up is that, uh, pool of money.
[00:04:25] Liam: I love that. Cuz as, as a host myself, I, uh, I look at that and I go, well, I'd love to get in on that. How, how many billion did you say?
[00:04:33] Madison: 80 million a day. 80 million a day. Wow. So, yeah, that is incredible, isn't it?
[00:04:37] Liam: There's a lot of money being left on the table.
[00:04:39] And of course, All the guests that come and stay with us are arranging experiences. They're looking for things to do. And again, that can add to their experience. So, um, how does it help guests? I guess we've touched on that, but how does it help guests in general?
[00:04:54] Madison: So from the guest perspective, the typical use case I use is just think back to your [00:05:00] last vacation or trip you took and the days and months leading up to it.
[00:05:04] I mean, you probably put in countless hours and days of research trying to figure out what you should do when you're at that place. For me, it was Portugal where I was last and I was scouring, TripAdvisor and Via, and even Airbnb experiences to try and figure out what I was doing. But in the back of my mind I was.
[00:05:22] Well, is this real? Am I gonna get scammed? Are they charging me double because I'm a tourist? Like is this a tourist trap? It's just all those questions. And then I ended up asking my host anyways, because I figured they were local. I was like, you know, what should I actually be doing? And they gave me the best recommendations possible, which is actually now how I travel.
[00:05:40] I ask my host, um, So in that sense, the guests using Mount actually makes their life a lot easier because it'll show them exactly what they can do on property. If the host wants to put in their recommendations as well and get that referral revenue, they can do that. So I think it just makes it an easier process for everyone, and Mount really wants to [00:06:00] become that consumer brand for the traveler where they are traveling because they know Mount is there.
[00:06:05] And they'll pull out the app and see what they can start renting. Uh, if your property you're staying at doesn't have these mount amenities and next door does, you could actually go and rent those ones, meet more of the local community. That's, I think we're trying to make both sides of the process a lot easier.
[00:06:20] Liam: That's cool.
[00:06:21] And like you say, from a guest's perspective, just having somebody who's trusted, who can verify that that is a real service. I mean, last week we had, uh, Chris, uh, Maughan from I-PRAC on, and we were talking about trust and certainly having a service, an additional service, which you know, is. Either recommended by the host or you know, like in this case Mount has, has verified that it's a real place, then, um, it just gives you so much more confidence that you can go and rent that immunity with, you know, with certainty, doesn't it?
[00:06:51] Which is cool, I guess from the hosts perspective, and I know people listening into this will be thinking, well, you know, I'd love to offer all this awesome [00:07:00] stuff. I'm already stacked with changeovers, cleans all this stuff. I just haven't got time to do it. So what would you say to those people? I guess the question is, what is involved for a host to, to get this set up?
[00:07:12] How much work do they need to do?
[00:07:15] Madison: Fantastic question cuz we know the hosts, the property advantage or the owner, like there's just no extra time of the day for any of this. You don't wanna bring on a service, uh, call it, you know, these little shampoo bottles as an amenity and have to restock them every single time.
[00:07:27] That's a nightmare. So what we've done is tried to create, uh, a self-service process where you can go on our website, click list, and amen. And we modeled the process of listing an amenity the exact same way you would list your property for rent, you, uh, input what type of amenity it it is, whether it be an electric bike, a golf cart, a scooter, and then it auto populates with what you need to set up from there.
[00:07:51] So you need to put in pricing, you need to tie it to a location. So that's, you know, how the GPS tracking works. And then you need to upload a few photos [00:08:00] from there. Mount will just verify that it's a real amenity, uh, and then it's pretty much live. You have. Order a QR code GPS tracker from us. And then basically what you need to do as a host is just a one time setup.
[00:08:11] So you need to place the amenity in your property with a lock in that GPS tracker. And then from there it's live on the, the platform. So you just become a marketer at that point. Once it's set up, it takes the whole process to set up is about a week because of the shipping times, but really it's maybe 10 minutes to an hour.
[00:08:28] If you're not too tech savvy, which is okay, we'll help you through it. Um, from there, once you've set it up, you really just have to go in and change your pre-arrival message. Update it to just say, Hey, this property is powered by. Download this app to rent these amenities, get the recommendations, um, and then put in a marketing poster to just, you know, letting the guests know that this is available to rent.
[00:08:49] Cuz that's the biggest piece is the education. Um, after that though, you're, you're the marketer. You're not really doing any of the logistics because our platform. [00:09:00] Was built on asset management and the asset is GPS tracked. You can see on the software platform where your amenity is going. Is it being brought back in what condition?
[00:09:11] And you'll get text alerts if something goes extremely wrong, where it's like, all right, they left the bike, they didn't bring it back. Maybe you have to go get it. That happens less than 1% of the time. So really it's not too much work after you set it up, the bulk of the work is getting it set up, uh, just like adding on any other new software platform.
[00:09:30] And then, then you're good to go.
[00:09:32] Liam: I guess that sounds good because we all know from, from being hosts that you know, most of the work and getting something set up like listings for instance, is that first initial hurdle. And then once it's set up, you know, the revenue starts to, starts to flow. So that makes complete sense.
[00:09:47] And I know people listening will, uh, you know, look at this as, as going well. Fair enough. That doesn't sound like too much work for the um, For, for the reward of, of constant income. So couple of questions off the back of what you've just said [00:10:00] there. The, um, most guests, I guess, Most of these assets are for your guests.
[00:10:08] Can anybody rent these amenities or is it only for your guests if it's a host setting it up?
[00:10:13] Madison: No. So, um, I mean, right now in this moment in time, they are for your guests, but where Mount wants to get to is having you be able to, uh, Choose your amenity as private or public. So a private amenity would be one just for your guest, most likely one that's inside the property.
[00:10:29] Uh, maybe it's firewood, a propane tank, that type of stuff. Or even like a bachelorette kit. Those are pretty popular. Uh, but you also have the option to make your amenities public, meaning maybe it's an electric bike in your garage, a golf cart in the driveway. And if it's a public amenity, anyone with the Mount app can come and rent it.
[00:10:46] You actually have the opportunity to make a lot more money that way. Tap into really the traveler community. That's the premise of Mount. That's what we want you to do. Um, and it's quite easy to do because we. So [00:11:00] all rentals within Mount have to start and end at your property. So even if someone is coming to rent your electric bike, they can take it wherever they want, but they can't physically end their rental until they're back on your property.
[00:11:10] They've locked it back up and kind of set it up for the next person. Uh, so in that sense, the public amenities work. It's honestly a way to compete with your neighbors if they're also doing the, uh, short term rental thing as well, where if they don't have mountain amenities and you do, you can also capture their guests.
[00:11:25] You'll know exactly who they are if they rent from you, and then you can flip it around and, uh, market your book direct to them also, .
[00:11:33] Liam: Yeah, I love that as well because I've recently read a book by Alex Harms he called 100 million Offers, and he talks about how you can create a value stack when people can only compare things on price.
[00:11:43] So when they're comparing. Different, uh, short term rentals that they might go and stay in or different, uh, hotel rooms or bed and breakfast rooms. Ultimately, they're comparing just on price if there's not that much different. Um, so they will just compare on price. However, if the value stack is different, if they can [00:12:00] clearly see, hey, at this one I could rent a bike and we could go and take a, some plywood and, and marshmallows, you know, that sort of thing, um, then they're more likely to go with it as a value proposition and pay that little bit more, which is cool.
[00:12:13] Just, just having. So it sounds though, there's, there's not ever so much work involved, and I guess if it is one of our guests who rent the, uh, amenity then we've got all their details anyway from a security perspective, uh, which for a majority of our listeners is gonna be what happens if there's a problem.
[00:12:32] So you mentioned if something goes wrong, which is very, very low amount of the time. Um, what, what is the, the process, how would we know, uh, necessarily has gone.
[00:12:43] Madison: Yeah, I mean there, so there's a few things we've seen happen just with the amenities on our platform. Uh, one question is obviously theft. Like what happens if it's stolen?
[00:12:52] There's a few use cases for that. Um, if it's stolen, well, your guest is renting the [00:13:00] amenity and it's their fault, like they are liable. Uh, so. All the amenities on Mount are rented as if they were renting them from a, a rental shop. So they sign a virtual terms and condition sheet within the app, and they are liable up to the cost of the amenity when they're renting it.
[00:13:15] So if it happens to be stolen, we have their credit card information and they would be charged for that. Um, if it's stolen off of your property, in that case, you would look towards your property insurance, you know, and you would hopefully have it insured through them and get it reimbursed. Um, Other than that, those are really the only two use cases and theft that happen.
[00:13:35] I mean, we get a lot of the questions about what happens if a guest leaves it and do I have to go get it? Do I have to get these things serviced with maintenance? Um, we put on a mileage tracker for all of the movable amenities, scooters, bikes, golf carts, that type of stuff. And when it hits a certain mileage, you do have to get it serviced to keep it, uh, on the platform.
[00:13:55] We typically will hook you up to your local, uh, bike provider so that you can give them the. [00:14:00] Sometimes they'll come to your property. It's pretty easy. And it really is beginning of the season, end of the season, so it's not every week. Um, and then for a golf cart, uh, same, same deal. Mm-hmm. , so not too many issues.
[00:14:13] If there is something pressing, we mount handles all of the customer service. So the guest is supposed to go through us in the app, they can chat us, call us. So we handle all of. Um, and you know, we've tried to make it as easy as possible for the host because we want you to offer these amenities but not feel like you're taking on an extra business.
[00:14:31] Liam: Yeah, that mean that sounds really cool. And I know, um, certainly over here in the uk one of the things which might stop some of us is like the liabilities around, um, uh, we, we looked a few years ago, me as a host looked at, uh, getting kayaks and stuff like that. Some of the ones near the broad, and that is there.
[00:14:46] Kind of help that you'd be able to provide or any steer for hosts who are worried about, you know, the liability aspect of things?
[00:14:53] Madison: Yeah, great question. This is something I should definitely mention in my one liner, but, uh, Has built a [00:15:00] custom insurance policy to cover all injury liability when you're on the platform.
[00:15:05] And really, we figured out that a lot of people don't understand this, but the gray area with insurance is when you list or offer an amenity at your property and they take it and leave. Because that's still your liability, but your property insurance doesn't cover that. Your property insurance covers if the amenity is on your property.
[00:15:22] But what happens if it's a kayak and they hop in the lake? You know that that isn't covered. And so that's what Mount build a policy to cover. So for all of these amenity rental types, uh, You know, barring any like ATV snowmobiles, like large boats, the, the liability is covered for injury, which happens to be kind of the biggest gray area for these hosts.
[00:15:41] Um, you do have to list on the platform and if your amenity goes live, you are covered. Um, so that's. Our unique way, uh, of adding value for, you know, our, the customers we work with.
[00:15:55] Liam: I mean, from a host's perspective, I can only see upside here because, you know, there's very little work [00:16:00] involved. I'm able to make an extra revenue stream.
[00:16:02] My guests are getting a better experience. And also, you know, I've got some confidence around the, the liability and, um, you know, the protection of the asset itself, which is really cool. Is there any. How far can this go? So what kind of amenities, uh, you mentioned like firewood and propane and stuff like that.
[00:16:19] Is there, is there limits to, to what people can list as amenities?
[00:16:24] Madison: Right now, there isn't. So if you go and click list amenity, it'll give you four main categories that we see a lot of people be very successful with. Uh, electric bikes, scooters, beach equipment, and then, um, firewood. And then there's like another category.
[00:16:38] So you can list your heart's content in the. We'll reach out and let you know if you've gone too far, cuz we don't want your guests to feel nickled and dime. And we have enough data to be able to tell you, you know, if you're a four bedroom property in this specific location, here's exactly what you should be listing.
[00:16:54] Because I think Mount is so new that most everyone comes to us with a question, [00:17:00] I really wanna do this, but what should I be offering? So we'll answer that for you and, and really kind of become the air DNA of uh, amen. And figuring out that data driven decision. Um, but yeah, I mean, people get very creative.
[00:17:13] Someone wanted to do a hookah pipe, definitely said no to that. Um, but we do have these like new type of amenities that are these clear lock boxes that we geofence, they become locked and stuff like that. You could put a lot of stuff in there. So we've had s'mores kits, uh, the firewood, propane tanks, just all that stuff that is really hard to manage and really hard to tell if it's being used or not.
[00:17:37] That's really what the Mount platform helps with.
[00:17:40] Liam: That's cool. And when it comes down to like, um, I mean, firewoods got me thinking because we've got places with, you know, place where they can toast, marshmallows and stuff like that. What. How would we know to restock? Is it, is it, do we get a notification from Mount saying that Immunity's been used in that lockbox and then let our cleaning teams know?
[00:17:58] How does that work?
[00:17:59] Madison: Yeah, so you [00:18:00] can see exactly in real time when stuff is being used. So for the firewood, um, for the propane tanks, that type of stuff, you can set it up so you get text alerts. That might be a lot of alerts for you though. So actually I would just recommend going on the platform and checking or hooking it up to your PMs.
[00:18:15] Um, and it'll tell you like, Hey, this was used on November 1st at 5:00 PM That's how you know, to restock it and go refill it. , um, if it hasn't been used, you know, you're still good. So, uh, yeah, it does that type of stuff.
[00:18:29] Liam: That's cool. And the extent of, obviously this problem, I mean now we're talking about it, it seems like a really obvious kind of like upsell and a chance to make extra revenue.
[00:18:38] Um, how far do you think this problem extends? Do you think this is something that the hospitality industry as a whole hasn't solved yet? Do you think this is something which needs to be, needs to be sorted?
[00:18:51] Madison: I do believe that actually, I think it's a, a multi-industry wide problem mount's premise is that if you're a piece of private property, [00:19:00] you are having trouble upselling.
[00:19:02] And I really believe it's the fact that no one other than Mount has figured out this. Self-service aspect. Right now, if you wanna upsell within the hotel industry, you have the concierge, you have the person behind the rental desk, and you are physically signing a sheet. You're giving them cash, you're giving them your license, like whatever it looks like, because there's been no software in the industry to enable this.
[00:19:24] I mean, we've seen it in the short term rental industry too. People, you know, companies are telling them we do upselling. And then you realize it's just early check in and late checkout, because that's the only thing the software enables. Um, same thing goes for actually the way offices are operating. They can maybe offer some type of amenities that's, uh, like a phone booth, but offering these movable type of amenities, it just, no one's really wanted to take on asset management, I would say.
[00:19:53] the scooter companies were kind of the first, not the first, but the ones that really nailed doing that, um, self-service, but [00:20:00] with a, with a dockless model. I don't think they went about it properly at all execution wise, but they did build the technology to make it possible. Mm-hmm. . Um, and then even within multi-family as well.
[00:20:11] When we've seen the blend between multifamily and shortterm rentals, that's where things for mount becomes super appealing because you have people who are staying there long term for a year, and then you also have the mix within there of short term rentals. And everyone is wanting these amenities.
[00:20:28] Maybe the person staying there for the year has a snowboard, has golf clubs, and the short term rental, people wanna rent it. So that's what Mount is making possible across all in.
[00:20:38] Liam: I love that. And you're absolutely right. The, the opportunity is just huge because of not only the short term rental industry, but like you say, the people mid midterm rentals or, or medium term rentals.
[00:20:50] As, as I've spoke to a few guests about, we had, uh, Sarah Weaver on here talking about midterm rentals, and those are the people who may be staying for a period of time, but you know, they can pack [00:21:00] most of their. But they'd like a bike. They just haven't got access to it, you know? Or they'd like to have some of the amenities that Mount could then solve that problem.
[00:21:06] So, and as we're seeing more and more, um, you know, people traveling for work, you know, digital nomads and that side of things, the opportunity is, is just growing and growing for hosts. Um, so I think anybody listening into this will, will see the opportunity, which is, which is massive. And talking about that, uh, that, that story, that's a good opportunity to segue into the book, which, uh, you've got your own chapter in The Book Direct Blueprint, uh, which is available from December.
[00:21:34] Um, I know you've got your copy there. I'm lucky enough to have seen a sneak preview of your, um, of your chapter. But before we talk about that, why did you want to be involved in the book and how did it all come?
[00:21:48] Madison: You know, it came about in a interesting way. So when I was at the shorties, I met Mark, uh, you know, the guy behind the brainchild behind the book.
[00:21:56] Um, and he, when I was in, at the [00:22:00] shorties, they were actually celebrating the, uh, publish publication of, um, hospitable host. They just got all these amazing people together to tell their story. And I actually read the book was very, oh, there we go. That one. Um, and I saw just how the community responded to that book and was like, how do I get involved in the next one?
[00:22:19] And I think Mark and I are on the same page where we wanna push the industry's boundaries. And I think a lot of the older companies in the, in the space that are doing very well have gotten stuck in their ways a little where they buy a booth at the conference, you know, they do webinars and they stick to the status quo.
[00:22:39] They're like, that's worked. Let's not change it. And I am a believer of like, let's. Do things and see if they work. So that was one of the reasons I wanted to do the book was because it's a kind of a new way of marketing and the Mount story is really unique. I mean, I started this journey when I was 12 years old and it's continued for the last 10, 12 years.[00:23:00]
[00:23:00] Um, being able to tell that and just the journey of what got me here. Plus being able to share like why people should be upselling and really thinking about this now, I think was also a unique opportunity. Um, but really it came down to. What's new, this book, you know, not a lot of people have been doing that in the space.
[00:23:19] So I was like, yeah, let, let's do it, mark. And then from there it kind of just grew .
[00:23:23] Liam: I love that. I love the special mention as well is, uh, hospitable Host was the, uh, brainchild of Jody Sterling, who is actually the, now the, she owns the publisher of, of the book Direct Blueprint, which is awesome. And that started out as, Literally just an idea to push the industry, like you say, and, and now we are seeing, uh, real people being helped off the back of that having, um, and Mark describes, uh, yourself and the other people in there as the Avengers of hospitality, the people who are really taking on the challenge of pushing Hospi.
[00:23:54] Uh, Hospitable, um, hospitality, even, uh, you know, sort of boundaries to be [00:24:00] able to give people the best experience while also not, you know, sort of, uh, creating a huge, huge amount of workload, which I know hosts, uh, are struggling with. It's making it easier, isn't it, for, for people using awesome tech, uh, such as Mount.
[00:24:14] So, Um, I love the example you gave in there of, uh, when you were on the beach in Hawaii looking for a kayak. Um, as I say, I've got to sneak peek, uh, a bit of your chapter there, and also like you say, the history behind it. So is there any sneak peek that you can share with the people listening without giving away the sort of secret source to the chapter?
[00:24:36] Madison: Yes. Uh, so I mean, a lot of people know my story by now. I, I, I believe that I started all of this entrepreneurship journey when I was 12. So it, it talks a little bit about that, but I think what a lot of people don't under, or I haven't told actually a lot of people, is that, or the two reasons why Mount essentially became what it is today, which is this platform that can take anything and turn it into a rentable amenity.
[00:24:59] [00:25:00] The, me and my co-founder, Rasha Naac, who I met in uh, college, are just massive travelers, and right when I was graduating last year, we had the unique opportunity of participating in a startup accelerator. Just so happened to be in Hawaii, and at the time I was like, well, I started this company and if all I get to do is travel to Hawaii for free for three months, like mission accomplished, that's pretty awesome right out of college.
[00:25:22] So , me and him ended up there, but it honestly just led us on this crazy journey of traveling together. Really understanding as a traveler the problems. Like we were only living in Hawaii for three months, so we didn't bring a lot with us. I mean, we even ended up renting a car from one of his friends for $400 a month, which is nothing when you're in Hawaii.
[00:25:42] We then realized why it was nothing, because we almost died a few times in that car, but , the wheels almost popped off. It was a crazy adventure. But, um, I think with the crazy experiences we had in Hawaii, it helped us really understand our customer from the traveler perspective in. We didn't have a lot.
[00:25:58] We would show up to the beach with a towel that we [00:26:00] bought from Target, and we're like, all right, where can I get a beach chair? I need a kayak. Like, all this stuff that you would want, but you don't wanna travel with. Um, so that's, I guess, a sneak peek along, sneak peek of what you'll get in the book is like why from a traveler perspective mount is needed and then how the host actually can implement
[00:26:17] that.
[00:26:18] Liam: That's amazing and it is a really good chapter and, um, I, I just enjoy it and, uh, thank you so much for sharing it. I know there's a lot of people who will be excited to, uh, to, to read it and also contact you off. The, off the back of it, as you say, is, um, it's not only sharing your story, but it's a great marketing tool as well.
[00:26:35] So, uh, that's amazing. Um, one thing that I have gotta ask, and I know you share the reason why in the book, but why is it called Mount? What, what is the story behind.
[00:26:46] Madison: You know, I wish I, uh, had a, a good answer for this. Um, and I wish I could remember, but really mount. So I grew up in Colorado. Like the whole reason this was started was because I wanted to build a bike lock [00:27:00] that was attached to my bike because I forgot it everywhere.
[00:27:02] I mean, that was a 12 year old problem I had. Um, and it, the company used to be called Mount. And then we drop the locks cuz we don't do that anymore. Um, but I like to say that Mount is an ode to Colorado because it's like half a mountain. We basically drop the last part of the word and call it mount. Um, and then I think honestly it just ended up working really well because we mount.
[00:27:23] Little QR code, GPS trackers to everything and, you know, make it a rentable amenity. And then our logo too, you can see on my shirt is an m. So also they look like mountains, but uh, the real logo actually comes from the confidence pose. I don't know if you're familiar with that. Uh, No. So there's like this study that shows if you stand in a Superman pose.
[00:27:43] Like before an interview or before Yeah, exactly Like that. Yeah. Good . You'll, you'll ace it or you'll, you know, you just get confidence. So I took the Superman pose those arms, which are two triangles essentially, and made 'em, I just flipped 'em vertical and that's where the M comes from. It's, it's like confidence is in our
[00:27:58] dna.
[00:27:59] Liam: It works. It [00:28:00] obviously worked. I mean, uh, Manny, you're, you're, you're very inspirational from, you know, sort of the, the journey you've been on from what's explained in the chapter. And I'm not gonna take away, uh, funder from, from that, but that is so inspirational and I know from meeting you in London, the the energy you've got, and I know you're gonna, you know, sort of, uh, do amazing things and, and change this industry.
[00:28:19] I'm certainly interested in, in Mount, and I know many hosts listening into this on the live on YouTube and on the podcast afterwards. We'll want to find out more. So before the end of this, we will share how, uh, we can get in touch with you. But before we do, we love to do some quick fire questions as we reach towards the end of these.
[00:28:38] So these are just quick fire questions that you can be as short or as long answers as you like, but um, we just love asking some questions for fun, basically. So, um, I couldn't not ask this. Knowing that you're an avid traveler, what's your favorite travel Destin?
[00:28:53] Madison: My current favorite would have to be Iceland, uh, in the winter or summer.
[00:28:59] Liam: [00:29:00] Okay. And why?
[00:29:01] Madison: Uh, you know, I had the opportunity to go there, uh, in March and it was just fascinating. I mean, you kind of feel like you're in a different era of the earth, I guess. I don't know. It just, there's so many different landscapes and you get to be one with nature and unplug and you drive an hour and it's completely different.
[00:29:18] So I think, uh, I've always been one with nature. I grew up in Colorado, so it was nice to be able to go back to that and uh, just experience all of it from a different perspective.
[00:29:29] Liam: That's definitely one on my list. I know some of the, uh, landscapes there looks like the Arctic and other landscapes looks like Mars and stuff like that.
[00:29:36] Madison: Yeah, exactly.
[00:29:38] Liam: Um, what is the best bit of advice you've ever received.
[00:29:43] Madison: I think, uh, the best bit of advice I've gotten is just like failing forward and not being afraid to fail. Uh, cuz it means progress. So we kind of br that into Mount as well. .
[00:29:53] Liam: I love that. And that's, um, do you know what reminds me of a famous video by Denzel Washington?
[00:29:57] I think I've seen on, on YouTube. He, he always [00:30:00] mentions that, which is awesome. Um, what is one fact about yourself that people would find surprising or not? Many people may already.
[00:30:08] Madison: Oh gosh. , I could probably give you a few. Um, one of the other reasons why. Was started or just I had the drive to continue it when I was young was cuz I was actually hit by a car when I was 16, but as a pedestrian.
[00:30:23] So I crushed, or I got crushed the whole right side of my body and was in the hospital. I had a few surgeries, was in a wheelchair for a while, had to relearn to walk. So I think when you go through something like that, you know, that was like rock bottom essentially, where I had to kind of, What I wanted to do with life.
[00:30:39] And after that, I, you know, wasn't afraid to fail. I was like, you know, what could be worse than, you know, relearning how to do everything essentially. So
[00:30:47] Liam: that's amazing. From, from great Challenge comes, you know, great inspiration and, and, um, that should be in the book. I mean, again, that isn't in there, so that's amazing.
[00:30:56] Thank you for, for sharing that. And then lastly, uh, we [00:31:00] usually ask one or two questions, which is either who inspires you or your favorite motto. And I know you might have already shared your favorite motto. Um, yeah. Is there any other sort of bits of advice that you'd be able to share with us or anything that has inspired you on your journey?
[00:31:15] Madison: Yeah, I mean, honestly my life model that I try and look by is like, life is 90% c confidence. And even if you don't really know what you're doing, but you're confident, you can probably get by. , uh, not fake it till you make it, but just being confident. So that's what I've tried to live by after being hit by a car, actually.
[00:31:31] Uh, and it, it's worked pretty well. So , I like that one.
[00:31:33] Liam: Yeah, I like it. I, um, one of the, um, sort of mentors in, in my life says, see it until you be it, instead of fake it to make it. And I like that one more because it is a case of, like you say, that Superman pose, that all ties in together with. With that kind of bringing, uh, bringing what you imagine into reality, you know, like this, uh, it's really good.
[00:31:54] So what a lovely way to, to end and thank you so much for today. So for people who are [00:32:00] wanting to get in touch and find out more about Mount, what's the best way to do so?
[00:32:05] Madison: Uh, a few ways. I mean, you can go to our website, which is rent mount.com, uh, click list amenity, and create an account. Then, you know, we'll have your information and I can email you.
[00:32:15] Uh, you could reach out on LinkedIn. Very active there. Uh, it's just Madison Rifkin, I think, or Maddie Rifkin. Um, Or you? Yeah, those are the two best ways to get in touch with me. I mean, Instagram as well, but, uh, all the socials, .
[00:32:28] Liam: Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of people reaching out to you.
[00:32:32] And, uh, just for one last time, for everybody listening in and, uh, watching on YouTube, it's the book Direct Blueprint, which is out in December with, uh, Matt's, uh, chapter in, and that is coming out December. If you don't already, uh, know about it, you need to go to boost lee.co uk slash blueprint and you'll be able to find out more information there.
[00:32:55] Depending on if you're listening to this before it's released or after the release, you'll still be able to see all the [00:33:00] information in that one place. So mad. Thank you so much for today. And, uh, yeah, uh, is there any last words of, uh, wisdom before we end for.
[00:33:08] Madison: No, I mean just thanks for having me on. It was great to kind of share the Mount story, talk about the book, and uh, looking forward to next time.
[00:33:16] Liam: looking forward to it. Thanks very much. Bye for now. Having a blast. Gonna get out on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee led Bruce Lee cuz it's so hard on the tees
[00:33:24] loose leaf.
[00:33:25] Looking up those rhymes. Don't write it just to it loosely.
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