Lindsey Maxwell ’14 launched van-conversion firm Featherbuilt in 2020 and hasn’t seemed again since. She hopes to encourage others to take the leap into entrepreneurship and expertise new adventures.
The rise of COVID-19 in early 2020 introduced many issues – masks, social distancing and hours upon hours of binge-watching tv, however one which had the potential to stay round longer than others was quarantine initiatives.
Many individuals began them, only a few completed and even fewer have continued to maintain up the great work. Lindsey Maxwell ’14 falls into that closing class after turning her quarantine mission right into a fully-fledged enterprise.
Maxwell and her companion launched Featherbuilt of their driveway in Denver, Colorado, in 2020. The 2-person crew makes a speciality of enhancing the journey expertise for adventurers throughout America, refurbishing vans into customized residing areas and offering clients with merchandise to do it themselves. In a time when highway journey was exploding, Maxwell jumped on the likelihood to develop in an trade she already felt at house in.
Following her 2014 commencement, Maxwell moved to Charlotte to show preschool, a task very totally different from what she is doing now. A 12 months and a half later, Maxwell left her life within the U.S. behind and moved to Italy to be an au pair, a chance that she couldn’t go up. It was throughout this stage of her life that she actually fell in love with touring, and the fervour that will quickly gasoline Featherbuilt began to develop.
“Whereas I used to be residing and dealing in Italy, my job was about 75% journey and I fully fell in love with incorporating journey into an everyday a part of my life,” stated Maxwell. “In 2018 as I used to be ending up my time in Italy, I stumbled throughout a weblog from a lady who had transformed a van right into a tiny house and was touring across the nation and residing out of it. I knew this was one thing I wanted to do.”
Upon her return to the U.S., Maxwell bought a Sprinter van and began her conversion profession with the assistance of her dad. Little did she know that that van would change her life eternally as she met her companion and co-owner of Featherbuilt after a few months on the highway in her new house on wheels. Within the early phases of beginning his personal van conversion enterprise, it was a match made in heaven simply in time for COVID-19 to hit and quarantine initiatives to take over. For Maxwell and her companion, their quarantine mission was on a bigger scale than most as she purchased a second van they usually joined forces to make it a house.
“There was completely no hesitation beginning this enterprise as a result of there was just about no different selection at the moment,” defined Maxwell. “My companion, Patrick, had stop his job formally again in 2019 to get Featherbuilt going, and I had been working seasonally whereas touring within the van so we had nothing to lose. Jumpstarting Featherbuilt was good throughout COVID as a result of we may nonetheless work collectively in isolation and attempt to make cash whereas staying secure.”
Since that first mission collectively, Featherbuilt has taken many shapes and varieties, from transforming for an Instagram-famous wolfdog, Loki, to customizing extra of their very own vans, to growing a conversion system that may be offered as a “Do-It-Your self” equipment. However regardless of which stage Featherbuilt has been in, there was one factor that has at all times been necessary to them: sustainability.
“When you expertise a dawn in Rocky Mountain Nationwide Park or the altering of the seasons in Yosemite, you wish to shield it in any respect prices,” defined Maxwell. “Being part of the manufacturing enterprise, we see firsthand how a lot packaging junk goes out on the earth (and ultimately our landfills) daily and we try to scale back that.”
Though very happy with their dedication to constructing sustainably, Maxwell is most happy with how she has made one thing out of nothing. With no enterprise or building background, she has developed into a really profitable entrepreneur who’s an influence device professional. Regardless of studying most of those abilities post-graduation, she attributes a lot of her life success to her Elon expertise.
“Folks complain in regards to the “Elon bubble” however I really assume that was a vital issue for making ready me for all times after commencement,” Maxwell stated. “I felt a stronger sense of neighborhood than a lot of my associates that attended different universities and I’ve sought to proceed establishing robust connections in my post-grad communities. I really feel that has led to a whole lot of my success and happiness.”
Maxwell additionally credit Elon’s examine overseas packages for igniting her love of journey and displaying her the numerous other ways she may reside. As a loyal member of Candy Signatures, she realized how you can run occasions, giving her each the expertise and braveness wanted to grow to be an entrepreneur. She encourages all Elon college students to reap the benefits of the time they’ve whereas at Elon and take advantage of it.
“Benefit from the issues Elon has to give you,” stated Maxwell. “I assumed I used to be too busy in faculty to pursue different hobbies or extra significant relationships and that was the least busy I’ve been in my life ever since. These years are a present – don’t blow it.”
Elon was a spot of neighborhood and peer interplay for Maxwell, and he or she actually feels that that tradition is what has impressed so many alums, herself included, to observe their ardour and succeed.
The way forward for Featherbuilt, and the journey automobile world, seems to be brilliant as they proceed to develop their van construct system so extra individuals can do it themselves. Maxwell hopes to supply ladies with the sources and confidence to attempt new issues along with her entrepreneurial story. Discover out extra about Featherbuilt at https://featherbuilt.com/ or discover them on Instagram @Feather_built.
