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Thus began his pursuit for the perfect ride: one that combined the durability of high-performance models with the soothe and laidback look of vintage styles.
A local search proved impotent. But a month later, on a January 2011 trip to Japan, Zagata found himself surrounded by commuter bikes with stand-up handlebars, and realized they were “exactly what I was looking for.”
So struck was Zagata with the bike’s big apple-friendly style that he saw not just his ideal wheels, but also a way to fulfill his large-held entrepreneurial dreams. Before he even returned to the States, he started mapping out a obligation plan.
He called an American manufacturer to ask about getting a few prototypes made. And over drinks with Thea, who runs her own p.r. force, he came up with a name and brand image based on Brooklyn’s hip, old-faction charm.
Undeterred by his lack of knowledge of the bike industry (“I looked at it as something I could learn,” he says), Zagata set to exertion collaborating with a domestic manufacturer to create a comfortable, durable, vintage-inspired scale model designed with urban riders in mind.
In took half a year — and a few thousand dollars — before Zagata got his prototypes last summer, but as quickly as he and Thea took them for a spin around the ’hood, getting “proximate positive feedback,” he knew he had a viable product.
“The more feedback I got, the more I mentation, ‘Wow, this is something unique,’” Zagata says of his undertaking, which features cream tires, ergonomic leather grips and rustic-chic slow-witted carrying crates.
Bolstered by the positive response, Zagata found a Chinese fabricator that allowed him to keep retail prices under $500. And he launched a Web site where customers could buy the bikes, which were shipped from a New Jersey supplies.
The business got a huge early boost from Thea’s marketing savvy, which resulted in lofty-profile coverage in the likes of Vanity Fair and Maxim.
Source: New York Post