They not only created a bike company that helps people live healthier and happier lives, they also practice what they preach by bicycling around the LA community while handling business. Chad and Adam tell us their stories…

How old were you when you got your first bike?

I was 6 years old. A neighbor kid helped me take the training wheels off and pushed me into my first ride.

 

 

 

What made you want to create Linus bikes?

Linus really came from wanting the bike I couldn’t find anywhere.  I wanted something off the shelf that was  simple elegant and affordable… the perfect bike for daily use and errands, something to replace the car for small trips, a bike with style and personality.

 

 

 

Did you come up with the idea for Linus together? If not, how did you end up partnering? If you did, describe that moment.

No, Linus and the early stages of development was me alone. Chad and I are buddies from high school in south africa, we worked in the film industry together and both ended up living in venice. Chad came in for the final stages of development and before the opening of the shop in venice. I got lucky with chad, he’s really passionate about Linus, a very hard worker , creative and a superb business man.

 

What is the significance of the name, Linus?   

Linus is my nephew’s name

 

Talk about 1 of the most memorable moments you’ve had in the business.

Our first trade show. We don’t come from the bike industry, so it was a big question of how Linus would be received. It was just myself, chad and his girlfriend, now wife, lissa. We barely managed to pull a small booth together and design and print catalogs, we packed the truck late into the night and left for las vegas before sunrise. Somehow we got the booth up and magically the  retailers loved what they saw. After all the hard work in isolation, it felt amazing to get validation from the industry. We left the show with a ton of business cards, and a couple orders… the rest is history.

 

What is your favorite part about your work?

The people I work with. Making products and seeing them out in the world working. Nothing felt quite as good as seeing a Linus bike ride by in tokyo

 

 

 

Owning a business is a lot of work. How do you balance your career and personality lives? 

It’s tough… work never really ends for us, but if you want balance, it definitely helps to hire good people and entrust them to do what they’re good at.

 

What do you think about the bike scene here in the united states compared to the rest of the world?

We’ve come a long way but we got sooooo long to go. There was a recent NY Times article that had commuting by bike in the u.S. At .5%… denmark,which has much colder, longer winters has 50% of the population commuting by bike. They also rank very high on the happy index, go figure.

 

 

What is your ultimate vision for Linus?

I want to keep building a solid company, a brand that is known for quality and has longevity…  a place my future kids would be proud to work one day.

 

What piece of advice would you give someone looking to start a business that they are passionate about?

Trust your gut. Just about everyone thought I was nuts to start a bike company… and don’t be afraid or too cheap to hire people, people make the difference.

 

Thanks Chad and Adam for sharing your wisdom!!

 

Make sure to check out their website at www.linusbike.com

and like them on FB at 

 

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