Soon Denverites will be able to practice their swing or play a round of golf from the comfort of a mobile box.
Dryvebox, a mobile golf simulator company based in San Francisco, is opening a franchise in Denver. Ty Schoener will own the local franchise.
Schoener, who works for an aviation startup in Colorado, tried launching his own mobile golf simulator using an inflatable enclosure last year but told Colorado Inno it was much harder than he expected.
He purchased several items used in Dryvebox solutions and ran a few events for family and friends.
“The idea was great,” Schoener said. “The execution, not so much.”
At his second event, Schoener noticed a hole in the inflatable enclosure. After a two-hour setup, Schoener was constantly adding air to the enclosure so it didn’t collapse.
While researching a better solution, he found Dryvebox.
Founded in 2020, Dryvebox’s mobile solution is a weather-resistant, solar-powered, climate-controlled golf simulator that sits a trailer. Inside the box is a TrackMan golf simulator.
“What really made me say ‘I need to do this’ was meeting the Dryvebox team in person a few months ago,” he said. “I could tell right away that the team was genuine, really wanted to get to know you on a personal level and wanted to grow the business in the right way with the right partners.”
Dryvebox Denver expects to open in early June. Schoener said he plans to operate Dryvebox at corporate events, private parties, brand activations and other occasions. He also plans to offer Dryvebox for private lessons to those who have a golf coach.
Opening a Dryvebox franchise costs between $137,142 and $363,877, according to the company’s website. This range includes “startup costs, the franchise fee, three months of expected operating expenses and $15,000 to $30,000 in working capital cushion,” per the company. The franchise fee starts at $34,000 for a territory with approximately 500,000 residents, adding $10,000 for each additional 100,000 residents.
Franchise owners sign an initial six-year agreement and pay a 6% sales royalty to Dryvebox, according to its website.
Denver is one of nine new franchise locations, with others teeing off in Atlanta; Salt Lake City; Portland, Oregon; Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida; Frisco, Texas; Fairfield, Connecticut; Visalia, California; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Dryvebox’s franchise program began in December and is now available in 40 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
“We are thrilled to see the rapid growth of Dryvebox through our franchise program,” Adeel Yang, Dryvebox CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “The enthusiastic response from franchisees and the golf community at large is a testament to the unique and immersive experience our product offers. Our mission is to cultivate golf everywhere, and we’re well on our way.”
