When Tyler Saenz moved to Hawaii several years ago, he found that the large SUV he brought with him was too big for many parking garages. Trading it in for a smaller vehicle was not an option — Saenz had been in a major car accident and had bought the SUV to feel safe — but constantly circling around to find a place to park grew increasingly frustrating.
Saenz’s parking struggles led him to create Parklinq, a company that uses technology to simplify the parking process — both for drivers and parking lot and garage owners. It offers dynamic and surge pricing, video monitoring systems, and a patent-pending program offering discounted or free rates to residents of Hawaii.
The company was established in 2016 and officially launched and started generating revenue in 2020 after four years of development. It began on Oahu and has since expanded throughout the state. It currently has 18 employees.
“Parklinq came from my own experience and the realization that parking can be a headache for so many people,” said Saenz, adding that his passion for the company “comes from knowing that we can make a real difference in the parking industry, making life easier for people in Hawaii and beyond.”
Among the company’s goals for the year ahead is expanding the Rates for Residents program to three Mainland cities.
“Our plan is to introduce our innovative local parking system to tourist-centric areas on the Mainland, specifically targeting attractions that provide local discounts, such as ski and golf resorts. … Our approach will include licensing our patented system to existing operators as well as offering full-service parking management to lot owners,” Saenz said. “… With our patents, we can transform free parking lots into paid ones without imposing a burden on locals and create new revenue streams that support capital improvements and local infrastructure enhancements, all financed by visitor-paid parking income.”
He also noted that the company donates 1% of every sale to renewable energy projects and efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Parklinq also recently won Pacific Business News’ Inno Madness challenge, a bracket competition among companies in the tech and innovation space that is determined by readers voting for which business they would invest in.
What has been your biggest challenge so far, and how did you tackle it? The most significant challenge we've faced has been overcoming the community's resistance to converting free parking spaces into paid ones. ... To address this issue, we created the tiered parking system, integrating our parking platform with a mobile ID verification process. This innovative approach allows us to set up tourist-focused parking lots that charge visitors, while still offering free parking to locals. We are thrilled to have our two patent applications for this revolutionary system accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with a full utility patent expected in the coming weeks.
Parklinq's primary source of revenue doesn't stem from transactions between local individuals and businesses. Instead, our revenue mainly comes from Mainland and international tourists who rent cars while visiting the Islands. During our initial phase, we identified an untapped annual parking revenue of $30 million by converting free parking lots on Oahu to paid ones, without charging locals. Last year, Parklinq generated over $3 million in external funds and is on track to triple that amount this year.
What were your startup costs and funding sources? Our initial startup costs amounted to approximately $225,000, which covered website and app development, legal matters, and other essential components. We also invested around $229,000 in the development and patenting of our digital ID verification technology. To date, we have expensed close to $2 million, with over $97,500 dedicated solely to ongoing resident ID verification fees. Our venture has been entirely self-funded, and our steady monthly income enables us to finance new installations and expand into new markets without accruing any debt.
What is your goal for Parklinq in terms of future growth over the next five to 10 years? Parklinq is centered on a steadfast commitment to research, development, and technology, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the industry. We have already introduced cutting-edge features such as dynamic pricing akin to Uber's model and gateless entry enforcement, boasting a 98% compliance rate on managed lots. These innovations set us apart from competitors who rely on gate arms and physical pay stations, which not only require a power source but also result in increased expenses, maintenance, and downtime, ultimately obstructing smooth traffic flow.
Over the next five to 10 years, Parklinq will continue to prioritize tourist-driven revenue opportunities in tourist-oriented cities. We aim to expand our services to include electric vehicle charging stations and security officer patrols. This approach enables us to diversify our offerings and assist private property owners in financing the infrastructure improvements and expenses related to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Hawaii and other markets we enter.
What advice would you give to other tech entrepreneurs? I would recommend that fellow tech entrepreneurs prioritize the development and launch of a Minimum Viable Product as early as possible. It's important to recognize that startups don't begin with a perfect product, and assessing public interest before committing significant time and resources is crucial. For instance, our initial parking app roadmap in 2018, which focused on allowing drivers to reserve driveways ahead of time and navigate to them using our app, took five out of the seven years leading up to this point to perfect the "book in advance" concept. Ironically, this feature now represents less than 0.3% of our reservations.
Parklinq
Tyler Saenz, CEO and product architect
Phone number: 808-517-5017
Email: info@parklinq.com
Website: parklinq.com
