After alumnus Andrew Fowers met his wife, Rita, at BYU-Hawaii 13 years ago, he said he knew the business they were going to create, a mobile tour app called Shaka Guide, would allow them to stay in Hawaii after graduating.
The apps they created offer driving routes for popular points of interests on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii Island using a phone’s built-in GPS to initiate narration. Created to be an alternative to commercialized tour groups, Shaka Guide describes the area, history and local tales with Hawaiian music and trivia, all tuned to the drivers’ speed.
According to Fowers, “We have 11 tours for the islands and we are working on more. Oahu only has two tours right now and we are working on a third one for the Manoa-Tantalus area. We want about 20 or 21 driving tours, and we are also making some walking tours with those too.”
Fowers said the journey wasn’t easy, but started when he was a senior at BYUH. According to an interview by hawaiibusiness.com, Fowers said, “I would see tour buses drive by. I would also see tourists driving past all the best beaches and scenic views. I would think: They’re missing the best spots! … There’s got to be a better way.”
Fowers said he was studying accounting at the time, and the Willis Center was hosting a business competition similar to the Great Ideas competition.
“I got my first taste of entrepreneurship there. I put together a team and a product called Digital Tours Hawaii, an audio CD tour. There was decent money on the table if we won.”
The team won second place and was awarded $4,000 to carry through with its idea. “We went ahead and bought a ton of CDs and sold a handful of them. We sold them at the PCC and around, and no one wanted them. It was kind of defeating, but instead of giving up we tried different things.”
The team then switched to a GPS audio experience, leveraging GPS devices like Garmin and won second place again with a prize of $5,000, according to Fowers.
“We were able to get a car rental company to come on board. That meant that we had our tour technology in every car they had on the island. We eventually branched to four islands.
The tours were in English, Japanese and Korean. We signed up with seven of the other major car rentals. It could be used as customers drove around the islands.”
Fowers said they started to see a change in user behavior where tourists were utilizing mobile apps more than GPS navigation systems. “We wanted to go on that route so we put our own money into it and we launched [Shaka Guide].”
Gina Axelson, a tourist who used Shaka Guide during their trip to Maui last year, said of the app in her review on the App Store, “The App worked perfectly and kept us all informed and entertained, right down to the very last mile. Having this app also kept the peace in our family as no one had to play the navigator and even our 10-year-old son was captivated by the audio tour.”
The app has about 4,000 5-star reviews on the App Store, according to Fowers, but a lot of work goes into keeping those good reviews and running the mobile app.
Fowers said, “We have customer complaints we need to address. Part of the problem is that the company has only two people. I’m doing everything, including customer service. We are too small of a team to support everything. That is the main struggle right now.”
Deciding what tours to develop also takes time, he said. “People ask us and then we make it, or if we see lots of traction on some areas, we will go there.” He said they have to verify tour information through primary and secondary sources, interview local residents and then geolocate those points for the tour.
Fowers attributed the company’s success to Jim Ritchie and Leonard Black of BYUH’s Willis Center. “They were really encouraging. We started to feel that entrepreneurship was a viable career path. My wife, who was a bio med major, started to be really interested in entrepreneurship. We wanted to choose this lifestyle and stay in Hawaii.
“The Willis Center provided the initial funding. Their funding helped give us the justification to say, ‘Let’s try this.’ That same company I started in TVA has become the company we have now. It has been a husband-wife business ever since.”
He said the path of entrepreneurship is not for “casual participants,” stating how he had to work other jobs to support his family and growing company. “I sold pest control and security systems for a couple of summers because my company wasn’t supporting itself. It wasn’t an overnight slam-dunk.
“Looking back, we were really naïve. We thought we could go out there and make a million dollars, and that just wasn’t true. It was really hard work. It is very stressful. But in the end, it worked. There are a lot of stories from people where it didn’t work. We feel very fortunate. A lot of people stop early, but we kept going.”
He also said his wife, Rita, played a major role in the development of their company, all while helping raise their 7-year-old son. “She is actually the CEO of our company. She is very sharp and hardworking and wasn’t a passive member of our team at all.”
Although Fowers didn’t carry through with a career in accounting, Jennifer Chen, chair of the Accounting Department, said his decision suits him well. “One of the primary goals for many accounting students is to pass the CPA exam and to work for one of the Big Four accounting firms. Andrew studied diligently, passed the exam and had a job offer. For many, this was a dream come true.”
“However, Andrew chose to follow his passion in business development and entrepreneurship. He cherishes working side by side with his beloved wife, and said the choice was right for his family.”
Fowers said the couple is currently enrolled in a 3-month accelerator program called Blue Startups where they receive business coaching and mentorship to help grow their company.
In addition to what they are learning from the seminars, Fowers said aspiring entrepreneurs should weigh all of the consequences and have a financial plan in place before investing in their future businesses. “I recommend getting a career experience and doing side hustles. It’s where you have a career and have a steady income to fund your business ideas. Once you start to see that it is working, then you can consider a lifestyle change. Also, it is easier if you do a start-up when you don’t have liabilities, like no mortgages or no kids.”
Due to high traffic on Shaka Guide, Fowlers said it is time for their husband-wife business to expand to meet the needs of app users. He said hardworking and driven students wishing to stay in Hawaii after graduation should apply to work for Shaka Guide and contact him at aloha@shakaguide.com. For those interested in taking the mobile tours offered throughout the Hawaiian Islands, visit www.shakaguide.com.
Writer: Kevin Brown