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Aldo Schroeder, the owner of Canby’s Chapala Express, is showing that he can come up with more than just ideas for amazing new things to put on cheese fries. He traveled to the Tacoma Dome arena in Washington this week to audition for Shark Tank, a reality show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of prospective investors.
Aldo’s idea is called Display Box — and it’s patent pending, so don’t even try to steal it. It’s an VIP parking service for luxury car owners to stash their rides at shopping centers and the like. The realization of it would include a specially designed parking bay at select shopping centers, and an app that would allow users to reserve their spots.
“Currently, there is no place that an owner of a Lamborghini, Ferrari or just someone that has a nice car to park at in shopping malls,” Aldo explains. “The parking spots are so narrow that your afraid someone is going to hit your car.”
Well, yeah. I can’t tell you the number of times this has happened to me when I’m out in my Ferrari. The upside for the owners is that their brand-new Mercedes-AMG SL65 will be safe and secure under the watchful eye of a staff attendant, while also still being before the eyes of the adoring public.
Display Box is not just an app, of course.
Another benefit over the traditional valet model, Aldo says, is that the owners park and secure their vehicles themselves, minimizing the risk of theft, invasion of privacy or accidental damage. Aldo says he and his team plan to set up a meeting with Woodburn Premium Outlets to discuss piloting the idea.
Of course, an appearance on Shark Tank wouldn’t hurt. Aldo auditioned Sunday, along with an estimated 200 other entrepreneurs and hopefuls. Each of them got a 60-second pitch, with no indication of whether they’d be moving on. Aldo said they were told they’d hear something in a few weeks or so.[/vc_column_text]
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No word yet on if the users of Display Box will receive a complementary of Chapala’s signature Carne Asada Fries, but I assume the answer is “Yes.”
Photos courtesy of Aldo Schroeder.