Case 1 Boston Duck Tours How Perseverance and Creativity Led an Entrepreneur to Great Success It is not uncommon for entrepreneurial ventures to meet with resistance. Even though small businesses account for more new job creation than larger established firms, many people and organizations are often reluctant to embrace entrepreneurial opportunities. Andy Wilson, founder of Boston duck tours, experienced this firsthand. But despite the overwhelming obstacles he faced in starting and growing his business, he persisted with a positive attitude and commitment to his idea. After working for seven years as an investment banking firm, Wilson was no longer motivated by the suit-and-tie atmosphere of corporate America. So he left his job, bought a 90-day greyhound bus pass, and began touring the country. At a stop in Memphis, he was awakened by a duck tour being conducted outside his hotel. Intrigued, he took the tour. He didn't think any more about it until he got home to his native Boston and saw a stream of trolleys, packed with sightseers. Instantly, the Duck Tour idea came to mind. Wilson decided to bring the duck tour concept to Boston and create a lively, informative, historical tour to showcase the city from both to land and the river. He invested $30,000 of his own money and then began making the rounds, seeking government permits and additional investors. He quickly encountered skepticism, and even derision, as he wended his way through a maze of nearly 100 government agencies. Because the duck (a World War Two era amphibious vehicle) is part bus, part truck, and part boat, he had a difficult time explaining his business concept to government bureaucrats and potential investors. "The short and sweet of it is that everybody thought I was going nuts because it was a new idea," said Wilson. One government official even told him that he would have better luck trying to build a skyscraper in the center of Boston public garden! About to give up, Wilson decided to check out the competition before he threw in the towel. His first trolley tour, which he called "such a pathetic experience," gave him the determination to keep Sources: http://www.bostonducktours.com and Laura Tiffany, "Making Waves: More Than One Hundred Government Agencies Mocked Andy Wilson's Idea, but Look Who's Quacking Now," Entrepreneur, June 1999, p. 97 pushing forward. He located investors to provide the $1.25 million he required to launch Boston Duck Tours, and he began arduous task of securing the 29 permits necessary to operate his business. He researched other Duck Tour operations that had been successful in the Midwest and formed an alliance with the operator in Branson, Missouri, to get the ducks he needed to start the business in Boston. And he began looking for employees by running newspaper ads in the Boston Globe for Coast Guard captains. Duck drivers (called conDUCKtors) need four licenses: a captain's license from the US Coast Guard, a commercial driver's license from the state of Massachusetts, a license from the Department of Public safety, and a sightseer's license from the city of Boston. Despite these requirements, applicants responded in droves. Determined to create a different kind of tourism attraction, Wilson decided to abandon traditional interviewing techniques. Instead, he had applicants meet with a theatrical coach who put them through theatrical skill sets. Applicants then selected items from a group of props, created a character, and put together a costume. The 45 duck captains played characters like "Captain Courageous," a World War Two radio operator downed in the South Pacific, and "Penny Wise," a Southern Belle who now drives her duck around Boston looking for her long-lost love. The cast of conDUCKtors makes Boston Duck Tours "the best show on wheels," Wilson said. Boston Duck Tours was only open for two months its first season. The next year it carried almost 15 times as many passengers as it had the previous year and tours were selling out every day. By the third year, the company was a well-established part of the city's tourism industry, and those adversaries who had made things difficult at the beginning started embracing Boston Duck Tours. Wilson used the success of his business to strengthen his presence in the community. He got involved in local environmental groups in sponsored contests in which local school trade children named new ducks. He donated one million pennies to his one millionth passengers' charity of choice, and he gave veterans free tours during the week of Veteran's Day in honor of his father, a World War Two veteran who died when Wilson was young. (The company still does that every year.) What began as a four-duck, 15 employee business in October of 1994 has grown to a 23-duck, 100 employee tourism powerhouse in the Boston market. Today over 2700 passengers a day quack at passersby from the deck of a colorfully painted Duck, captained by an equally colorful character. And Duck Tours have hatched all over in places like Austin, Chicago, Dublin, Liverpool, London, Oahu, Seattle, Singapore, Tampa Bay, and the Wisconsin Dells. In 2000, Andy Wilson sold his stake in Boston Duck Tours to pursue other projects, but his management team took over and continues to build on his foundation. This case study was developed in cooperation with the Small Business School, the series on PBS stations. To learn more and to see the video go to http://www.smallbusinessschool.org. Questions 1. What is Andy Wilson's primary motivation for leading an entrepreneurial life? 2. What kind of entrepreneurial venture is Boston Duck Tours? 3. Describe the competitive advantage of Boston Duck Tours. 4. What characteristics of successful entrepreneurs does Andy Wilson embody?