Villy Custom is an American

lifestyle brand A lifestyle brand is a brand that is intended to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of maki ...

specializing in a luxury custom fashion designed

cruiser bicycle A cruiser bicycle, also known as a beach cruiser or (formerly) motobike, is a bicycle that usually combines balloon tires, an upright seating posture, a single-speed bicycle, single-speed drivetrain, and straightforward bicycle frame#Frame m ...

s for adults. Based in Dallas, the company was founded and is privately owned by entrepreneur Fleetwood Hicks, a former menswear fashion designer, and health enthusiast, and it was chosen by

Entrepreneur Magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. First published in 1977. it is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartered in Irvine, Cal ...

as one of the 100 Most Brilliant Business Ideas of 2010. The company also aired in season 3 of

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's show ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 2012)Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank ...

'' according to

WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...

History

In 2006, Hicks discovered

beach cruiser ''Beach Cruiser'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Glasses Malone. It was released on August 29, 2011, by Glasses Malone's record label Blu Division Music, Hoo-Bangin' Records, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Univer ...

bikes riding on Venice Beach while in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on a business trip. After renting a beach cruiser for a scheduled one-hour ride, he brought the rental back six hours later and was hooked. Relishing the simplicity, comfort, and style of the bike and the fact that you could wear street clothes and look stylish riding. Two years later, Villy Custom was founded in 2008 and began as a

brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

retail store (selected by Daily Candy as “Sweetest Things” 2009). Specializing in sales of Felt Cruisers, Hawk Classic Cruiser bikes, specialty accessories, and apparel. After experimenting with minor bike customizations, Hicks realized he could infuse fashion, texture, and unique color combinations to create a luxury fashion bicycle company that is customizable. The icon of the brand is the owner's

bullmastiff The Bullmastiff is an English breed of dog of mastiff type and large size, with a solid build and a short muzzle. It was developed as a guard dog in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding the English Mastiff with the now-extinct Old English ...

dog, named DeVille. The brand is known for its unexpected product features, such as powder-coated handlebars, neck stems, seat posts, seat post clamps, fender braces, seat hardware, and wheels in a multitude of colors.

Innovation

Villy Custom is a “fashion” brand of cruiser bike. Villy Custom uses an e-commerce platform with a 3D Flash-based user interface, allowing customers to change, add and remove features and colors. In June 2010, ''

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

'' magazine awarded Villy Custom with one of the 100 Most Brilliant Business Ideas of the year. OrangeVillyCustomsFender

Company headquarters

The company's warehouse and assemblage facility is located in downtown Dallas, Texas. Villy Custom also has a few bicycles showcased at the

Omni Dallas Hotel The Omni Dallas Hotel is a 23-story, 1001-room hotel at the Convention Center District, Dallas, Texas, Convention Center District in Dallas, Texas. The $500 million hotel is owned by the City of Dallas, managed by Omni Hotels & Resorts and is at ...

Mentions in the press

# Selected by ''Entrepreneur'' magazine as one of the 100 Most Brilliant Business Ideas for 2010 (June 2010 edition) # Feb 2011 featured on national T.V. by NBC's First Look # Full feature by the Dallas Morning News as the Sunday “Entrepreneur” feature (Sept. 2010) business section # AOL National feature story # ''Modern Luxury'' magazine (April 2011 issue, Page 121)

References

External links

Official website
{{Shark Tank , state=collapsed Cycle manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Dallas Shark Tank