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Meet Angel and Nik Rowell of Discovery Pass

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel and Nik Rowell.

Angel and Nik, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After traveling as digital nomads for five years, we found our happy place in Colorado. Our list of criteria led us to a short-term rental in Salida, CO. Within 48 hours we fell in love with the town and knew we wanted to stay for the long-term. As the weeks went on, we started asking ourselves how we could support our local community. The answer came to us while enjoying Happy Hour at a local business. We decided to create an affordable digital savings book called Discovery Pass. It would provide locals and visitors with exclusive deals to businesses in Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We find that the juice is always worth the squeeze. The primary struggle for us was budget. We’re 100% bootstrapped and proud of it. But, when it comes to marketing (anything!), it generally requires you to put some money behind it. When you have a tight budget, you work so hard to be creative and get the word out in as many ways as possible. And that is always challenging.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Discovery Pass – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Discovery Pass is a digital pass to exclusive freebies and savings. All the businesses on Discovery Pass are small businesses. Our primary goal is to help locals and visitors shop small and shop local. When they use their Discovery Pass, they’ll get a savings or freebie at the participating businesses. Offers include eats and drinks, shops, activities and lodging. While the Pass has a value well over $600, it only costs $25.

The Summer 2019 Discovery Pass is good through October 31st. And the Fall colors will bring you right through our area. So why not support local and save some money while you’re at it? Our Winter Discovery Pass runs from November 1st through April 30th. Perfect for skiing and winter adventures.

One thing that sets us apart from others is our expansive list of options. We have 55 offers to choose from and some of the savings, like our rent one e-bike and get one free offer, have a value over $50. That alone pays for your Discovery Pass two times over.

We’re most proud to be an asset to local businesses and a money-saver to anyone who visits or lives in Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are planning to expand Discovery Pass a bit and add on new functionality. We don’t want to give away too much, but you’re going to love what’s coming down the pipeline. Our Winter Discovery Pass that launches November 1st!

Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so – who are they and what role did they plan and how did they help.
Every single business owner on the Discovery Pass deserves credit. They believed in what we were making and even though we didn’t have anything to show for it at first, they supported us.

Our families and friends. They like our social posts, hang up flyers, and are our biggest fans.

Our friend Chris. He was invaluable in helping us jump headfirst into developing an initial backend and API. (Don’t worry if you haven’t a clue what that means. It’s nerd talk for website development stuffs on the interwebs).

Our beloved James and Jeannie Wallen. They were the first people that we told about our idea. We are so grateful for their guidance, listening ears and continued support.

Pricing:

  • Discovery Pass is $25 to access over $600 in savings and freebies on eats, drinks, shops and more!

Contact Info:


Image Credit:

Roadtrip with Nik
Catherine Eichel Photography

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