Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Boyd.
Hi Thomas, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started Gearstage because I thought there had to be a better way for musicians to rent instruments. Typically, you would have to rent from either a music store with limited inventory or from a backline company that only rents to event coordinators for large touring acts.
I wanted to let the everyday musician both make money from renting their instruments and tap into their local musicians’ gear and build relationships with those musicians.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge has been convincing musicians to put their gear on the site.
A lot of musicians have shown interest in wanting to rent another user’s gear, but not as much interest in taking the risk of renting their gear to someone else.
Making sure that everyone’s gear and assets are protected is a top priority for us, but it can still be a hurdle to overcome for users.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been a musician for 16 years and have played in numerous bands. My primary instruments are guitar and drums, but I can also fake my way through piano and vocals.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The pandemic is actually what led me to focus on making Gearstage a reality. Although the service would be difficult to operate during a pandemic, it gave me the time to focus on what I needed to do to make Gearstage happen.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@gearstage.com
- Website: www.gearstage.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/gearstagerentals
- Facebook: facebook.com/gearstagerentals
