And family drama. Breanne i know theres a lot going on. That is not an excuse for not communicating. Alan mmhmm. Lemonis . Lead to a shocking twist that youve never seen before. Laurie im not gonna be blamed here. Lacey im not blaming you. Laurie im im done. Lemonis no, no, no. Please. Im marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. I love investing in american businesses. Woman these people are here because they care. Lemonis its not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. We have a deal . Lets rock and roll. Man yeah lemonis this is the profit. Im in Downtown Los Angeles today visiting a Company Called sd campervan. Now, i know the rv business really well as the owner of camping world, but the van business is a growing segment inside of the rv industry. I know the company has experienced a lot of bumps in recent years, and i want to figure out if theres an opportunity for me to help them and to make money. Hi, there. How are you . Breanne good. Lemonis im marcus. Breanne breanne. Lemonis nice to meet you. Breanne nice to meet you. Lacey marcus thank you its so exciting youre here lemonis nice to meet you. Lacey im really happy youre here. Thank you. Lemonis this is really cool. And the two of you own it together . Lacey yes. Breanne we do, along with my stepdad. Lemonis so, what would you guys call yourself . Are you a vanConversion Company . Breanne yeah, were a vanConversion Company or campervanupfitting company. Lacey or a dreambuilder company is what i like to call it. Lemonis do you guys convert shells . Is that how i should think about it . Breanne yes, so. Lemonis is this an example of one . Breanne exactly. Yeah. So, a customer calls us, and they tell us what van they have, and then we work with them based on that. So we dont actually buy the vans. We work with the customers vans, and we upfit them. Lemonis okay. Breanne this is our personal van. All of it is aftermarket. The inside is our conversion. Lemonis and when you say thats your van, thats the company van . Thats kind of the model . Breanne this is what lacey and i live in. Lacey and i live in it. Lemonis oh. Lemonis youre living the van life. Breanne we are. Lemonis i like the fact that they also live the lifestyle because it shows me that they understand exactly who the consumer is, what they need, and how to address their needs. Breanne would you like a tour . Lemonis yeah. Breanne awesome. Come on in. Lemonis this is cool. Lacey so, this was built a year ago, one of our first designs, and we call it home. Lemonis for not having a lot of manufacturing experience, theyve done a nice job taking an empty shell and building modular furniture that allows this to actually be livable. Its bright, its open, and its airy. Whered you learn how to do this . Breanne lacey and i have always traveled internationally. Like, were backpackers. Were travelers. Lemonis yeah. Breanne we were teachers. I taught at a university, and lacey was a fifthgrade teacher. For summer break, we wanted to go tour the united states, so we rented an rv, and were like, this thing is big and clunky, and its just not for us. A couple months later, her dad came over with an empty cargo van, and hes like, im gonna convert this into an rv. So that march, we bought our van, and we took off in june for our first trip and, like, absolutely fell in love with van life and the community. We had no idea there was a community. Lemonis huge community. Breanne yeah, totally. Lemonis huge. Lacey yeah. Lemonis as you study the overall rv market, youll notice a trend away from large motor homes skewing down towards smaller motor homes and travel trailers. Smaller, more gasefficient is absolutely the trend. Would you guys consider yourself a subset, part of, or completely separate from the rv lifestyle . Breanne the demographics are very different. Lemonis buyer profile is different. Breanne yes. Winnebago and the other class b rv manufacturers. Lemonis roadtrek. Right. Breanne . Are not meeting the needs of our community and our lifestyle. Lemonis is that true . Breanne yes. Lemonis how . Kat well, like, the bulkiness. Like, you get a lot of unnecessary things. Here you see, like, a minimalist, sleek design. Also, the outside, the exterior, like, winnebago and stuff like that, you see thats an rv. It has a certain look to it thats not necessarily appealing. Breanne so i would actually lemonis i dont know if i agree with that. Manufacturers that are large have really gotten smart to the fact that a minimalistic exterior and interior is really what sells more than graphics and fullbody paint. But you have to know that i know this space. Breanne yeah. Oh, for sure. Lemonis the rv market is essentially made up of six different classes of vehicles. A class a motor home is the largest, most expensive. The class c motor home is smaller than the class a but bigger than a van, and then theres the class b market, which the van category fits in. To round out the balance of it, theres a fifth wheel, which is essentially a towbehind, and theres a travel trailer that hitches to the back of your truck, and then theres the traditional popup, like ken and barbie had. So the b van, right . Breanne mmhmm. Lemonis which is what this is. Its a b van. Is very different from a c class, right, with the overhead cabin, which is probably what you rented. Breanne mmhmm. Lemonis right . You rented the typical, like, el monte, cruise americatype unit. Breanne yeah, like, 24foot. Lemonis yep. Which is very similar. The difference is that you dont have a bathroom. Breanne we do. [ laughter ] kat surprise, surprise [ laughter ] lemonis they like to say they have a bathroom. Well, they have a mobile toilet in the middle of your kitchen. Lacey we have a composting toilet. Lemonis you do, okay. And, so, does it qualify for the same things that an rv does with the shower and the toilet . Breanne we do external showers, so, like, the outdoor shower. Lemonis totally fine. Breanne yeah. Lacey and were working on designs for internal showers. Lemonis for me, the finishing of the inside is really important the cabinets not having sharp edges by your head. Theres little, teeny things in terms of everything thats gonna give you the maximum amount of space. As i look at the unit, i give them credit for mocking something up, and it may work for them, but at the end of the day, for this to have real mass distribution, everything is gonna have to be right inside. The consumers looking for the most efficient, best use of space that they can possibly get. Breanne on tuesday, we had a vanlife event, and then i had another team meeting with a remote crew from my other business, so, yeah. Lemonis whats your other business . Breanne its called the vanlife app. Lemonis so, when you say is it literally an app . Breanne yeah. Lemonis can i see it . Breanne yeah. We started it two years ago. The vanlife app is a central database of the places that you can camp for free. We help other people connect with others on the road through the app. Lemonis based on the geolocation youre at . Breanne exactly. Lemonis i love the fact that bre has foresight to understand that technology is an important instrument for rvers. Shes ahead of the curve. Lacey weve been consistently doing two per month for the last year and a half, but our goal has been trying to get to three, four a month. We really want to scale this. Lemonis two a month is all you can make because of Human Capital . Or is it two a month what you make because thats all the demand is right now . Lacey we have demand. Average about four inquiries a day. Breanne probably about 50 are like, im ready. I choose you. I want to go. I love what youre doing. Lemonis and your response is, im sorry. We dont have space . I like the fact that theyre getting 15 leads a month, but the fact that they cant even address a third of them is a problem. Clearly theres some breakdown in the process where people are saying, hey, i want to give you money, and youre saying, hey, im sorry. I cant take it. I want to see what the process is here. Lets go inside the warehouse. How you doing, sir . Im marcus. Justin im justin. I used to work for you. Lemonis oh, you did . Where . Justin camping world. Lake city. Lemonis what is your name . Jeanluc jeanluc. Lemonis jeanluc. What do you do here . Jeanluc im a technician, so i do all the electrical prep. Ill do demolition work. Lemonis all the cool stuff. How are you, sir . Alan very good, sir. Im alan. Lemonis so, what is your role in the process . Alan i kind of oversee the work in the shop. Breanne hes my moms husband. Lemonis okay. Breanne yeah. Lemonis oh, very cool. Well, thats awesome, right . Alan yeah, its. Well, theres the whole dynamic, but, yes. [ laughs ] lemonis but you guys have a good relationship. Breanne yeah. And my mom is somewhere. This is my mom. Lemonis are you mom . Laurie hi, marcus. Im mom. Lemonis nice to meet you. Laurie nice to meet you, darlin. Lemonis well, you have a really amazing daughter. Laurie i know. Lemonis and your husband is pretty cool, too. Laurie i know. Yeah. Hes theyre both just amazing. Lemonis how long have you guys been together . Laurie twelve. Alan weve been married for 7, and weve been together for 12. Lemonis okay. I was surprised at how many people were actually working and completing only two vans a month. I mean, there was, like, eight or nine people there. So, i wanted to have a little fun exercise. If you were mapping each one of you out on a time line, who starts the process and who finishes it . Alex i think you guys would go first cause you do all the marketing and stuff. Woman oh, yeah, marketing. Alex . And the branding. Lacey and then you filter. Alex and then you come here. And then its alan, because we go back and forth here. Alan and then. Breanne and then lacey. Lemonis walk me through it as a customer. What are you labeling yourself as . Breanne marketing. Lemonis okay. So youre first. Breanne mmhmm. Yes. Lemonis okay. Kat im, like, in the background with the contracts and documents. Lemonis so youre providing infrastructure support . Kat yeah, basically. Lemonis okay. Your role . Desire i am Customer Service for the company. Lemonis then it goes to you . Alex i will call you first. We go a little bit back and forth on the design, then i talk to desire about the work order, and then i talk to alan about the wor the design, also. Lacey thats been one of our biggest issues, is that we all have to wear multiple hats to make sure that this process even flows in the first place. Breanne the reason were getting all this confusion was a cashflow issue. We couldnt pay employees. The whole team took a week off on pay so that we didnt have to lay someone off. Lemonis i definitely have interest in the van space because of its growth in the total market, but i dont know what kind of operation this is. Can i use the word janky . It feels super janky. Breanne and then kat volunteers for us about 10 hours a week. Lemonis you dont get paid . Okay. Does anybody else not get paid . Lacey alex hasnt been getting paid. Lemonis you havent been getting paid . Alex not yet, but we have an agreement that its gonna work out. Lemonis and how long have you been here . Alex three months. Lemonis with no pay . Alex no pay. Because i believe in what theyre doing. Breanne we have everything on the line here, so. Lemonis what does that mean . Breanne our savings, our credit. My mom and alan, theyre living in the shop. They literally live here, so, like, theres a lot of pressure. Lemonis you guys live here . Alan were here 24. Desire our quality, our turnout is actually really good, though, so its not like going to ikea. Lemonis i dont think the quality of your cabinetry is very good. Tmobile has the first and only, nationwide 5g network. And with it, you can shape the future. Weve invested 30 billion dollars and built our new 5g network for businesses like yours. While some 5g signals only go a few blocks, tmobile 5g goes for miles. No other 5g signal goes farther or is more reliable in business. Tomorrow is in your hands. Partner with tmobile for business today. I feel good i feel i feel good they say i got the moves. I feel good. Awaken your awesome. With the invigorating coverage of the delta® in2ition. Twoinone shower. See what delta can do. Theyre living in the shop. Theres a lot of pressure. Twoinone shower. Lemonis you guys live here . Alan were here 24. Breanne and its been, like, a struggle, so that stress, i think, puts a lot of pressure on our family relationship. Lemonis look. I love the fact that everybody is making sacrifices to keep the doors open here, but the reality of it is, is that if nobody is taking a paycheck and people are living in the space, im wondering if this feels more like a liability than an asset. Breanne it sucks because on one end, its just business, so my business mind is like, you know, we need to fix this. But its my mom and my stepdad and my wife. Lemonis which makes it interesting when youre sharing a meal and dont agree. Breanne i wouldnt trade it for anything. [ horn honks ] we have a customer here whos dropping off his van. Lemonis yeah. I would love to be part of that. Breanne yeah. Thatd be awesome. [ laughs ] lemonis i like the fact that there was a live customer there wanting to talk about converting their van because i want to get feedback from the customer on exactly why they came here as opposed to the hundred other vanconversion companies that exist. Hi, how are you . Im marcus. Man marcus. Pleasure to meet you, sir. Lemonis so, are you guys getting into the lifestyle . Jeannie yeah. Man yeah, yeah. Lemonis are you do you have a home today or an rv today . Man we actually own our own home, but we plan on spending the rest of our useful life traveling in the van. Lemonis and what happens if she gets mad at you . Where do you sleep . Jeannie in the tent outside. [ laughter ] kat she already has a plan, huh . [ laughter ] lemonis when are you gonna start the journey . Man after memorial day of next year. Lemonis and will you sell your home . Man no. Jeannie uh, no. Lemonis so, how did you find this company . Man man, we called everybody. Jeannie we did. The internet, yeah. Man yeah. Lemonis what will it cost you to do the conversion . Man a little better than 40,000. Lemonis and what did the van cost you . Man 37,000. Lemonis so youre gonna have a big chunk of change in it. Jeannie yeah. Lemonis why did you not go with a traditional rv . Man we couldnt find anything that was suitable for jeannie. [ laughter ] jeannie i just didnt want this bulging motor home where you cant even move. A little freedom. And lower gas and. Lemonis well, nice meeting you guys. Jeannie nice meeting you. Lemonis thank you. For 77,000, you can get a perfectly crafted, wellmade rv that is engineered to be pretty close to perfect. For people to be comfortable paying a premium for custom work, theyre gonna expect it to be even better than a typical prefab. So, this is the schematic to build . Marianne yes. Lemonis because im just trying to understand how 50 a month want to do it and only 2 end up doing it. So, you take an empty shell, put the insulation in, put the electric in, put the plumbing in, put in your standard features. Why is it taking you two weeks to do that . Marianne we do everything from scratch, so were cutting all of the sheets, to sanding, to laminating, to putting it in. Breanne and were doing custom work, 100 . Lemonis whats a typical conversion cost the consumer . Lacey we can do a standard conversion for 32,000. Lemonis okay, and whats your cost to do that . Lacey so total cost would be about 15,600. Lemonis labor and materials . Lacey correct. Lemonis so a little better than a 50 margin . And what does it cost you to run the business on a monthly basis . Breanne around 30,000. Lacey with two vans, were breaking even. Lemonis the custom labor model creates a severe bottleneck that limits sd campervans to producing two vans per month. In order to actually have this business be viable, they would have to make eight vans a month. The other thing they need to do is improve the efficiency of making one, which will allow them to make eight. You could find a manufacturer to actually make all the parts and pieces, put it on a pallet, shrinkwrap it, and deliver it for unit number seven, unit number eight, unit number nine. Lacey absolutely, yeah. Desire our quality, our turnout, is actually really good, though. So its not like going to ikea. Lemonis i dont think the quality of your cabinetry is very good. Desire oh, really . Lemonis i just saw it in their van. Can we look at the finished goods . Look at this. Theres already a lamination problem there. If you look at how the cabinets are lined up, it starts flush, and it bows in. And then you look at this side, and its flush. After seeing all the workmanship, i have less confidence in the carpentry and the craftsmanship of everything inside this van, and in order for me to get comfortable to even consider investing in this business, i want to see how they can complete a very simple task. I dont know if you guys could make a set without installing it of all the cabinets and everything, where we can lay them out on the ground and just go through them. Breanne yeah. Absolutely. Lemonis okay . The idea is good. I just dont know how viable it is yet. Breanne right. Lemonis okay . Nice meeting you guys. Breanne bye, marcus. Lemonis while the whole crew is busy making all the parts and pieces that i asked for, i asked bre and lacey to put a presentation together to help me better understand the van life and their community. I think we should just work here every day. Breanne i know. Welcome to the board room. Lemonis how are you . Im intrigued by their ability to educate me and bring that community and connect it to my business. So, when you describe a person who lives the van lifestyle, can you give me some statistics about them . Breanne so, they have fouryear degrees. Theyre generally around the age of 28 to 35. Lemonis okay. Breanne they are generally leaving a job that is close to six figures. Lemonis how many vanlifers are there in america . Breanne theres a million People Living fulltime right now. And just to give you a little bit of information on the vanlife app, currently theres a Freemium Model. We have about 500 premium subscribers. You pay 4 a month to be able to connect with other people. Lemonis currently, the vanlife app has a Freemium Model where users can get the app for free but have to pay to access additional features, but theres also additional streams of revenue that the company should think about to monetize their software. The first opportunity would be a mastersponsorship deal where one Company Brands the entire app. The second would be to bring in traditional advertisers that can place their specific ads on specific screens. The last is to take their software and technology and license it to Companies Inside the outdoor and rv space who may want to offer the features and benefits inside their own app or their own website. Breanne one thing that i have that we started is this list of products, stuff that vanlifers need. Lemonis can i have it . Breanne this is par