Meet Christopher Frydryck | Founder & Chairman of the Board @ Riive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher Frydryck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk is a tightrope we all need to walk a little and calculate the fall if we teeter or sway off course. Without risk, we are all living predictable lives that are mundane or unoriginal. Taking risks landed me in Colorado, got me in the tech industry in high school, helped me imagine the future of Riive and motivated me to embrace the unpredictable and try to change the world.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Riive is a shareparking app where people can lease out their driveway or private parking space, similar to Airbnb, but for parking. The idea came from an Ed Sheeran concert I was attending in Pittsburgh. I was running late, and there was no parking except for lots that charged $45 for two hours and it was cash only. After admitting defeat and feeling like the experience I just faced was one of loss instead of excitement to see one of my favorite musicians play live, I looked across the street and saw dozens of townhomes with driveways wide open and a church with an empty parking lot. I thought “Huh, why is nobody leasing out this spot for a fraction of the price and making an easy few dollars?” From that moment, Riive was born.

Unlike other parking apps that exist, Riive’s unique position lies in the community. Our parking availability is only on our platform and is in the private sector, not large parking garages.

It wasn’t easy getting to this point before launching the beta of the product. Years of building new skillsets from UX design to software engineering and validation testing led to the point where I am now. A lot of hard work, research and jumping out of my comfort zone helped me get to where I am now. Even if I didn’t know how to file a company in Delaware or become some sort of marketing genius, I never let that deter my willingness to dive deep into it and become an expert in a week or find someone who is more knowledgable than I am to give advice.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Admittedly, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to explore a lot because I moved to Boulder during the pandemic, but a must go to that I take people to is the Dushanbe Tea House. It is an experience where you get to see a blend of culture and immerse yourself into the beautiful architecture brought over from Tajikistan. Then depending on the time of the year, I would either take them to see the wildflowers in Chautauqua Park and go for a hike up the Flatirons, or go deep into the mountains to go skiing/snowboarding at Winter Park. I could also spend hours in the Boulder Bookstore or escape to Rocky Mountain National Park and take in the night sky that you forgot had that many stars until you escaped the city. Lastly, I would want to take them to a mountain town like Ouray or Telluride and spend a day there blending in with the locals and exploring local shops and food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people to thank in helping me build the skills and push me a little in the right direction. First, I want to acknowledge several influential mentors including Michael Tarutis for sharing his wisdom in the start-up industry and Sam Fee for sharing the wonderful world of design and inspiring me to pursue the UX industry. To my father for pushing me to get into software engineering at a young age and my mother for putting up with my wild dreams of launching a tech company, you both helped foster who I am today and I am eternally grateful for your sacrifices you two made. To everyone that helped test, validate and provide ideas that made Riive what it is today, your direct feedback has helped me build a product that I am proud to launch soon.

Lastly, to my grandfather. At 11, the last thing you told me was, “You are going to do big things, you are going to change the world,” and I look forward to the day I get to see you again and tell you “I did it.”

Website: https://riive.net

Instagram: @chrisfrydryck & @riiveparking

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisfrydryck/

Other: Personal Website: https://www.christopherfrydryck.cf