Jackson Lefebvre learned in his University of Minnesota business classes that the best way to build a company is to find a problem to solve.

 

So that’s what he set out to do, starting a company that helps alleviate parking shortages at large events.

 

“When I meet my parents [Mark and Jan] for Gopher games the parking lot is taken up by tailgaters, and my dad would park at a church a few blocks away,” said Lefebvre, a 2016 Becker graduate. “I got the idea to add some technology and open up some underutilized parking.”

 

Teaming up with Landon Butterworth, a student he met while studying abroad last year, Lefebvre founded ParkPoolr, a company that allows businesses and homeowners to post their unused parking spaces online and charge users a fee to park in them, following a ‘sharing economy’ model similar to Airbnb.

 

Hosts provide parking location details and photos, users can then choose from the listings available. A map is provided for comparing prices and distances. After reserving a space, vehicle information and descriptions are sent to the host so users can be verified. 

 

Prices, which typically range from $15 to $25, are set by the hosts. ParkPoolr handles the reservations and payments, charging a small processing fee for each transaction.

 

Lefebvre launched ParkPoolr in April during Minnesota United soccer games at Allianz Field, where parking is an issue. In two months of operation the company already boasts over 70 parking spots and more than 450 accounts.

 

Currently all business is run through the company’s website at parkpoolr.com, however, Butterworth is developing an app the co-founders hope to have available by the end of summer.

 

Lefebvre said the hardest part about launching ParkPoolr has been just getting the word out, but it’s been a rewarding experience.

 

“I’ve learned more doing this than in most of my classes,” he said. “Everything that’s involved, a lot of it has been learn as you go.”

 

The time he spent on the Becker High School tennis team helped him develop his entrepreneurial spirit.

 

“When you’re playing singles, you can’t rely on anyone but yourself,” Lefebvre explained. “It’s similar to being an entrepreneur.” 

 

ParkPoolr has been catching attention. To date the company has been featured on KARE11, Fox 9 and in the Minnesota Daily newspaper.

 

“We’ve proven the concept can work, now we want to grow,” said Lefebvre. “Our goal this summer is to expand to other events like the State Fair and Gopher football games.”

 

In the future, he would like to see ParkPoolr servicing parking across the country at every major event, with every homeowner and business capitalizing on it.

 

“In the long run, we won’t have to build any more parking,” he said. “We could eliminate future parking ramps and instead build businesses and public areas. There’s so many underutilized parking spaces.”