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College Bound
Derek Pacque, age 18, attends Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. -
Hoosier Coat Check
Pacque was frustrated one night when he was at a bar and lost his $200 coat since there was no place to check it. To help solve this problem for the future, Pacque decided to create a coat check system at local bars. To start his business, he borrowed $500 from his parents to start Hoosier Coat Check. With this money, Pacque bought collapsable coat racks and hangers. -
Bar Hopping
Pacque went around to different local Indiana bars and pitched his idea for Hoosier Coat Check. With lots of positive feedback, bars began to implement his coat check system. -
CoatChex
After the overwhelmingly positive response from local Indiana bars, Pacque decided he wanted to make the brand go global and changed the name to CoatChex. -
Innovation
To make Coat Chex a unique coat check system, Pacques came up with technology that would forever change the way people checked their belongings. Instead of receiving a ticket for a checked item, users would have a photo taken of them to confirm they were the owners of their belongings. -
Shark Tank
After working on the technology and business plan for CoatChex with one of his professors, Pacques realized he needed money to get CoatChex started. In the first episode of season four of Shark Tank, Pacques presented his idea to the sharks and asked for $200,000 in return for 10% of his company. The sharks all believed that this $2 million company evaluation was way too high, and Pacques walked away with no deal. -
Success!
Two months after CoatChex was featured on Shark Tank, the company made $100,000 by franchising the CoatChex techonology to different venues and by receiving a royalty every time it is used. -
Expansion
When Pacques realized the technology he created for Coat Chex was really innovative, he realized he should franchise the technology to other bailment businesses like valet parking and dry cleaning services. -
Airline Deals
Coat Chex made a deal with Jet Blue Airlines for customers to check their coats at the airport when they travel from cold to warm destinations from October through April. -
Today
CoatChex has become an extremely successful business. Not only is their technology used at bars and clubs, but it is also used at sporting events, concerts, galas and other private events nationwide.
