While most college students are still in bed early Saturday morning, TailGate Helpers, a business operating out of the LSU Student Incubator, is preparing “the ultimate tailgating experience.”
Electrical engineering senior and TailGate Helpers founder Vilien Gomez set up tents as the head of tailgate logistics for his fraternity, the Iota Tau Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
“I realized the pain of tailgating,” Gomez said. “It’s [a] pain Friday evening going out there, trying to save a spot. It’s [a] pain waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning to be at LSU.”
Gomez thought his experience helping his fraternity on gamedays was a perfect opportunity to serve other LSU tailgaters.
He created TailGate Helpers in September 2014 with an initial $5 investment, and he said he’s committed to the business for the long haul.
“I look at things in terms of the big picture,” Gomez said. “I would never date a girl if I didn’t have expectations of marrying her, and that’s how I feel about this venture.”
On a typical weekend, TailGate Helpers’ five-man crew sets up tailgates for their seven paying customers, but Gomez also wants to branch out into weddings, birthday parties and corporate events as the company expands.
TailGate Helpers’ clientele ranges from LSU students to companies such as Evonik Industries, a multinational specialty chemical manufacturer. TailGate Helpers provides its service to anyone who wants an SEC tailgating experience, Gomez said.
In addition to setting up and taking down the tailgate, Gomez’s business supplies tents, chairs, tables, ice chests, speakers and TVs. TailGate Helpers provides catering by local chef Sean Rivera, who worked at several Baton Rouge restaurants including City Pork Deli & Charcuterie, Niche Restaurant, The Little Village and Bistro Byronz.
TailGate Helpers charges $99 for set-up and takedown, but depending on the size of the party and the amount of food, a customized tailgate will typically range from $500 to $2000, Gomez said.
Although as a student the entrepreneurial journey is tough, Gomez said he “loved every last bit of it.”
TailGate Helpers gained more than $8,000 in revenue during its first year in operation, but Gomez has not received a single dollar of profit this year.
“Part of creating a path for yourself is that poverty is real,” he said. “It adds to the hunger.”
Setbacks only further motivated Gomez to work hard to achieve success.
“I have been told no so many times,” Gomez said. “I have been the first person at every career fair, every networking event, being told my GPA is too low or this is too low … so throughout the years, I have found a way to join different clubs and leadership opportunities.”
Following the canceled LSU and McNeese State University game, the TailGate Helpers crew was working in the rain. Not a single member of Gomez’s crew complained, he said, and he values the loyalty of his crew above all else.
“The business will fail if you try to hold on to everything,” Gomez said. “I have learned it’s not about me.”