Life is in Tents – a Young Entrepreneur’s “Stretchi” solution
Sometimes, building a successful business requires a bit of imagination. For Luan Hasler, Founder of Stretchi Tents SA (Pty Ltd), it took a stretch. At 19 years old and having grown up in a family where both parents held PhDs, Luan had academic potential. However, having seen the ongoing slog and tedious processes endured by his academic parents, Luan decided he would rather pursue something else. The “something else” turned out to be Stretchi Tents – an innovative business concept that now serves clients in South Africa and internationally.
Luan graduated from high school in 2009, and decided to spend a year in China, where he witnessed its industrious culture and entrepreneurial spirit first-hand. Inspired by the Chinese people’s “Go getter” mindset, Luan returned to his family’s home in the Western Cape with a strong desire to explore his own entrepreneurial venture. He just didn’t quite know what that might be yet.
“I was 19 years old and living at my mom’s house,” says Luan. “When I needed work, I didn’t want just to go out and find an unrewarding job that paid the bills. I wanted to do something that gave me more independence and freedom. Ultimately, I wanted to run my own business, but I hadn’t decided what that would be yet. I owe my mother for sparking the idea.”
A Serendipitous Event
An off-the-cuff suggestion from Luan’s mother, Andrea, ignited a spark. The suggestion, inspired by a family friend’s successful use of a tent at an event, prompted Luan to fill the somewhat unexpected gap in the market for mobile tent services – and in December 2010 he used some of his savings to buy his first large stretch tent.
Initially promoting his tent rental service on Gumtree laid the foundation for what would evolve into Stretchi Tents – now a flourishing business that serves customers from multiple countries in various industries, including parties, hospitality, events and exhibitions.
Luan says, “We started small. A friend and I spent weekends setting up tents, gaining hands-on experience and making valuable connections with venue owners and party planners. Being so young and still studying then, it was a bit of a balancing act.
“I was studying industrial design and often had to run out of lectures to take calls, managing operations while trying to keep up with my coursework. It was intense but taught me crucial time management skills and reinforced my desire to make the business work.”
During his studies, a serendipitous meeting changed Luan’s business trajectory, and Stretchi Tents evolved from a two-person operation to a sustainable enterprise. When Luan crossed paths with a talented seamstress in Weinberg, who specialised in making wedding dresses and altering garments, he piloted an experiment in manufacturing a tent as part of an industrial design project.
Together, they embarked on the challenging task of producing the first hand-crafted Stretchi tent. The process began with the painstaking task of breaking down and “dissecting” an existing tent to understand precisely what goes into the manufacturing process.
“It was a serious trial and error process,” adds Luan. “We experimented with different needles, stitching techniques and materials to figure out how to manufacture tents on a larger scale. It wasn’t easy. Some may even say it looked like a bad idea at the time, but we persevered, and it laid the foundation for Stretchi Tents’ future production methods.”
The experiment ultimately succeeded, motivating Luan to create employment and growth opportunities for others within the business.
A Team Effort
Levonah soon joined Stretchi Tents full-time as a seamstress on tent production. The team set up shop in her spare bedroom for a year, producing tents that would later become the backbone of the rental and manufacturing business. This early collaboration also marked the beginning of Luan’s network-building approach – an essential aspect of his marketing.
Six years later, following countless hours of hands-on tent installations for various events, Stretchi expanded into creating custom-made structures, establishing the brand as a leader in designing a variety of flexible tents for multiple industries.
Soon, Stretchi Tents faced the challenge of transitioning from a small operation to a larger enterprise. For Luan, learning to delegate tasks and trust others became crucial. This period of growth was also not all smooth sailing, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During lockdown, in a bold move to ensure his team remained employed, Luan sent sewing machines home with his employees, allowing them to continue working remotely, and inspired by his girlfriend’s work at Tygerberg Hospital, Luan designed a COVID partition that could be used in hospitals, leading to the company’s first government tender and the production of over 500 curtains.
What Next?
Since Luan welcomed his team back to the factory, they have expanded their production capabilities, manufacturing for hospitals and the taxi industry. More recently, Luan and his team began creating high-end tents for luxury safari lodges, already being used in camps in Botswana and Tanzania.
As the business continues to expand, Luan sees significant growth opportunities in the glamping market, which the company aims to tap into even more in the near future. Luan attributes his success to a combination of habits, including following through on ideas and maintaining a positive mindset.
His typical day begins with coffee and a detailed to-do list, balancing his time between managing the factory and networking with clients. When faced with challenges, Luan emphasises the value of “stepping back” and assessing any situation before reacting. He concludes, "You are only as strong as your team. If you don’t value and appreciate the people who make your business work, you are sure to fail.”
As Stretchi Tents continues to grow, Luan is living proof that a life with intent – or indeed, with tents – can be a life well-lived.
Press Release Submitted by:
Nicola Killops
Company:
Neutral Gravity
Website:
https://neutralgravity.digital/
