Fixing phones started as a hobby and high school job for TCU senior Daniel Castaneda, but the young entrepreneur has evolved his hobby into FlyFix, an innovative startup business offering on-demand tech repair services. As a former employee at a chain cell phone repair center, Castaneda was all too familiar with the long waits and general inefficiency of existing brick-and-mortar tech repair shops.
"Our aim is to completely eliminate that," the economics major says. "We aim to create convenience and time efficiency, so we try to get it done within the hour."
After he left his high school repair job, he continued to do repairs for friends and family, which is how he got the idea for FlyFix. He calls it the "Uber" of phone repairs, using the on-demand, contract worker model that has fueled many successful startups. Customers can either call in or submit an online request at flyfix.com, and one of the technicians, called FlyTechs, will pick up the job and meet the customer to complete the repair at the requested time and place. Additionally, every repair is backed by a lifetime warranty.
The company officially launched Sept. 1, and after a month of operation, Castaneda and his partners have big plans for the future. FlyFix not only deals in repairs, but also recycling, refurbishing, and reselling preowned devices. In October, it began selling phone, tablet and computer accessories at its optional drop-off location at The Box on University Drive near TCU.
By the time he graduates in December, Castaneda plans to wrap up the startup's seed round with $1.5 million. By next September, he intends to have planted FlyFix in every major metropolitan area of Texas. From there, he says, FlyFix will look to expand nationally, and even internationally to his family roots in Mexico.
