Denton County Magazine • Sept_Oct 23 • Aaron Powell

Denton resident Aaron Powell turned his love of cycling into his life’s work when he founded electric cargo bike company Bunch Bikes in 2017. What began as a small startup has since bloomed into a much more ambitious enterprise, with Powell appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in 2021.

Two judges on the show invested in Powell’s company, helping it buoy the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Bunch Bikes has scaled up, moving to a bigger facility in October 2021 to keep up with demand. The growth has been so rapid that Powell has pressed pause on trying to increase sales.

“This year is all about optimizing the business and making sure we’re not going to break by growing too fast, and getting the right people, systems and efficiencies in place,” Powell said.

But he doesn’t plan on slowing down for long. A new bike is already in the works, one that he hopes will be a product of all he’s learned in the past few years from talking to customers and riding the bikes himself.

“There’s not a lot of innovation happening in the cargo bike space, so we have a vision of the best bike that exists in that category,” Powell said. “We want to be the global leader for this type of product.”

Bunch Bikes’ customers include families with a special needs or physically disabled child. A family bike ride with traditional twowheel bicycles might be out of reach for them, but the company’s cargo bikes allow caregivers to get physical activity while their child rides along. It also allows those needing special equipment, such as an oxygen tank, the chance to experience a bike ride.

Bunch Bikes can work with families to adapt bicycles to best fit their needs at no extra cost and the company has launched an inclusion program to assist needy families with the purchase of a cargo bike. It’s just one of the many ways Powell hopes Bunch Bikes will continue to set itself apart and make the cargo bike work for everyone.

“We’re kind of making our rules and determining our own destiny,” Powell said.

Education bachelor’s of music in music education from University of North Texas

“Before I got into business I was a high school and middle school band teacher.”