How SpotSurfer Is Smoothing Out the Ski Experience
Solving Ski Chaos
SpotSurfer is a Colorado-born startup with big ambitions. What began as a solution to frustrating ski mountain traffic problems has evolved into a lifestyle platform reshaping how people experience skiing and snowboarding. The company’s founders, CU Boulder alumni James Hohenlohe and Erik Davison, are on a mission to simplify the ski experience.
The concept came to life when James, a lifelong skier from Montana, saw how chaotic resort parking had become. After too many mornings spent circling packed lots, he envisioned a platform where skiers could reserve parking spaces in advance, similar to the process of booking a hotel. A simple fix has now expanded into tons of new features, including real-time traffic alerts, amenity add-ons, restaurant recommendations, and dynamic pricing specific to guests’ schedules.
James brought the idea to Erik, his mentor through The Leeds School of Business Professional Mentorship Program (PMP), ran by Sally Forester. Erik, a seasoned entrepreneur with a background in the Air Force and years of consulting under his belt, immediately saw potential. With Erik’s strategic guidance and James’s vision, SpotSurfer was born in mid-2022. Since then, the company has formed partnerships with major resorts, hotels, and even municipalities, offering a simple solution to one of skiing’s biggest headaches.
From Mentorship to Co-Founders
What makes SpotSurfer’s story especially powerful is the journey from mentorship to co-creation. When James and Erik’s relationship was purely mentor and mentee, James was just looking to learn from someone experienced. However, over the course of two years, the mentorship deepened, eventually leading to a strong working relationship and the idea that would become SpotSurfer.
Erik, who has mentored around ten students through the program, emphasizes the importance of giving back. He approaches mentorship seriously, striving to provide students with the guidance he wishes he had during his own time at CU. His commitment created a foundation of trust that allowed James to pitch his idea with confidence.
“To me, it is, as I mentioned before, it's giving back to the university. It's giving back to the students. I wish when I was there... I could have had those type of tools, and that's how I treat this.”
For James, seeing Erik’s path helped ensure his passion for entrepreneurship. Growing up in Montana, the tech startup world felt distant. Through CU’s programs and mentorship, James developed skills for turning ideas into action. That visibility, he says, is everything for aspiring founders who might not come from traditional entrepreneurial backgrounds.
Their partnership is textbook example of what happens when mentorship programs work exactly as intended. An experienced entrepreneur empowers a student to take bold steps, and a student brings a fresh idea to life with the support of someone who’s been there before.
Fueled by Passion, Shaped by Experience
Both founders are driven by a deep love for entrepreneurship, but for different reasons. James’s passion for skiing, combined with his desire to build something meaningful, naturally led to SpotSurfer. He’d been interested in business from a young age, even building websites for local businesses in high school. Though he didn’t love coding, he loved creating experiences that solved real problems for real people.
Erik’s path was much different but equally as passionate. Growing up in Germany and later attending CU Boulder, he eventually spent years flying jets in the Air Force and consulting for large firms. But he always had a business mindset. Whether running car rental operations as a teen or launching his own consulting firm. SpotSurfer gave him another chance to build something from the ground up, but this time with a previous mentee.
They both approach the work with relentless drive. They persistently pursued partnerships with Vail Resorts, hotels, and even nonprofits to expand their platform’s impact. Today, SpotSurfer’s platform offers not just parking but a more personalized experience for mountain travelers.
Forward Thinking: Coming Back to Boulder and Expanding Beyond
SpotSurfer is only getting started. With partnerships already in place at five Vail Resorts properties, the team is scheming for major expansions. Colorado ski towns like Steamboat, Breckenridge, and Keystone are on the radar, along with Utah hotspots like Park City, Snowbird, and Solitude. It’s clear that parking at these resorts has become more difficult, and SpotSurfer’s model provides a scalable solution.
After recently winning an award for Colorado Companies to Watch, the vision now extends beyond skiing. Erik and James are exploring how SpotSurfer can be applied to parking challenges in cities, school districts, casinos, and large venues. One idea they already have is using Las Vegas Casinos to address parking for events like Formula One. While they're both in different places, they emphasize how Boulder is their home. In the future, they hope to support game day parking for CU events and nearby ski resorts, like Eldora.
SpotSurfer is making significant strides to capitalize on their potential markets. To support this growth, SpotSurfer is currently raising a $3 million funding round. Their goal is to scale operations, build out their AI capabilities, and hire talent across marketing, finance, and development.
The Leeds PMP is a fantastic opportunity for students and entrepreneurs to help define their path further, and discover a passion. For students and alumni looking to follow a similar path, James and Erik emphasize to create something while they're in college, and that there's no perfect time to launch something.
SpotSurfer is more than a company, it’s a reflection of what’s possible when passion meets perseverance. For the next generation of builders, it’s a reminder that the best time to start is now.