The price tag was huge and Bryner was hoping to find some investors to share in a cost that was estimated at $2.5 million.
That didn’t happen, but Bryner didn’t give up. He had taken business classes, met with a SCORE mentor, and presented at One Million Cups where he received feedback. What he learned was flexibility.
“When I took the E-Seed Entrepreneurial Course (offered at the Venture Center at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton), the biggest thing I learned was the amount of preparation it takes to get into business and to look at business from the outside,” he said. “I looked at consumption, demand, and capacity rate, and really dialed it in, and then I put my brakes on and took time to look at those numbers.”
Even though it wasn’t his first startup (he and his wife owned a custom sign company), Midwest Super Speedway is an entirely different type of venture. He says it also is something he truly loves.
He explained his interest: “I have always been a gearhead and started working on dirt bikes, motorcycles and four-wheelers when I was about 10 years old. Fixing them kindled an interest, and in high school, I attended an engineering charter school. The experience drove me into the engineering field.”
That led to earning a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a career that has included design engineering and managerial promotions in the areas of continuous improvement, quality assurance, and project management. He plans to continue working full time and managing the business with the positive attitude that defines him.
“I am a positive thinker. To me, the glass is always half full. If you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem. When you work through it, anything is possible,” Bryner said.
His “this is possible” is becoming a reality due to flexibility.
“When I had times that I thought about all the hurdles and felt like quitting, usually in the early morning before getting out of bed, I would sit up, take a deep breath, and think of one thing I could do that day to get closer to making this work,” he said.
During the process, he talked to banks to learn what he needed to do in order to secure financing and make the numbers work without investors.
“In 2021, I was looking at the Taj Mahal of go-kart racing," Bryner said. "At that point, we were coming out of the pandemic and it was tough to drum up investors. I did a fact check and asked myself, ‘How can I scale this back and down to a manageable size?’ Within the perimeters I set, I scaled back the plan and put out feelers for a location.”
Originally, Bryner was considering a location at the Fox Cities Mall in Appleton. Instead, when he heard about a vacant space next to Badger State Brewing near Lambeau Field, he had immediate interest.
“As soon as I saw the space, I knew it would be perfect,” he said.
Go-cart track, Midwest Super Speedway, will open soon at a site near Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
That was about six months ago. From that point on, the pieces have fallen into place. He negotiated a lease, figured out what would be needed to build out the space, planned the number of carts and other equipment he would need, and secured a loan from a local bank and the city of Green Bay.
In November, after receiving loan approvals, he hired a contractor to add a new entrance, double door, containment areas, updated electrical capacity to accommodate chargers for the go-karts, a mezzanine for parties, and a conference room. The approval process has gone well.
“Green Bay Economic Development has been phenomenal,” he said.
They helped him work through issues like disabled access and capacity. In addition, he hired a consultant to provide a floor plan and advise him on what a modified business model could look like. The result is a business that will be more than a high-speed electric go-cart track. It will also be an arcade, party and gathering place, retail shop, and refreshment area.
With the space measuring 40,000 square feet, there will be plenty of room for all of these options. The track will be about 1,200 linear feet, and as the business matures, Bryner wants to add a multi-level track. But the focus for now is getting everything ready for a mid-December opening.
He said, “With any small business, you wear a lot of hats, and my main goal right now is to see this project through completion. I feel like an executive party planner — bringing all of these pieces together and making sure it flows.”
He won’t be doing it alone. While he is the chief operating officer, it is his wife who will be the chief executive officer. He will also have help from an interim general manager and maintenance person who will move to the Green Bay area for about the next six months to help during the opening phase. They will also help with hiring.
The equipment, including 20 adult and 10 junior go-carts, are ordered. The cost of a race will vary depending on the number purchased. The website, midwestsuperspeedway.com, is almost up and will have information.
“People will be able to set up an online profile and go online to record races. They will be able to see all of their races and also the top racers of the week and how their performances compare,” Bryner said.
The software also will help him monitor his data. He said he has been careful to calculate how many carts can race in an hour, salaries for employees, expenses, capacity efficiency, and the break-even point.
Marketing will be a big part of reaching that point. He will be working with area hospitality businesses and hopes to be able to offer package deals in conjunction with some of those establishments. Other plans include corporate events, birthday parties, other celebrations, and gatherings of friends. Social media also figures in prominently. His Facebook page, inactive since 2021, is now being updated regularly as the excitement builds for “Go-Kart Thrills in the Shadow of Lambeau Field!”
He recently posted, “Hey folks, sorry for the radio silence on this project for so long. Just want to give you an update. We have made some major progress over the last few years!”
That is an understatement. What seemed to be an almost impossible hurdle to overcome, Bryner has accomplished and is now weeks away from seeing his dream become a reality.
“You have to be patient with these things,” he said. “They can take a significant amount of time and you don’t want to be skipping steps. You need to carefully work through the details.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
