Grand Junction residents know eBricks as a fun, downtown LEGO retailer. The shop offers unique LEGO sets and hard-to-find classic collector’s items, making it an attraction for LEGO lovers of all ages. And while the storefront is definitely noteworthy, boasting a hands-on interactive building station, a huge and colorful minifigure statue and a complex LEGO castle display just inside, what’s most impressive is eBricks’ online presence.
The store’s inventory is just over eight million catalogued pieces, and thirty million unprocessed, most of which are housed in several warehouses across Grand Junction. Owner Kenneth Riskey sees himself and his employees as professional organizers. eBricks’ huge database keeps track of over 82,000 LEGO part numbers, not to mention several hundred LEGO colors.
As orders come into eBricks daily, LEGO parts are packaged and shipped around the world, making eBricks one of the largest LEGO distributors on the planet. eBricks houses more original LEGO boxes and instructions than anywhere else in the world. It’s possible to buy an original box, paired with original instructions, and piece together all the needed individual pieces at a significant discount. eBricks supplies LEGOs to General Electric’s seven LEGO robotics-based engineering schools around the globe, as well as several hundred LEGO League programs.
eBricks got its start in 2001, the summer before founder and owner Kenneth Riskey went to college. With time on his hands, Kenneth decided to construct a discontinued LEGO set he’d always wanted to build. But when the set he’d ordered online arrived, he found it was missing all its key elements. Riskey started buying more sets online, hoping to find the missing pieces. Three months and 30,000 pieces later, he was finally able to piece together the complete set.
From this experience, Riskey found himself asking, “I wonder if other people have this need?” So Kenneth published his, by then, thoroughly organized list of used pieces, and sure enough—people began buying. He sent out a handful of parts several times a week. Before long, Riskey was approached by LEGO, who asked him to sell vintage parts to inquiring customers. That fall, his college business classes felt like practicums to the work he was doing online.
The business continued to expand and eventually eBricks needed a building, but Riskey was struggling to obtain financing. The building eBricks is housed in today had been on the market for over six years; Riskey had toured in 2012 and in 2013 but felt it an unfeasible acquisition. However, the sequence of events about to transpire was “an act of God.”
The listing agent messaged Riskey to let him know there’d been a significant price drop on the property. Riskey’s banker friend helped him put in a lower offer that got accepted on the spot, but financing was still not coming through. Then someone put Riskey in touch with the Business Incubator Center. Riskey met up with BIC’s Dean Didario and together the duo sketched out a bullet point business plan on a napkin.
Kenneth sat waiting for what felt like a long time, wondering if he’d be approved by BIC for a loan, while under contract for a building he couldn’t afford, and time quickly running out. When he found out the business proposal had gone through, Kenneth agreed to be “all in” on the plan.
With the BIC loan approved, Riskey worked tireless, long hours getting ready for the grand opening. And in February 2017, eBricks opened the doors of their new property, 100 years from when the building was originally constructed. “It all worked out and here we are,” Riskey grins.
Riskey describes BIC as “a brilliant set up which has been really refined as they’ve gone. The whole thing just works beautifully.” Looking back, he appreciates the coaching he received from Didario who was “very linear, no drama, just matter of fact and to-the-point. He never wanted to get into my business; he knew that I knew it better than anybody.”
Today, Riskey finds fulfillment in giving back to the community by coaching other small businesses in a similar vein to what he received. Riskey finds reward in seeing businesses like his own begin to prosper. “I love seeing people take a business idea, get it registered with the state, turn it into a viable product or service, and see it thrive, where the owners pay staff good money, and serve their customers well.” And clearly, eBricks has set an example worthy of emulation.
Are you in need of help creating a business plan, small business coaching to help your business achieve the next level of growth, or a loan from the Mesa County Business Loan Fund? Reach out to the Business Incubator Center at gjincubator.org or 970.243.5242. It’s our mission to help.