Deidre and Craig Knapp discovered tactical laser tag—and a business opportunity—at a family party. “Our whole family fell in love with it,” Craig said. With three active young boys, Deidre and Craig thought the business model would be a great addition to the Green Bay area where they live.
At Battle House, field marshals lead players through missions using state-of-the-art equipment. During a two-hour session, opposing teams take on eight to ten missions. The Battle House indoor arena is a cityscape full of obstacles. There is no “typical customer”—players run the gamut from children’s party groups to young adults, corporate groups, and multiple-generation families.
Battle House GB (for Green Bay) is the third Battle House business in the U.S. The first, Battle House Lake Barrington, was opened by Deidre’s brother, Doug Huckbody, in Lake Barrington, IL, in October 2014. Doug’s son, Darek Huckbody, opened the second, Battle House ILM, in Wilmington, NC, a year later.
Battle House is unique among laser tag facilities in its military focus. Doug Huckbody served in the US Air Force, while Darek was a Black Hawk pilot who served in Afghanistan. Battle House GB offers discounts to military personnel and public servants, and Craig and Deidre regularly open their facility for military and public service training.
Craig Knapp, a registered nurse, continues to work full-time while Deidre, an experienced customer service manager, works in their new start-up, which is located in De Pere, just outside Green Bay.
The Knapps had a “battle-tested” business plan from the existing businesses but needed to adapt it to their market and convince lenders the opportunity was viable—which proved challenging. Once funding was in place, they began construction on a new building to house both Battle House and their son’s new business, Warrior Jungle (see related story). “Because both our businesses are so unique, we couldn’t find anything that fit our parameters,” Deidre said.
Construction delays forced the Knapps to make loan payments before they could open and generate cash flow—also quite a challenge.
SBDC to the rescue
“We felt qualified, but in terms of starting a business, where do you even begin?” said Deidre. Craig sought out Wisconsin’s Small Business Development Center at UW-Green Bay and consultant Dave Stauffacher. Working from the other Battle Houses’ business plans, Dave helped Craig customize the narrative and financial projections and prepare to approach lenders. Craig was intentionally conservative: “I knew we would have to give discounts in the beginning, to get people in the door. That was all in the revenue projections. Dave really helped me with that,” he said. Deidre added, “I’m really proud of the business plan. It’s solid and specific to our market, and it enabled us to get the funding we needed.”
Dave recalled, “We added what was needed to make the plan bankable.” Dave even accompanied the Knapps to loan committee meetings. Battle House succeeded in getting funding from the Bank of Luxemburg plus Brown County and City of De Pere Community Reinvestment Funds.
Accomplishments with the SBDC at UW-Green Bay:
- Business plan with financial projections
- Referrals and introductions
- Sounding board
Marketing on a shoestring
The Battle House marketing plan focuses on social media and local networking. “Our marketing budget is nonexistent, with the loan payments, so we’ve been hitting the pavement to get the word out,” Deidre said. They have recently started advertising using indoor billboards and are planning to add radio and outdoor billboards.
“The Knapps have been great clients,” Dave said. “They’re very committed to the community.”
“We’ve only been open five weeks, and we already have regulars,” Craig said. “When people see the friendly family atmosphere we have, they say, ‘we’ll be back.’”