BUMPER BUDDIES - Key Persons
Bumper Buddies co-owner Ralph Bertel visited his local body shop to receive an estimate for minor damage to his car. Despite the minimal amount of damage, the shop quoted him over $500 and required him to leave his vehicle for up to seven days. Unable to be without his car for that long, he chose not to have the dent repaired.
During an appointment, Ralph's dentist mentioned to him that he wanted to get his car repaired. Ralph called a bumper repair mechanic friend of his who came to the dentist's office and repaired his dentist's BMW on-site. Inspired by this and dissatisfied with his previous dent repair experiences, Ralph studied under his friend with the goal of one day providing the same convenient on-site bumper repair services.
Ralph has been in the bumper and dent repair industry for 20 years. Prior to starting Bumper Buddies, he sold life insurance, utilizing his degree in finance. After years of cold calling and fighting for customers' business, he wanted to start a business where the customers would find him. Inspired by a friend's mobile dent repair service, Ralph founded Bumper Buddies with the goal of providing hassle-free bumper repair to car owners throughout Southern California. When not out on a repair job, Ralph loves spending time with his wife of 17 years and their four kids.
Bumper Buddies co-owner Victor Lanfranco first met Ralph as a repair customer. A marketer and salesman, Victor was so excited by the business' potential that he decided to invest in Ralph's venture. The two fine-tuned the business model to ensure that it was as convenient for customers as possible, and thus, Bumper Buddies was born.
Victor has been in the marketing industry since 2001, after completing four years in the Marine Corps. With a background in service and sales, Victor wanted to disrupt the bumper repair industry and saw great potential in Ralph's customer-centric mobile dent repair business. He now owns Bumper Buddies alongside Ralph and operates an award-winning digital marketing agency. When not working, he can be found spending time with his wife of 16 years, three kids, and dog, Rocky.