Quinn Allgood, the co-founder of Tagg-N-Go Car Wash, and a native to Southern Utah, presented a lecture at Southern Utah University as part of the ongoing Entrepreneurship Speaker Series. The lecture took place on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 11:30 a.m. in the Dixie Leavitt Business Building.
Allgood focused his presentation on his beginnings as an entrepreneur. Allgood said that his late father served as an inspiration to him. His father was an entrepreneur and he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
At 19 years old, Allgood began working at Zions Bank as a teller. Allgood had also attended Dixie State University at the time. Whilst in college, Allgood met his business partner Connor Atkin. Once Allgood was 23, he finally decided to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship. Allgood said that if he put off his dream any longer, he likely wouldn’t pursue it.
Allgood mentioned the name Tagg-N-Go was inspired by a penny stock of the same name that he and Atkin invested $7,000 in. Soon after investing, the stock plummeted. Allgood said that the name serves to remind him that it is never easy to invest.
Allgood and Atkin decided to begin a carwash company, but in order to finance their dream the duo had to raise $250,000 to purchase their first location.
A local bank was willing to take a risk on them and cover half the cost. Additionally, the seller was willing to help with 40% of the amount. However, this still left them with $25,000 to come up with on their own.
The pair decided to take on credit card debt and student loans in order to finance the remaining money. Allgood said that this approach was certainly interesting, but does not advise others to try it.
As of September 2024, Tagg-N-Go Car Wash has over 400 employees and 22 locations. Allgood said that the local community is one of the main reasons he is in this position. The community also serves as a driving force for him today.
At the end of the lecture, Allgood invited students to ask questions, and was asked what parts of his shaky start-up he would change if he could go back.
“I don’t know if I’d take anything back. I learned lessons along the way,” said Allgood. “If everything was given to me, I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much. I wouldn’t have worked as hard for it.”
More entrepreneurship lectures are planned for the rest of the fall semester, which will all be held on Tuesdays. For those that want to listen to past guest speakers, a full list of archived lectures can be found here.
Author: Carlos Grilli
Photos by Tallon Taylor
Editor: Heather Turner
Copy Editor: Michele Fogg
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