FLOHOM CEO and Co-Founder Brian Meyer’s Journey to Entrepreneurship
Brian Meyer is the visionary CEO and Co-Founder of FLOHOM, the innovative company making waves in modern waterfront living. FLOHOM currently operates five luxury floating home rentals in Maryland’s harbors, and plans to expand nationwide. Being a pioneer in this hospitality and real estate niche, FLOHOM could be described as a hospitality, real estate, or even a travel industry business. After all, FLOHOM offers:
- A one-of-a-kind lodging experience in a designer houseboat.
- A posh floating home vacation rental to elevate your bucket list visit to the nation’s capital.
- Or even the opportunity to purchase a FLOHOM as an investment or floating home for yourself.
But to Brian Meyer, FLOHOM is “an experience company.”
You see, Brian’s business ambition is driven by his love for the water and by his desire to build a water lifestyle for himself and his family (his wife, Cathleen, and baby girl, Asher Ocean). But Brian doesn’t stop there. He wants to bring the community in on experiencing this special way of life, too.
If you’ve ever walked along a harbor and marveled at the homes perched up on the sea wall with their docks and James Bond boats, maybe you’ve wished you could experience waterfront living. Perhaps you’ve always aspired to put down roots near the water – or an anchor, rather – but that dream seems out of reach. If you live in an urban area a short drive from private marinas, but a long way to the public beach, maybe you’ve wished it were easier to take breaks from your fast-paced life and ground yourself in nature (which, paradoxically, water can do for you).
With FLOHOM, Brian is on a mission to make the coveted water lifestyle accessible and affordable. Thanks to Brian and his partners Selly Butler and Jerry South, the public now has access to historically exclusive marinas, otherwise only open to wealthy boat owners and employees and guests of the boating industry.
But Brian was already living out this mission through business ventures long before FLOHOM.
Shaped by the Water
Brian Meyer didn’t set out to work in the hospitality space – nor to start his own business, for that matter. Yet had you asked those around him during his adolescence and early adulthood to picture Brian as a business owner, they surely would’ve imagined him at the helm of a water-centric business.
And they’d have been right. Several times over.
Brian recalls being drawn to the water at a very early age. Adopted as an infant, Brian was raised by his adoptive parents on the Wicomico River in Salisbury, Maryland, where he grew up boating, tubing, and wakeboarding.
From then on, his life path followed an evolving and growing passion for being on the water. As soon as Brian had his driver’s license in hand, he used his newfound autonomy to surf and lifeguard the beaches of Ocean City, a 45-minute drive away.
And when he successfully convinced his parents to let him attend college in Hawaii, there was no looking back.
At the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Brian was on track to turn his sports data obsession into a sports marketing or sports management career. In between a-la-carte classes, hand-picked towards a major of his own making, Brian was competitively catching waves, but not on a surfboard – in a 6-person outrigger canoe. Brian distinctly recalls the moment he decided to walk down to the local outrigger canoe club and sign up for Hawaii’s national team sport. While outrigger canoeing was completely new to Brian, he was no stranger to the water. And after his first practice, he fell in love.
With his parents now living in northern California, he never dreamed of returning to Maryland… until he connected with his biological mother on LinkedIn.
Digging Into His Roots
With graduation and career decisions on the horizon, Brian’s adoptive mom shared the name of his birth mother with him, encouraging Brian to learn about his origin story.
It didn’t take long for Brian to find his birth mom’s LinkedIn profile and learn she lived in Annapolis. With nothing to lose – but with a character count limit – Brian sent her a (very) direct message:
“Hello, my name is Brian Meyer. You gave birth to me on 5.7.87. I'd love to meet you. Please contact me back.”
The seed of a new relationship was planted. And in the hours and days to come, water and sunlight would be heaped upon it.
Brian received a long message in response – his mother had been waiting for this moment. The next day, with more than two decades to catch up on, Brian and his birth mom spoke on the phone for three hours. She would go on to introduce him to members of her family on Skype, and gave Brian the contact information for his biological father. So the process repeated itself.
In late 2011 with graduation behind him and this door to his past opened, Brian decided to put Hawaii life on hold. Early the next year, Brian packed up and returned to his roots – this time to Annapolis, a couple hours northwest of his hometown – to prioritize re-connecting with his family members.
As Brian settled into his new life in Annapolis, he built relationships with his birth mom, biological father, and his biological father’s family. In the process, Brian gained siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. It was through one of his new cousins that he would meet his wife, Cathleen, a year later.
For Brian, finding and reconnecting with his birth parents was just a bonus to his already full life. He describes his current relationships with his multiple families as the “best-case scenario,” and recognizes how rare and special it is that these relationships flourished.
After about a year of getting to know his new family members and building the foundation of his career working in the Baltimore Orioles’ marketing department, Brian’s first business idea began to take shape.
Turning His Passion Into a Business
Since there were no outrigger canoeing clubs in Maryland, Brian had diverted his paddle passion to the burgeoning watersport of stand-up paddleboard (SUP) racing. It wasn’t long before he was competing against the sport’s top regional athletes.
By spending so much time on the waters of Maryland, Brian got wind of a developer who had just acquired a historic Annapolis marina. The developer was looking for innovators to help breathe life into it, and Brian had an idea.
Without business startup experience, formal training, or even a grand vision for what it could become – Brian developed a business plan for a small SUP rental shop inspired by a desire to turn his newfound passion into a business. He contacted the developer, pitched the idea, and recruited some close paddle buddies to join him in this venture.
Capital SUP was born.
Though Annapolis is hailed as America’s sailing capital, there was little opportunity at that time for the public to experience the water. Capital SUP drew people to the marina, and it wasn’t long before the company took off. Capital SUP became nationally recognized for Brian’s creativity and focus on providing unique experiences on the water, offering memberships, classes, trips, and events.
Along the way Brian became a self-taught photographer and videographer, using social media to spread awareness of Capital SUP through visual storytelling.
Community outreach was always a priority for Brian and his co-founders. Grounded by gratitude for the life his adoptive parents gave him and the enriching experiences he enjoyed on the water, Brian sought to share his water lifestyle with others. Through Capital SUP, Brian involved those who might otherwise be economically excluded from enjoying water experiences, and made the lifestyle accessible to those with limiting beliefs that watersports weren’t viable for them due to physical impairments.
These efforts to give back and positively impact his community led Brian to his second business venture. Again partnering with his Capital SUP co-founders, Brian established the Live Water Foundation.
To this day, through its classes, programs, and events, the foundation invites wounded U.S. military veterans and underserved youth to experience: the healing benefits of the water, an active lifestyle, time outdoors in nature, and a sense of community. It also invests in clean water initiatives so the community can continue enjoying local waters for years to come.
It was the experience of founding, operating, and growing Capital SUP that Brian considers his MBA program, which prepared him for grander business pursuits.
Today, Brian is propelling his third business venture full steam ahead. On-brand for Brian, the company’s focus is all about bringing the community to the water – this time, by building and renting luxury FLOating HOmes in the marinas of America’s most densely populated urban areas.
Enter FLOHOM.
FLOHOM: A Modern Waterfront Experience
The idea for FLOHOM began as Brian and Cathleen began to think creatively about how they’d ever afford waterfront living, despite being outpriced in Annapolis.
Brian’s passion for water life and his wife’s interest in tiny homes led them to ponder living on a houseboat. So much so that Brian nearly purchased one in 2018 – by paddling up to one he liked, knocking on the door, and making an offer! Though the couple accepted, ultimately the deal fell through due to issues with the houseboat’s motor and difficulty financing such a non-traditional abode.
But two and a half years later, a spontaneous road trip conversation between Brian and Cathleen sparked an idea: What if you could combine the simplicity and affordability of tiny-home living with the waterfront lifestyle?
Brian called up some of his marina industry contacts. An initial expression of interest from one potential investor was all the watering Brian’s seed of an idea needed to start growing.
Around the same time, Brian was working on a clean water project for the Live Water Foundation. Brian called up entrepreneur Marcellous (Selly) Butler, who owned a marina in Eastport, Annapolis, to ask permission to deploy a natural water filtration system (oysters) in his waters. As Brian and Selley got to know one another, Brian shared his vision for a floating home company, without knowing Selley had also experimented with floating homes over a decade prior. With the industry ripe for this kind of innovative hospitality and real estate venture, Selly was immediately on board and recommended they join forces with his long-time friend and successful entrepreneur Jerry South.
Today Brian operates as FLOHOM’s CEO, managing all aspects of the day-to-day business, including the company’s highly effective digital marketing. Selly oversees the production of the houseboats full-time to be able to scale and meet demand, while Jerry serves as the de facto Chairman, focusing on high-level business strategy and relationships. Together they form a FLOHOM powerhouse trio.
Preserving the Marina Culture
As Brian looks to expand FLOHOM, he’s first prioritizing near term deployments to other densely populated areas such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City.
In doing so, Brian is cognizant of keeping the marina cultures and the lifestyle of its residents intact, changing only the status quo that has historically prohibited the public from enjoying access to these waters.
So while FLOHOM allows guests to benefit from the marina and experience water life on a floating home, it doesn’t allow parties, and its renters are vetted. Like any housing development on land, a marina is a neighborhood, and its inhabitants and business owners deserve respect. Brian’s aim is to add vitality to the community and grow others’ love for the water, without disrupting the community members’ way of life.
Brian Meyer’s Secret Sauce
Brian truly believes it’s the coming together of his lifestyle, hobbies, and values that have breathed life into all of his businesses. When your business fundamentally integrates with your existing way of life, nourishing its growth and directing energy to its success is organic.
“That’s my secret sauce,” Brian says. “I’ve been able to create businesses that are authentically the way I, personally, want to live. Even on the worst days, it’s the only thing I want to do… I’m creating a lifestyle, not a business.”
About being a business owner, Brian says he loves being the master of his own destiny and thrives under significant responsibility when “there’s no OFF button.” He’s also a long-term thinker and enjoys the satisfaction of seeing a vision come to life. But, characteristic of his enthusiasm for sharing his passion with others, Brian says one of the most gratifying things is reading FLOHOM guest reviews. Compared to reviews for other rental properties, Brian points out, “FLOHOM's reviews are different in that people really spend time writing about their experience more deeply.”
Journey is proud to partner with Brian’s mission to share the benefits of his water lifestyle with others through FLOHOM.
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