MANE STREET MARKET APP: Changing the Digital Buying/Selling Experience
India Lynn Wilkinson, founder, and creator of the Mane Street Market app
A common theme with many of the horse tech innovators we interview for The Tech Equestrian end up developing something new and different because of frustration – that they couldn’t find something on the market that makes it simple, easy and in real-time. That is exactly what led India Lynn Wilkinson, founder, and creator of the Mane Street Market app to create an exciting new service that offers a simple and reliable way to buy and sell horses through the app and online. We had the chance to catch up with her recently to understand her background, motivation and guiding principle that make for a first-rate user experience and a digital solution you need to consider when shopping for a horse.
Southern Charm
“I grew up in South Florida and started riding at the age of 5,” shared India. “I was extremely involved in 4H and rode western and I still attribute my meticulous horse care regiment to what I learned during that time,” she added. She took a hiatus from riding during college but soon after started riding hunters. “When I graduated, I moved to Atlanta and hunters became my go to discipline.” To her amazement, she had the chance to take her hunter horse to a cross country schooling show and he really loved it. “I realized there was a whole other world out there,” India said. For 15 years eventing became her world. “During my eventing career, as a type A perfectionist, I fell in love with the details and intricacy of dressage.” As her riding discipline has evolved, she is now focused on dressage, recently earning a bronze medal.
“The fact that I couldn’t look on an app to find horses for sale near me originated the idea for the service I wanted my app to provide equestrians.”
Frustration Leads to an Opportunity
“I think frustration births a lot of inventions,” said India. “I was a looking for a new horse and many of the websites didn’t offer an easy experience.” India was looking to buy a horse in fall of 2019 and didn’t want to use social for personal reasons. “The search became all ‘word of mouth’ – basically myself and my trainer asking and following up with potential sellers.” Her search finally brought her to Ocala. “I drove 6 hours – knowing this was the horse and when I got to the farm I instantly fell in love with the horse on the ground, however, when I got on him, I knew it wasn’t my horse.”
As she started her trip back to Atlanta, India in her frustration, pulled into a grocery store parking lot. “I thought to myself, this is insane that I’m in Ocala knowing there are probably plenty of horses available, and I’ve got budget in hand, but also realizing by the time I look them up on a website or send a text message, it would take too long to connect. The fact that I couldn’t look on an app to find horses for sale near me originated the idea for the service I wanted my app to provide equestrians.” India thought long and hard about her idea on her the journey home – and approached her husband for support and to tap into his business experience. “He is very smart and has been a leader in successful companies, so I wanted his opinion to see if this was a viable venture.” Her husband immediately saw the opportunity and the business partnership and journey to find a developer began.
India and her horse Justin
“I wanted all my energy and time to be focused on creating a first-rate user experience.”
Horse Tech Business Tips
“I’m a big proponent of hiring your weaknesses, I didn’t spend one moment trying to figure out how to develop an app,” explained India, “I wanted all my energy and time to be focused on creating a first-rate user experience.” India has an extensive marketing background and knows how to market to equestrians.
“There is a good amount of research in launching a horse tech business, and as an entrepreneur you must be willing to listen and understand to information gather,” India continued, “It’s a tough game to get into and one of the things I’ve learned was the easier you want it for your user the more complex it is on the technical backend to deliver.” Which was a big goal when creating the solution – India wanted to make it easier on the user.
Launch Time
Originally scheduled to launch in 2019, the pandemic put that on hold. “We finally launched in 2021 and even with the delay, which actually helped increase people’s dependency on their phones and technology, I’ve been blessed with having the partnership with my husband to help guide expectations and ideas for improvements along the way.” She is constantly thanking the people that jumped onboard early on, “they trusted in me,” said India.
App interface: Keeping it simple - easy to post and navigate.
Features of Mane Street Market
“I wanted the app to be ‘alive’ – since many of the horse selling websites are static,” shared India. From her own experience, she did not have intentions to be everything to everyone. “The app is very simple - it allows you to list and view horses for sale along with promoting equine businesses and services.” The app features an intelligent search to view on a map or as a list plus you can text directly from the app. In addition, the alert feature provides you with notifications when new horses are listed that meet your criteria – great for trainers who are shopping for multiple clients. Not only are you saving time, but you’ll have the ability to text a seller when a horse interests you. “I also wanted to create something that gives equestrians and businesses a more professional feel.”
The Guiding Principle
“Listening is so important and as a provider, listening to our clients and understanding what they want is our guiding principle at Mane Street Market. I firmly believe it’s all about the user experience - the most important thing is what my users want.” She cited the example of creating ads on the site and app and making sure they weren’t intrusive – but always visible. She pointed out that she and her team have made significant changes with the app based on the feedback and customer experience. “I encourage people to tell me what would make it better for you - I want it to be the ‘people’s app.’”
As a testament to her guiding principle listening to her subscribers, India recently started adding real estate, horse shows and clinics – all requests from users.
As a Seller and Service Provider
India’s focus is to drive more downloads, get more visibility, and more eyes on horses and services through her solution. “As a seller, you can count on us to promote a horse and service every day on our social platforms, we also answer ‘in search of’ posts from other equestrian platforms.” Advertising packages offer flexible plans and pricing based on your goals. “Every single download and followers are real – I can authentically say – you are reaching actual equestrian– which is extremely important to advertisers,” pointed out India. The businesses are there because of the equestrians coming to the app. “One of my exclusive advertisers is a company that knows they must get into the digital marketing space – you can’t rely on being at a horse show to create awareness. This platform gives them the ability to do that.”
Growing through Connections
“I’m happy with the growth. You must put things into perspective – it takes time to build a big business, which is what we want to do. We want to launch in Canada in 2023 and then Europe,” she shared. Her main growth goal is to build a big business in US to start.
“I pride myself on being a connector – to be able to connect people on such a large scale is so incredibly rewarding.”
Tech Caters to the ‘Busiest People on the Planet’
Asked about her prediction for technology adoption in the horse industry in 5 years, India thinks the trend is moving in the right direction. “I’ve learned so much on how technology can help us save time, energy, and resources as an equestrian. And as we know, equestrians are the busiest people on the planet – caring for horses is a 24-hour business.” With the Mane Street Market app solution, it underscores how transforming horse tech can help equestrians save time and aid the demands of equine businesses. “I also encourage equestrians to be more open to technology, which will ultimately create an environment of happy and healthy horses and horse owners.”
The Mane Street Market App is free to download on:
App Store
Google Play
Visit the Mane Street Market website
Follow on social:
Instagram: @manestreetmarket
Facebook: @manestreetmarket
