Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Bender.
Hi Thomas, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Phew—where to begin? Looking back, I’d say two things shaped me early on: cycling and a degree in Industrial Design (ID, which is really just a fancy term for product design).
I grew up racing bikes—and still pretend to—and found a home in the local cycling community. It’s a pretty incredible mix: people from all walks of life show up to the weekly group ride, push themselves to the limit, then go back to whatever Tuesday looks like for them. Between those rides and weekend races with my folks, I met a lot of people. One of them—a friend to this day, 30 years later—told me about his job in “design.” He explained that he came up with ideas for products, sketched them, and made them. To a kid like me, that sounded like magic. That conversation led to a college visit, and eventually, a four-year degree in Industrial Design.
Both cycling and design still run deep in my life. Cycling gave me an unmatched work ethic; design gave me a way to see and build the world differently. I’ll spare you the TED Talk for now…
Today, among a few other ventures, I own and operate ACME Overland Limited Co., now ONNN Expedition. We build high-functioning, purpose-driven vehicles made for long-distance travel—capable of crossing continents.
That’s the quick surface level snapshot of “me.” I could go on, but you get the idea…
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What’s a “smooth road” in business?!
I believe ‘struggles’ is perhaps the wrong word for what we’ve faced. I enjoy using ‘challenges’ more as it defines the ups and downs we’ve faced. And, yes, of course, we have faced them! Challenges can stress me out but they always end in something learned that we can benefit from and use as knowledge in the future.
More recently (2020+) we’ve faced challenges in the supply chain. Everyone has. It’s not that we’ve magically overcome it with our suppliers but we’ve gotten creative in how we approach our builds. It has forced us to think much further in advance. It forced us to get creative in how we approach a build and navigate completing something.
In some cases, there is simply nothing we can do and I just have to be transparent and open with our clients. Additionally, it has allowed us to create our own products that we might not have created if we had an “easy” off-the-shelf item ready to ship.
As you know, we’re big fans of ONNN Expedition. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I own and operate ONNN Expedition (formerly ACME Overland Limited Co.) We build high-functioning, purpose-driven vehicles made for long-distance travel—capable of crossing continents.
What began as ACME Overland has since evolved into ONNN Expedition. Today, we continue to create highly functional, aesthetically refined, purpose-driven vehicles designed for long-distance travel, while expanding the range of services we offer our clients.
Beyond vehicle design and construction, ONNN Expedition provide a concierge-level experience tailored to each client. Sometimes that means creating a custom itinerary and loading it into our app. Other times it means planning every detail of a journey—from mapping each stop and stocking the refrigerator to arranging private chefs and unique experiences along the way. If you can imagine it, we can help bring it to life through our vehicles and services.
ONNN Expedition is a multifaceted organizations with many moving parts. Words can only tell part of the story—the visuals speak for themselves.
www.onnnxp.com
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Easy. Listening to my 5-year-old recount his day. It turns out a lot happens in Kindergarten and now, even more, into summer.
I’ve found as long as I’m asking the right questions my son turns into a chatter box. It’s usually just before bed or maybe just as I’ve tucked him in.
It could be a tale of woes from the playground, how the ‘troublemakers’ ran down the school hall when they weren’t suppose too, building legos in STEM class, or the random encounter with any/all critters or insects or flowers that he might have crossed paths with. It’s always fascinating to hear how he see’s his day.
I honestly don’t know a thing that would or could make me happier.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onnnxp.com
- Instagram: @acme_overland
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acmeoverland
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjeffreybender/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ACME_OVERLAND
