Eric Rivera was one of the few young business owners and executives selected as finalists in the 2020 SEMA Launch Pad Competition. He was one of the five young competitors selected via online voting. According to VehicleServicePros.com, “SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association founded in 1963, represents the $44.6 billion specialty automotive industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger and recreational vehicles. Association resources include market research, legislative advocacy, training and product development support, as well as leading trade shows such as the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV, and the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis, IN.” SEMA is a huge event for many automotive enthusiasts.

Rivera’s innovation is the Dirt Dynamix Universal Bed Mount. This is a bracket that has been engineered to fit nearly all truck beds. The bracket clamps down on any 1.5 inch pole. This enables a sturdy mounting point for a flag pole or an umbrella. Rivera describes his lightbulb moment while out biking in the desert. There was no shade anywhere and it was upwards of 98 degrees. The sun was burning hot and they only had a single umbrella. While one of Rivera’s friends held an umbrella standing in the back of his truck, something clicked inside his head.

This young entrepreneur has been very successful with this invention, although he’s just getting started. SEMA 2020 is a very large event with many followers looking for new innovative gadgets for their truck builds. These truck enthusiasts will spend enormous amounts of money on their custom builds. This unique idea has given his business a huge boost.