Buddy Pegs begins 2nd funding round

Bentonville-based cycling startup Buddy Pegs moved from Idaho to Northwest Arkansas after a nationwide tour in 2018-2019 to raise awareness of their media company and the benefits of family biking. The investor-backed business recently started its second funding round as it looks to grow.

Jannine Fitzgerald, co-founder and co-owner of Buddy Pegs, said Bentonville was a stop on the tour that included promoting two children’s books and cycling programming. Fitzgerald and her husband, Scott, founded Buddy Pegs in 2014 while living in Victor, Idaho, southwest of Grand Teton National Park. They owned Fitzgerald’s Bicycles, a top 50 U.S. bike shop, and sold it in 2015 after operating it for 14 years in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Victor.

In September 2020, Buddy Pegs opened a 5,000-square-foot location in north Bentonville. The building at 3605 N.W. Wishing Springs Road includes 2,000 square feet of retail space for bicycles and accessories. Some of the programs and services offered include children’s balance bike rides, after-school programs, and programming on learning to ride a bike. Private lessons for adults are offered, too. Registration has opened online at buddypegs.com for its summer camps in Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville.

Some of the bicycle brands it offers include Norco, Prevelo and Woom. Its e-cargo bike brands include Yuba and Tern.

Buddy Pegs has five full-time employees and between 20 and 25 coaches running the programs.

“Our coaches are trained well and paid well,” Jannine Fitzgerald said. “We are an investor-driven company, a family-and-friend round of investors. We are in the process of going through another round. We definitely have plans to scale this into other communities.”

Scott Fitzgerald, CEO of Buddy Pegs, also is a cycle education faculty member at Thaden School in Bentonville.