Last fall, Mogensen expanded his strategy by acquiring Black Mountain, the oldest skiing area in New Hampshire. He relocated several team members from their headquarters in Granby, Colorado, to New England, where their focus has been on enhancing the point-of-sale software and hardware at ticket counters and within the lodge.
Mogensen’s vision is to eventually transition the revamped mountain into a co-op model, allowing its skier members to become co-owners, a concept that is gaining traction in Europe. For now, he is using Black Mountain as a testing ground for the Entabeni approach—where all new equipment, including ticketing and concession systems, along with intake systems for the ski school, is developed internally.
The benefit of custom-built hardware enables Entabeni (and now Black Mountain) to make real-time improvements with a specialized focus tailored exclusively to the ski industry, eliminating the need for complex integration. Competing firms like Skidata offer similar systems meant for a wider audience, spanning stadiums, amusement parks, and ski resorts. Mogensen hopes that the in-depth exploration at Black Mountain will yield insights that can be applied across their other ski resort clients.
Geoff Hatheway, president of Magic Mountain ski area in Londonderry, Vermont, first encountered Mogensen through Doug Fish, the previous owner of Indy Pass. Mogensen had organized a conference for independent operators of the Indy Pass at Powder Mountain (currently owned by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who has attracted attention for his plans to introduce private memberships at the resort). Hatheway was impressed by Mogensen’s approach and Entabeni’s capacity to customize its services to cater to the particular needs and challenges of each resort.
“We are investing substantial amounts to deliver a top-notch product on the slopes,” Hatheway notes, highlighting aspects of the skiing experience from snow production to ski education and lift management. “However, we don’t have an abundance of funds to invest in the business side—software and hardware—which often entails significant upfront costs.” Entabeni takes on those initial expenses for its resort partners and receives a portion of the profits later (a modest percentage, even less for nonprofit resorts). “They are invested alongside us. When we succeed, they succeed.”
Additionally, Hatheway mentions that Mogensen’s overall philosophy resonates well, emphasizing his commitment to small independent operators and his own involvement in the field. “Having those individuals show up in our parking lot, enjoy some drinks after work, and host a little barbecue to engage with everyone at Entabeni is part of the personal touch that makes skiing such a distinct industry,” he explains. Magic Mountain has regular meetings with the Entabeni team to discuss strategy, software, and hardware enhancements. “Erik adopts a hands-on approach. The vans represent one aspect of it: he genuinely comes and immerses himself in your operations for a week or two.”
Who Wants to Scale, Anyway?
Janlu Pretorius has been part of the Entabeni engineering team for three years and is currently among those who have temporarily relocated to New Hampshire to assist at Black Mountain.
“The practical approach here significantly contrasts what many engineers go through,” he remarks. “The quick feedback loop is impressive from an engineering viewpoint. It enables rapid iteration and enhances dynamism in the development process. It fuels creativity. While I’m at the mountain now, gazing at the slopes, I can envision countless applications and integrations for Entabeni on a larger scale.”
