Entrepreneur’s new company ‘started itself. . . . I just kind of held onto the reins’

As a sophomore in high school in 1996, Tyler Eastman saw his first business opportunity.

He stopped into an antique store in his hometown of Lyons and asked the owner if she’d heard of eBay, which was becoming popular. Eastman suggested she let him try to sell an umbrella stand for her through eBay. He sold it within seven days, making $100 for himself and more than $1,700 for her.

“It was like a rush,” Eastman said. “Wow, I helped sell something she couldn’t sell for a decade.”

Now, he’s helping people sell whatever products and services they have through his new Vivifyre. Eastman said he doesn’t like to call it a “digital marketing agency, but that’s what people understand.”

“I’m trying to be a partner,” Eastman said. “It’s amazing what the differences can be between a well-thought-out buyer journey compared to . . . just kind of shooting your message out and hoping that it hits somebody at some point. It’s a very, very different mentality and sophistication.”

Eastman has had a range of experiences that led to him starting this business.

He parlayed his eBay experience into a Lyons storefront where he bought and sold rare books. He also helped classmates sell textbooks online. Among other jobs he had after graduating from Friends University with a political science degree, Eastman became The Wichita Eagle’s first interactive sales manager and sold the first advertising through Kansas.com as the 2008 economic crisis was hitting.

“It was a scary time,” he said.

Something clicked when he was able to produce digital marketing that worked.

“The really great thing is the measurability of it.”

Eastman said he wanted to learn more about online commerce, so he and his wife rented a U-haul and took a chance on starting over in San Francisco.

“There was no backup. . . . It was an all-in.”

It paid off because Eastman ran digital marketing teams for large companies such as Macy’s, American Eagle Outfitters and other companies, including in Austin where he moved next. Family and a low cost of living made him return home as did his goal of starting his own company.

“I’m an entrepreneur at heart,” Eastman said. “I’ve always been doing something on the side to scratch that entrepreneurial itch.”

He said he’s good at reading the business climate and answering, “What gap can I fill?”

To Eastman, Vivifyre means to renew or make new, and he said he wants to help clients “refresh their digital presence.”

He started consulting with businesses on “how do you make delightful experiences?”

Eastman said he likes using what he learned at larger companies to help small businesses, especially during such a difficult time as a pandemic.

“It’s a rewarding feeling knowing I can step in . . . and I can help out.”

Eastman said people started coming to him. A company was born.

“It’s like it started itself. . . . I just kind of held onto the reins.”