Our Why
Float Loaders was founded on the idea that parade day should be all play and no work and that everyone who rides should be able to enjoy the whole pre-parade experience without the pain of loading throws. You also believed in and invested in that idea, and because of you, Float Loaders came to life!
My name is Anita Tillman, and I am the Founder and CEO of Float Loaders. As I approached my fifth year as a rider, I decided enough was enough. I refused to go into another parade season having to deal with the grind of stuffing bags into my truck, hauling them to the float, unloading them with whatever loose shopping cart, dolly, or whichever parking-lot-volunteer-side-hustler-who-works-for-tips I could find, and braving the narrow float steps to get what always felt like two tons of beads and throws loaded. I wanted to hire someone to do it for me, and I knew I could not be the only one who was fed up, so I created Float Loaders. I set up a web page, created a social media site, and shared my first post to a group on February 1, 2019, at 9:55 p.m. Within 90 minutes, I had my first paying client who enthusiastically chose our Concierge Service and paid the deposit with no questions asked! At that moment, I knew that I had something special and that Float Loaders was poised to be a game-changer.
In the 15 days leading up to Mardi Gras, we were contacted by riders from Nyx, Femme Fatale, Athena, and Zulu. Those riders trusted us to transport and load 436 packages of masks, towels, beads, plush, hula hoops, fedoras, footballs, coconuts, and so much more. Our team loaded at midnight in a thunderstorm, navigated through parade traffic to pick up door-to-door from Gentilly to Uptown to the Westbank, braved 45-degree temps to load clients on nine different floats, and I was even spotted in the back of a truck moving boxes around in a full business suit and pearls! We did whatever it took, and we got the job done!
Float Loaders went from a concept to a fully functioning entity in less than 30 days, and we learned a lot in a very short time. My gut was right, and we proved that Float Loaders was the missing link for many in the parade space. The future is bright, and we are growing and scaling in a way that will not sacrifice our Integrity, Accuracy, Efficiency, or Excellence. These are our core values, and we always want to ensure that we are on brand and on time.
We are excited about the year ahead and look forward to providing better service to even more clients.
Remember, friends don't let friends load floats!
