After entering the summer season looking to grow the market reach of his skiing and snowboarding buddy app, Shredhead founder Donny McCauley has set his sights on new goals for his burgeoning business venture.

Graduating from Summit High School in 2021, McCauley was inspired to develop the Shredhead app after he went to Trestle Bike Park at Winter Park Resort and wanted people to enjoy the day with.

Seeing the potential for an app that would allow users to connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts, McCauley then went about the process of developing his first phone application. 

After hours of coding and development, the first version of the app officially launched In December 2024. Since the launch, thousands of users have downloaded the free app in order to connect with people.

Now a senior at the University of Colorado, McCauley has seen continual success with the app over the summer and early fall. As an inspired, young entrepreneur, McCauley forged critical partnerships that he feels will spur Shredhead into a brand new chapter. 

“Through the first Summit Daily article, the town of Breckenridge reached out and they want to promote the Firecracker 50 and the Race Breck series through the platform,” McCauley said. “Use it as a tool to market to the Denver audience and all of those markets.”

A few weeks ago, McCauley formally presented to the town of Breckenridge, breaking down the app and how it can serve a pivotal role in marketing the town’s wide array of year-round races. 

“They loved it,” McCauley said. “We are going to be working with them through events and that kind of thing.”

Beyond wanting to build partnerships and forge connections, McCauley entered the summer season also wanting to grow the app’s market reach by being able to purchase a custom tent that would be branded with the Shredhead logo. 

Due to the generosity of the Summit County and outdoor recreation communities, McCauley successfully bought the tent and is planning to use it at any event he feels can increase the amount of users the app has. 

Displaying his ability to effectively pitch his business to a wide array of entities, McCauley has also formed a partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder’s Boulder Freeride club.

Claiming to be the largest ski and snowboard club in the U.S., Boulder Freeride will partner with Shredhead for its annual Hill Jam event in late January. Like many rail jams in an urban setting, Boulder Freeride’s Hill Jam event will transform a local shopping center into a competition zone that features snow, scaffolding and energy. 

Shredhead has partnered with the club to be an official sponsor at the event, allowing McCauley to set up a tent, give out free Shredhead stuff and get further involved in the community. 

Boulder Freeride is also looking into replacing its current messaging app with Shredhead. The switch would group Boulder Freeride members into one concise app and allow them to contact one another seamlessly.

The group host function is something that McCauley has also been working on over the summer season. When not presenting to prospective partners, McCauley has been diligently working to develop an updated version of the app, adding features including group connectivity, a carpool feature, a mascot and an updated logo. 

McCauley is most excited about the group connectivity improvements, as it will allow users to be synced with others in the mountain community.

“It is not going to feel like you are connecting with just one person, but you can create groups,” McCauley said. “You can invite people to a group from the connecting stream itself. It gives more opportunities to meet people. There is also a search bar, so you can actually search people by username at the top of the screen.”

Really highlighting the app’s connectivity, McCauley plans to launch a social media campaign over the next several months that will hinge on the saying, “Make skiing social again”.

“That is the whole point of the app — to make skiing feel more social, easier and frictionless,” McCauley said. 

Just in time for the heart of the ski and snowboarding season, the new version of the app is expected to go live in app stores on Dec. 7. All of the features of the updated app will then become available on Dec. 14. Those wanting to be part of a soft launch of the updated version of the app can download TestFlight from the Apple App Store and then visit TestFlight.apple.com

Following months of hard work, determination and perseverance, McCauley feels grateful that the app is in a position where it is being downloaded and invested in.

“It has been pretty unreal,” McCauley said. “It has been really cool. The experiment of trying it out, pitching it over and over again. Just seeing this is something that people truly want. Hopefully this will help more people get out on the mountain.”

After achieving many of the goals he envisioned for Shredhead at the beginning of the year, McCauley will now focus his energy on integrating the app more in local communities like Summit County. 

“We want to be integrated into the community, ” McCauley said. “We want to work with places that sell breakfast burritos, coffee — anything that a skier would get in the morning. We would only work with local shops. We want to give them a platform to advertise their stuff.”

For the most recent updates on Shredhead, follow the company on Instagram at Instagram.com/shredhead.app/.