Newport Harbor graduate kicks off business with a splash — and a slide

When he was growing up, Landon Leguina’s mother always rented out inflatable water slides for his June birthday parties. Between those and the parties organized on his street for the kids and neighbors to connect, those inflatable playsets held a lot of fond memories for him.

Now 18, he hopes to be able to facilitate those memories for other kids too.

Leguina, a recent Newport Harbor High School graduate, officially launched his business — Splash n Slide — in the spring of this year and was booked for two parties so far, with more on the way as the summer gets into full swing.

He said he’s been thinking about starting the business for at least two years, after talking about entrepreneurship with his step-father.

“I’ve always been interested in [the slides and bounce houses] since I was a kid, so we got the idea, but we stepped forward on it last summer. But I’d ended up being gone a lot, so I wasn’t able to put in as much time and effort as I wanted to. That’s why this spring and summer, it’s really been my focus,” Leguina said.

Landon Leguina, a recent Newport Harbor graduate from Costa Mesa recently launched Splash n Slide. Leguina uses a special cleaner to keep surface clean and in good shape. He owns two bounce houses that he rents.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“I really started in February, so we could be set up for spring and summer, which would be what I thought was my busier season. I started making stickers, making fliers, going door-to-door. And, we had some great leads,” he said. “I got a small personal loan from my mom that I’m paying back now, but we bought a water slide and a bounce house after I did some research.”

Now, Leguina said he’s the proud owner of four water slides. Depending on the size requested and the dates of parties, all-day rentals are around $150 on average for bounce houses and $350 on average for the water slides. He said he negotiates costs with customers and that his business sometimes rolls out discounts.

For his part, Leguina said he does a lot of the business on his own, having learned through YouTube videos and asking questions. Deployment is another story. Sometimes friends he’s hired will help him transport the slides and set them up at venues because of the sheer weight and size.

Landon Leguina, a recent Newport Harbor graduate from Costa Mesa recently launched Splash n Slide. Leguina said he had plans for the business for at least two years before he got it off and running in February of this year.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Sometimes, he uses the slides and bounce houses to host events in his own neighborhood — his way of giving back.

“I do really enjoy working for a service, especially a local one. I feel good about knowing that kids will have fun because I used to be in those shoes. I remember how much I loved them for my birthdays and I enjoy knowing that I can do that for other people,” Leguina said. “The other side of that is that I can see myself being entrepreneurial. This whole experience has been really beneficial for me, and I like learning how to run a business better so that I can set myself up for the future.”

Leguina said he’s heading to Orange Coast College in the fall, where he’ll be studying communications and business. He added he hopes to continue running the business locally even after he transfers to another school.

He said he has other business ideas he wants to eventually pursue, but that it’s his wish to keep Splash n Slide going for as long as he can. He encourages other young business-minded people to try to chase their ideas if they feel true passion for them.

“The longer you wait, the harder it’ll become. The earlier you start, the better you can set up. But it’s definitely not easy,” he said with a laugh.

Landon Leguina, a recent Newport Harbor graduate from Costa Mesa recently launched Splash n Slide. He said the business was inspired by childhood memories with bounce houses and water slides.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)