Forum Moderators: phranque
Or maybe I should say that the last 4 years have been 4 long years for me. It's not over, it's just beginning.
Let me explain...
Almost 4 years ago, I was invited by my superior (AKA as 'boss') to design a new product that would revolutionize our industry. I obliged him with a few prototypes, but it really wasn't enough to impress him. I worked a little harder and discovered a method that was unheard of in the industry.
It worked.
My boss was very impressed, so we hired a marketing and distribution company and did some market tests. The market tests were great. Retailers loved it, but sales were slow. It was so revolutionary, the public was skeptical.
Why not use the web?
I had a hobby website that I was fond of, and suggested to my OTHER boss that maybe I could do up a website for our product to gain more exposure and possibly make a few sales. He refused. He wanted nothing to do with this 'Internet' stuff. He didn't understand the Internet, nor did he want to.
I wasn't happy with his response, so I went to our marketing firm and pitched it to them. They loved the idea. So I set to work on the website.
It is now late 2001. During the days I worked hard on engineering the bugs out of the product, making design changes, tests, etc. At night I worked on the website.
Always, at night I'm thinking, "WHY can't I be found in the Search Engines?"
Enter WebmasterWorld.
For the next several weeks I spent my days on the product and the evenings reading and soaking up the information on WebmasterWorld and putting the knowledge I’d learned to work on the website.
Success. Made the top ten in mid-2002. I made some good sales, but I still wasn't satisfied. It seemed I was trying so hard to convince the public that this product was the wave of the future, but very few were buying it. (No pun intended)
You never know who’s lurking:
Late in 2002, we received a phone call. A customer wanted to buy one of our products. Only this was no ordinary customer. This customer was a head of engineering for a major, well-known company.
He explained that they’ve been looking for a long time for a product like ours and perhaps they might be interested in buying our product to go on a new ‘gizmo’ that is coming out in 2005. We sent him the product. They loved it, put it through all the tests and 3 of them booked a flight to our humble little town to discuss some things.
We spent the next month guessing and second-guessing what they might want. Calculators were crunching numbers, batteries went dead…. (OK, they were solar-powered-but we REALLY crunched some numbers.)
These guys were THE big guys. You just didn’t get any higher. Period. And they’ve got some deep pockets.
Oh yeah, and they found our little product on page one of our search term.
Wanna go for a ride?
On Monday, January 7th, 2003 the executives showed up at our place. They toured the plant and we sat and began to talk.
They explained they are about to release a new and very expensive 'gizmo' in 2005. They have tested our product and found it has met their standards. They’ve looked at doing a product like ours for a few years and we are the first and only company that is doing it.
They love it. They claim the industry is looking for this product to put on THEIR 'gizmo's and we’ve got it. They want it. And then they ask, “Wanna go for a ride?”
“…Wanna go for a ride?”
Wow.
By this they meant that they are willing to help us get up to their production levels, quality standards, etc. They tell us if we go for a ride with them, THEIR competitors will be asking us to ‘go for a ride’, also. They are clearly saying to us that our product will sell all over if we ‘go for a ride’ with them.
When all is said and done and the numbers are crunched, we are looking at possible sales in the area of $XX million dollars a year.
The downside:
After all of this excitement, they explained the downside. They told us if our product has just one little problem, it will cost us dearly in downtime on their end. In fact, $XXXX per MINUTE. Yep, thousands of dollars a minute.
Ouch. Just like in Ghostbusters, “Ok, good safety tip…”
As of today we are still pondering. Do we risk it all? And I mean everything…for the shot at being rich? Or do we play it safe?
These are questions we need to answer in the next 2 weeks. These are questions that are some of the hardest questions I’ve ever tried to answer. I'm just numb from trying to figure it all out and absorb the possible ups and downs. Will my boss blow it? Will I blow it? Are there alternatives to any risk?
I can't figure out what we will do. Are we ready for prime time? Is our CITY ready for this? (Oh yes, this will be a major thing in our city...we would be looking to employ up to 200 people in 4-5 years.)
"But this is the chance of a lifetime!?"; "It's what every gizmo maker wants, don't pass it up!?"; "Don't risk it all?"; "Risk it all?".
Questions and more questions... time is short and we only have one shot at this!
Then again....
I HAVE noticed one of their competitor’s in my logs the past few days…hehe.:)
PS:
Brett and all, thanks again for giving us (our little company) the chance of a lifetime! Without this forum, I would still be wondering why no-one comes to my website….
What a post.
not very often I get goose pimples reading a post at Webmasterworld.
I cant tell you which way to go, however if they came to you, then you are doing something RIGHT.
Good Luck.
Shak
Great post - and please let us know what happens! :)
-webwoman
If not, start working towards one!
After all of this excitement, they explained the downside. They told us if our product has just one little problem, it will cost us dearly in downtime on their end. In fact, $XXXX per MINUTE. Yep, thousands of dollars a minute.
What is you rability to put quailty assurance into effect on the products you produce? What affect will it have on your costs? Are these still inline with their expectations?
Have you filed for a patent?
Good Luck, tell us how it turns out, are you buying the beer at the next Barcon I attend?
..... Shane
How exciting! And I don't even know what you're talking about... hehe.
Patent? Got it.
They loved the product they bought. They just want to know if they can get xxxxx thousand more exactly the same.
Insurance is out of the question. You blow this deal, the company dies. They made that VERY clear. It HAS happened before.
We can't compete with this type of corporate power. They know it.
BUT, they are forward enough to say that if WE want this deal, THEY are in it as deep as WE are. (Their jobs may be on the line-it's their reputation/job to discover products like ours....)
This is not a situation where lawyers would help us reduce the risk and insurance for this kind of stuff didn't help any other company that went broke with them.
This is a dead serious deal...and they are being truthful with us.
What made me feel so great is that the one executive wanted my card for my hobby website....we share the same hobbies :)
They also asked a LOT about recreational opportunities in our area...that was a little strange?
are you buying the beer at the next Barcon I attend?
I always buy beer for friends, Shane!
What about if things go sour? Will you personally be bankrupt? or will you just be out of a job?
Personal bankruptcy is not acceptable = more very cautious contemplation is required before moving foreward.
Out of a job is acceptable. You have mentioned the BOSS a lot, so this is obviously not your company. I don't mean to sound insensitive to your current employer, but you can always find another job if the bottom falls out.
Like DrCool said,
Opportunities like this don't come around too often and 10 years from now you can either be kicking yourself for passing it up or you can be lying on the beach relaxing.
Above all though, you must pray about it.
So what is their track history with companies that they have partnered with?
Contact some of them and see the written stuff. How much control do they exert? How much preasure do they exert? Are the owners of the other companies happy and is the main owner of a similar bent as they are?
(I know, you have proably made a decision by now.)
By-the-way, why the tight timeframe and all the preasure?
..... Shane
My father-in-law had a chance to invest in styrofoam cups waaaay back at the very beginning. He didn't do it.
This may be the only chance you'll get. Think about that before you decide.
Yes - think about bankruptcy, losing your job and all that other stuff.
Then remember that you may never get another opportunity like this again in your entire life.
Good luck!
Brett told me, this is NOT the dress rehersal! It is better to have loved and lost...no, that is not the right saying, but you get the drift.
In my 20's I was too cautious. I do not regret it, as it taught me what you miss, the pleasure and the pain of living. The more you live, the better it gets! What is the worst that can happen?
Hey, who am I telling, did you not have a little one recently?
George
Less than 4 months ago I was soo poor I had nothing in my house to eat except salad crutons. I was POOR!
I came across a great oppertunity and went for it, I put all my eggs in the basket(ie. rent money, food money ect.)
Well about 2 weeks ago I took my girlfreind and both my parents down to mexico for all expenses paid vacation.
I'm I glad I took the risk? YES!
Of course your situation is different, but what are the odds of this oppertunity coming along again?
Less than 4 months ago I was soo poor I had nothing in my house to eat except salad crutons. I was POOR!
I came across a great oppertunity and went for it, I put all my eggs in the basket(ie. rent money, food money ect.)
Well about 2 weeks ago I took my girlfreind and both my parents down to mexico for all expenses paid vacation.
I'm I glad I took the risk? YES!
Of course your situation is different, but what are the odds of this oppertunity coming along again?
After some very long discussions, we decided that we weren't ready for the requirements they had given us. Mostly it was the $XXXX.XX per minute cost. Also: the rollout time was a little fast for us, considering their requirements.
BUT: :)
We are going to get A DEAL ANYWAY, the way it sounds. :)
The difference is that they had wanted us to provide our product for Standard Equipment on their expensive new 'gizmo'. Limited run. That won't happen. We can't afford to shut down their plant.
Instead, they are asking us to provide our product as an 'option' (rather than 'standard'). Much less risk on both ends. (They claim that the potential for sales is just as high.)
We are quite satisfied with this possible deal, and we feel confident going forward from here.
We are able to roll out this product for less than 1% of THEIR cost to do the same thing. Besides, we have it patented. :)
In the next month we are requiring a retooling to better match their 'gizmo'. We have a small P.O. that should be on the way. The product will then go to the 'option' division for testing, but they assured us that it would probably do just fine, since we passed the standard division's tests.:)
It's VERY exciting, just not as exciting as we had hoped for.(Standard=HUGE P.O.; option=many small P.O.'s)
ALTHOUGH, the end result may be the same...the competitors will come knocking pretty soon!
~~~we're moving on up~~...to the Eastside...~~~~
From little old website to the bigtime :)
Again, if it weren't for WebmasterWorld, and all that I've learned here....we would have never had this chance!
Thanks all for helping! (Brett is at the top of the 'thanks' list!)
Great news either way. Congratulations on your gizmo making the big time!
....there's perhaps still the possibility of going standard at a later date if things get rolling smoothly?
Yep.
It's called 'backdoor'. Very common, I understand. Their 'gizmo' will only be offered for 4 years, at which time a new 'gizmo' will be offered...
Just by offering it as an 'option', they will be marketing our product for us, AND giving us the needed exposure to a skeptical public.
---> Quick side-story:
When I first started on this project, I saw a similar (but different) product in a magazine that was 'standard' on a 'gizmo'. I cut it out, studied it for hours and mentally framed it as something we were shooting for. I could NOT figure out how they did it...so I gave up on copying them. I figured it wouldn't work.
Well...It didn't!
The Big Guys told us that project failed. Miserably. Cost their competitor millions. But WE did it right...hehe.
Lesson learned? "Never understimate what hard work can do".
Enjoy the moment!
..... Shane
BTW, when are you going to have the "Gizmo" on our weekly Gizmo Quiz? ;)
Hope it all works out even better than you ever dreamed possible! If we can't share in the cash, at least we can all say we knew you when.... ;)
Congrats again!
Another phone call. This one was from one their 2 'competitors'. They bought one of our products. :)
Another senior engineer....
Here we go again....? :)
Wow... you really hit the jackpot, eh?
4 years of working alone 8 hours a day in a large warehouse with no windows by myself?
Not really a 'jackpot', more like a 'get out of jail free card'...
:)
Best of luck!
Not really a 'jackpot', more like a 'get out of jail free card'...
Well, if you're in jail, that's gonna seem like a heck of a jackpot, no? ;) Especially if you aren't doing all that work for free now...
.... Shane
This is the kind of sdtory that reminds you that you live in the USA. It is great to hear a story of good things happeneing to good people. And even better you got your "second chance" of sorts as an "option" ot the gizmo.
But now that you have the other 2 knocking at your door... I would listen, but I would not try to out deal all these guys. A few other people noted cliche's, and here is mine: A bird in the Hand...
Don't mess it up!
And good luck with this- I am very happy for you!
dave
