Turning the Idea Into a Business

Many business people will tell you the product or idea is only a fraction of what matters – the execution and marketing of the service will make or break your venture. Four Santa Clarita-based entrepreneurs shared their experiences in successfully building a business around their idea for a new product.

Tania Mulry
Inventor and President
edRover
Stevenson Ranch
(661) 34ROVER (7-6837)
Consumers: edrover.com
Businesses: edrover.com/GetInvolved.aspx

Description of business:

A free mobile app designed to help businesses, consumers and schools build stronger community bonds by raising funds for schools painlessly. edRover is a California Public Benefit Corporation.

When did you start your company?

EdRover, Inc. was formed in July 2010. We launched our first app for iPhones in March 2011, and Windows phones in June 2011. Our new website, edRover.com, was introduced in August 2011.

How was the start-up funded?

I funded the start-up myself, with additional financial assistance from Compute.org, AT&T and Microsoft.

Is the product or service protected?

The term “edRover” and our dog mascot, EdRover are trademarked.

How did the idea for your business come about?

When I was a first-time mom going back to work in Corporate America after my maternity leave 10 years ago, I dropped my son at day care, along with a hefty payment.

As I turned to leave him there for the first time, the director called me back and handed me a big white envelope. I opened it to find a wrapping paper catalog.

“How can he sell wrapping paper? He can’t even crawl yet,” I asked. The director looked at me with amusement and said, “You need to sell the wrapping paper.” That was the first of hundreds of fundraising requests from my three kids’ schools, church, sports and scouts.

From that moment, I vowed to find a better way to help schools get the funds and supplies they needed rather than making parents and kids sell things that people don’t want or need.

After many years as an executive in the mobile marketing and mobile commerce field, creating award winning campaigns for large brands like JCPenney, GameStop, AT&T, Huggies, Nintendo, Frito-Lay and more, I decided to apply my expertise to this nagging school fundraising problem.

I knew from my work with large retail businesses that they desperately needed more foot traffic to their locations, and would gladly support schools in exchange for visits. Just like businesses pay for clicks to their website, I wanted to create a system where they would pledge a donation to the school of their visitor’s choice.

I also knew that PTA leaders and members spend countless hours, effort and money to participate in other types of fundraisers, from Box Tops for Education to saving Capri Suns to events and product sales. I was confident that when a tech savvy parent got the hang of checking-in to earn donations, it would become a really popular way for schools to raise funds easily, and for free.

Soon I added online shopping to the mix since retailers were also happy to support schools with a percent of each online purchase.

What is the business model?

Our platform is free for schools and consumers to use. We rely on generous businesses that make a monthly donation to edRover and list their business location (or local landmarks if they don’t have a storefront).

We add each business to our app and website, and then promote them on social media so people in our community know they can “check-in” to earn funds for their school from this business. As funds are collected by our users (called Rovers), they are accumulated for the school of choice. Rovers can pick the school of their choice or designate a specific classroom or activity to receive funds on a monthly basis.

We also offer a paid referral program for people, media outlets – blogs, newspapers, magazines – or organizations that want to help us with our mission.

Describe your company?

Our company currently has a team of five plus additional resources in our community working on the platform and spreading the word about edRover. We have accumulated more than 40,000 check-in locations across the country, including more than 75 check-in locations in Santa Clarita offering thousands of dollars ready for collection by Rovers.

Our goal is to make a significant impact on schools throughout Santa Clarita and the rest of the U.S. We are very proud to be based in a community that cares so deeply about education. We’ve really enjoyed working with all of the great businesses and schools that have embraced this idea and are excited about the future.

What do you believe led to the success of the business?

We worked hard to balance the needs in our community in a way that can drive value for everyone – businesses need visitors; schools need funds; parents, teachers and students want great deals – and wrapped it in a simple package that anyone can use.

Our team is really passionate about helping schools and that has helped us create a great network of supporters in the SCV – not to mention our cute mascot, edRover, has been very
popular, too.

John Allen
Inventor and Founder
California Pop Top
Valencia
(661) 257-7830, (866) 461-2141
www.caPopTop.com

Description of business:

The California PopTop is an innovative sun shading product that covers all windows and pops on or off in under one minute. Made of Tyvek material, by DuPont, the PopTop cover blocks 99.8 percent of the sun’s damaging UV rays and virtually eliminates solar heat buildup within a vehicle. Initially designed for cars and trucks, it has since been adopted by television and law enforcement agencies as well to protect sensitive equipment in helicopter cockpits.

When did you start your company?

I formed an LLC in July of 2004.

How was the startup funded?

I funded the company with a severance package from a previous employer and a second mortgage on my home.

Is the product protected?

I hold a U.S. Patent on my product and a registered trademark on my company/product name. I filed for a patent in March 2004 and it was granted three years later. Prior to filing my patent I spent about six months reading and learning about the patent and trademark process. This was time well spent, as it helped me find the short cuts in the process and reduce the costs of filing.

How did the idea for your business come about?

I bought a new car in 1986 and watched the interior start to fade over a short period of time as the car sat in the sun for 10 hours a day while parked at work. I didn’t want to wrestle with a full car cover, and a windshield sun shade didn’t really stop the damage, so I looked for something that only covered the entire interior of the car.

Not finding anything on the market, I started designing a solution to my problem. Within a year I perfected my design. Having a working model, however, is a major first step but it is only the first step. You need to test the product, find component vendors and explore manufacturing options.

Being busy with my career at the time, I put my idea on hold. Fifteen years later, and looking for a change in my life, I readdressed my idea with the goal of accomplishing a life-long dream of having a patent on something I personally created.

Most people have a good idea once or twice in their life but fail to pursue it. Then one day they see their idea for sale and comment, “I had that idea three years ago.” You may have an idea, but there are probably dozens of people that have the same idea. The winning idea is the one whose inventor files for a patent first.

When doing a patent search on my idea, I found 637 patents for an interior cover. But, I was fortunate that nobody filed a patent for my idea as to how to fasten the cover to the vehicle. I had simply designed a better “mouse trap.”

What is the business model?

I primarily sell my products online through my website as well as through Amazon and eBay. Several customers, who specialize in products for specific vehicles, e.g. BMW, Miata, etc., sell my products online through their websites or in their U.S. and Japan-based store fronts. I also am pursuing interest from national auto part stores, which is a very long process.

Three years ago I expanded my sun shading product into the aircraft industry. Currently, every Los Angeles TV station helicopter is using my cover when not in flight, as well as the Ontario Police Department., Glendale/Burbank Police Department, L.A. Sheriff’s Deptartment, L.A. Children’s Hospital, and tour companies in Hawaii, along with companies in Germany and Peru.

Describe your company?

Although I’ve developed a worldwide brand with sales from 37 countries, I am the only employee of my company at the time. I found it more cost-effective to outsource necessary tasks, like component preparation and production, than to increase my overhead. Annual sales range between $100,000 to $200,000.

In the seven years that I have been in business I have experienced steady growth from year to year, with a 30 percent increase over last year.

What do you believe led to the success of the business?

Persistence and commitment. Prior to quitting my “day-job,” I thought about the legend of Cortés. In 1519, he landed with a fleet of 12 ships near present day Veracruz, Mexico. Before launching his attack, he ordered his men to burn the ships to prevent his men from retreating - fully committing to a course of action.

Don Hubbard
Founder and President
WorkSafe Technologies
Valencia
(661) 257-2527
www.worksafetech.com

Description of business:

Seismic protection for sensitive computer, mainframes, data and networking equipment from the intense shaking and vibration that occur during an earthquake. Steel ball bearings set between two platforms, like small table tops. The design allows equipment to roll smoothly and evenly on the base in an earthquake, moving with the flow of energy as opposed to resisting the force of movement. The company’s isolation platforms can reduce the effects of shaking by 90 percent.

When did you start your company?

WorkSafe Technologies began in 1991.

How was the start-up funded?

I started the company in my garage with only $300. I also had vendors that were friends and helped me by giving me the time to pay and they helped me with the product designs.

Is the product protected?

Yes. We use our patented Ball-N-Cone technology in our ISO-Base Seismic Isolation Platforms, which are also patented worldwide.

How did the idea for your business come about?

I had a lot of exposure to product engineering, from aircraft to golf bags that, in turn, gave me exposure to a lot of trades. The idea of putting, essentially, a ball bearing inside two dishes was the basic idea and it’s such a simple technology that it blows people away. My philosophy is to give customers what they need, not what you want to sell them.

What is the business model?

My business partner Gil Moreno and I have more than 125 people in markets around the world with five locations in the U.S. and eight international locations. There are 12 employees in the Santa Clarita office and warehouse, 20 at the manufacturing plant in Palmdale, and 100 in Japan, where we have our largest customer base. Other offices have one or two representatives. And then we have distribution and installation people that we train.

Describe your company?

We had more than 1,700 installation sites in Japan before the mega 9.0 earthquake struck earlier this year. It was unsettling in the days after the initial earthquake because there was so much devastation and you just felt for the people in that country. It was also difficult to contact our own people in Japan. After a couple weeks, we began hearing that everyone was safe.

None of the equipment we protected failed, other than loss of power. The worst that happened was some of the equipment got scratched but it was all operational. That was good news because some knock-off competitors were starting to compete for our business and in some cases their products were located in the same rooms as ours – but their products failed in the earthquake.

We just shipped the largest single order in our history to Turkey, two airplanes full. Turkey recently suffered two large earthquakes as well. We already had the sale but worried that after the quake they might not want to take delivery for awhile, but fortunately they did.

When I started, I thought this was just going to be Southern California business. But we’ve now shipped an order to the 22nd country. We even shipped to a country I’d never heard of. We have close to 3,000 clients and protect more than $45 billion in computing assets around the world.

What do you believe led to the success of the business?

We saw a concept and ran with it. Most people didn’t understand it at first. We’re fortunate to be based in California – as it leads the world in seismic engineering and standards that are set.

We invented a product people really didn’t know they needed. Today, we still fight the traditional anchor bolting method, which protects “life-safety,” but our platforms protect the entire operational integrity of the company; protecting people from getting hurt, keeping systems, machines and information safe and letting them stay operational 24/7.

In the old days not too long ago, people actually hand wrote invoices. This world is so high-tech now that operational integrity is absolutely vital to every business today. Just look at the new trend of “cloud computing” – it is getting huge, with all types of equipment required to make it happen. We saw all of this coming and knew there would be a need to protect it. We are always working on new products to meet the needs we see with our technology.

Andrea Smith
President
Nutris Consulting
Valencia
(661) 362-8333
www.nutrisconsulting.com

Description of business:

Provides reliable, cost effective services to clients in need of clinical expertise and first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the healthcare system to bridge the gap between medicine and law. It uses Certified Legal Nurse Consultants – who are Registered Nurses – as consultants to bridge the gap between the legal world and medical world, providing solutions for medical-legal needs.

When did you start your company?

Nov. 3, 2010

How was the start-up funded?

Cash savings

How did the idea for your business come about?

As a new mom I was looking for a way to stay home with my children while still generating income. And so I searched for a lucrative home-based business that would allow me to use my nursing experience and sales background.

While home on maternity leave I looked into a Legal Nurse Consulting Certification Program. After a thorough investigation of the field, I enrolled in a legal certification program and became certified as a Legal Nurse Consultant on Nov. 1, 2010. Two days later, I applied for my DBA.

What is the business model?

We use independent consultants to work with clients so that we can meet the needs of as many clients as we have at any given time.

Describe your company?

I am the sole proprietor, with 25 independent consultant subcontractors who have various nursing specialties to address any issues that may arise and need an examination of records. Gross annual sales in my first year were $125,000.

What do you believe led to the success of the business?

The Signal published a story on my business Nov. 24, 2010 and on the same day the article appeared I received a call from my first client, Rick Patterson of Owen, Patterson & Owen, a personal injury law firm. Having such a respected attorney in the Santa Clarita Valley as my client provided the credibility and confidence I needed to launch my business.

Later, Brian Koegle, attorney with Poole & Shaffery and president of the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association, also took an interest in my business and extended an offer to partner with the Bar Association. I have been a sponsor and partner of the SCV Bar association since Feb. 2011.