Progress Thread: Sir Ingenious Collection

[Sir Ingenious]

Hello fastlaners,

I think I'm going to carry my process via this message thread to share my news, insights, and whatnot.

Hopefully by making this thread in particular, I can accomplish 3 things simultaneously: inspire, learn and interact with and from you fellow fastlaners. Now with that out of the way, here goes nothing...

As some of you may know, I delivered my 2 week notice to my manager last week. This week marks my last week on the job and it's already approaching Wednesday (this week cannot go by fast enough, ugh). This job has taught me a lot of things about life in general, however and I'm really thankful for all that life education that I've been given for the past 7-8 months in that job.

Now, I'm ready to gracefully quit my prior endeavors and am fully prepared to fail. Yes, failing for me is an option because it's the only way I can succeed at what I'm about to do. I have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

So far in my fastlane journey, I've completed the following tasks (in no order):
1. Gotten a very reliable sunglasses manufacturer from Alibaba (this was surprisingly fast and easy)
2. Gotten 3 samples of my product (sunglasses)
3. Read 35-40 books on business and life (and counting)
4. Read countless blogs on business and life
5. Fully designed a logo for the company ('Sir Ingenious')
6. Bought a website from GoDaddy (siringenious.com)
7. Discovered my target market (trendy millennials that are into fashion and music)
8. Created a story of my product ("Lenses, Music to Your Eyes")
9. Somewhat studied my competition and gained influences (I aim to be the Supra of sunglasses, whereas Ray-Ban and Carrera are more sophisticated, Sir Ingenious is more trendy and younger)
10. Bought a video camera (a cheap but hopefully reliable Panasonic HC-V10) for video marketing
11. Shipped 1 of the sunglasses to powphotography.com to professionally take photographs of my sunglasses

Things that I will do (in no order):
1. Get the samples for sunglasses case, bag and cloth (this is currently underway)
2. Produce a successful marketing video (with maybe iMovie and my new camera, unless if you have any other suggestions)
3. Launch Kickstarter (the very last step)
4. Retrieve product photos
5. If the results of #4 is good, then I'll also ship the sunglasses case, bag and cloth for photos as well
6. Survey the sunglasses at a mall (and record on video camera for #2)
7. Survey the sunglasses on other platforms (facebook, forums, etc for #2 and 3)
8. Create and complete a website (siringenious.com)


That's it so far.

Also, I plan to lose a roughly 40 more pounds (I weigh 218 lbs, planning to reach 180 lbs), so I will have lost a grand total of 300 pounds (from 485 lbs) from when I first began my weight loss journey 3 years ago through pure diet and exercise and a dramatic lifestyle change, no surgeries or tricks.

Oh I almost forgot to mention above but I've attached 3 files (2 of them are blueprints of my sunglasses and 1 of them is the logo).

I'll show off the professional photos of the sunglasses when they are done.


Anyways, thanks for reading!

 

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[Sir Ingenious]

I think that's a great idea, and mix music in with the "night vision" glasses (green) - first thing that popped into my head.

I think different colors is a wonderful idea, I assume you mean of the lenses themselves within the same frames, aka, not interchangeable. I was considering that it might be simpler for you to offer them without the option to change out the lenses.

People would love having different colors offered IMHO simply because I see this as being marketed as being your own person or your own 'rebel' much like your own music defines who you are. Places like Buckle would probably love to have these on their shelves as they try to portray the image of individuality.

--------------------------------
Outside of that, I will comment to everyone reading this Sir Ingenious is a great person all around, I've communicated with him a few times through PM, he seems very genuine, passionate, and willing to offer help. My opinion may not count for much but I fully back him and his dreams. -End Endorsement

It really reminds me of what I was reading in Cracking the Success Code About how during an interview the author noted a comment made "I see them biking too much" in reference to start ups in silicon valley. Simply stating that people truly interested in their work will wake up excited, work nights and weekends, without rest because they have a vision they want to achieve. Where as the "bikers" take time out of their day for long bike rides and relaxation when their company hasn't even gotten off the ground. In the interviewees opinion it showed lack of commitment, they were only there for what they thought would be a quick market to make money on rather than having a dream. As a result the start-ups he saw being lazy and disingenuous often failed and left the founders wondering "why."

The person and product Sir Ingenious has created seems to very genuine and I bet he can't wait to get up and work on it some more

Hey man, thanks a lot for your words. Really, really awesome.

'Night vision' is cool or how about 'Nightlight'? That's another cool name, I think.

I think the main thing with building a brand or business is to build it based on who you are, not about what's your passion is. I love cooking but I could never own a bakery or restaurant because that's not who I am. I am an eccentric designer who loves to design weird, off-the-wall stuff, so that's what I'll do. And I'm known for being a good cartoonist as well, so there's that. So, I can apply my eccentricity on anything, from sunglasses to t-shirts to anything else.

So, if you were to make a startup, build it through who you are. Not what you love to do. That's the key difference there.


I've designed another poster, this time the sunglasses is in a 3/4 frontal view.

What's your opinion about the poster? Thanks.

 

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[Sir Ingenious]

sounds good.

Crazy how they only charged you 350 bux. I mean all you sent them was a drawing. Can't believe they made a CAD model(tons of work) then fabricated a personal mold(tons of expensive work) then did a small production run for you, then shipped everything over seas.

Who's the manufacturer?

My manufacturer and supplier goes by the name of Shenzhen Sifier Technology Co., LTD.

If you need anything done (sunglasses in particular), I recommend them to you. Really nice people and amazing service thus far. And this is why I referred them outwardly, they are that amazing and I'm so lucky to have found them.

All they do is give, give, give. So, in exchange, they got my service and hopefully for a long time.

So today was good.

I got an e-mail response back from the guys at powphotography.com, telling me that they've received my product and will shoot it tomorrow morning (Friday). So, I'm pretty excited about it and I can't wait to see the final photographs. When I get the photographs, I will run it by you guys, so stay tuned!

Also, as my next to last day at work, I had a learning experience.

I remember reading some other thread (can't remember which) and Vigilante mentioned that someone can finally take control over his life. Well, today at work, a co-worker made an error at his job, which the consequences could've been a major one but luckily, it wasn't. So, our coordinator swung by and scolded/lectured at him like he was an adolescent, giving him "one and only warning" speech and all. In front of two of us fellow co-workers (including myself). Ouch. And I felt really bad and embarrassed for him.

He didn't speak for a while after that and I mean he was QUIET; he was like an ashamed dog that got yelled at by his master.

At that point, I wanted to intervene and tell him to quit his job. Do something worth doing. And he deserves much better than that. But judging from experience, I don't want to give him unwarranted advice. So I didn't say anything, just patted his back and told him it was okay.

The thing is though: I believe he's around 30-32 years old, roughly 7 years older than I. And he's being scolded like he's a dog. Or a child. Whatever. However, this makes me very glad that I have the insight as I do now and is able to make good choices at this point. I don't want to be anyone's dog at 32, let alone now. Screw that.

And I've seen similar cases like the one explained above at the very same job not too long ago, except these people actually have children of their own. And they're roughly 35-40 years of age; I felt really embarrassed for them when I witnessed it. HOW can people be okay with being someone else's cog/dog/worker/etc? Yikes.

Either you have a master or you are one, there's really no other way.

Take control of your damn life. Because you can.

 

[Sir Ingenious]

Hello fastlaners,

Day 1 of freedom.

Tastes so great, feels so exciting and all.

So, yesterday marked the last day of my job and I'm now a full-time entrepreneur. Also, there were several surprises in store that should be shared with you guys. But first, I got some camera equipments that came in the mail yesterday (finally!) and I'm going to get my product mailed back to me from the photographer.

So, pictures taken by powphotography.com (and I really recommend their services), I hereby introduce you to 'The Flashlight', first installment in the Sir Ingenious Collection!


This one I made through Photoshop from one of the pictures below.









Suggestions? Comments?

Feel free to lay it all down here!

 

[Vick]

3. Launch Kickstarter (the very last step)

Just a heads up, because I was gonna use Kickstarter as well for my Eyewear line.

Kickstarter doesn't allow Eyewear campaigns anymore.

I emailed them because I saw this on there website.

What is not allowed?

No bath, beauty, and cosmetic products; electronic surveillance equipment; eyewear (sunglasses, prescription glasses, and others); firearms, weapons, knives, weapon accessories, and replicas of weapons; medical, health, safety, and personal care products; or infomercial-type products.

Guidelines — Kickstarter

The other eyewear campaigns featured on there were before they issued this new rule. not sure why.

 

[Sir Ingenious]

Actually diggin' the shades. I am a huge shades fiend, so my brain is on the brink of saying "shut up and take my money"

Also, really diggin' the logo and the font used on the logo and your product mock-ups/samples. Keep using that, it's fresh and almost sort of retro. Good looks.

Thanks for the compliment, man. Much appreciated.

What sort of shades do you wear?

And yes, I was aiming towards retro. It's nice to see that you have gotten the story!

do you have other styles? or just the one frame?

Hey, this shade is the only shade that will be launching; I figure that I ought to start out with baby steps but I do plan on releasing some more shades in the future whether or not this one gets off the ground.

One question for you: what sort of shades would you like to see in the collection? Feel free to collaborate!


And at last but not least, I tweaked up the poster in Photoshop for a bit, what do you guys think?

 

[Sir Ingenious]

I run a record label. Let's talk

Haha, I'm actually open. So, hit me up anytime!

Out of curiosity, though: what record label do you run, man?

The glasses look good.
I was researching the FDA and came across this - it might be applicable to your situation "sunglasses as Class 1 medical devices". ie registering your company with the FDA and making sure they are shatter resistant
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/De.../ucm150001.htm

Thanks, man. And noted as I'll read it.

Love the glasses -- totally agree about needing a 3/4 view on Ad. The Flashlight feels like a weird name for me though, but probably won't make a difference what you call them. The retro feel makes me think of something like old those old color Lantern lenses used to signal trains or something.

Hey, hey, thanks man.

So, that's a couple of you that requests for a 3/4 view and 3/4 view it is. Thank you for the recommendation.

I was actually aiming for retro but more specifically, 1970's through 1980's with a bit of 1990's. I love those days even though I was born in '87 but still, very fascinating.

I love the glasses and the motion you're getting going. I had an idea strike me as I was reading through the posts.

Why not sell the glasses......and additional lenses of varying colors so people can make it their own. Plus with you selling the lenses separately there should be (my guess) a greater profit margin for you.

I understand it may be difficult depending on your manufacturer and the design of the glasses but just an idea. After all you are going for retro and the thing that made the iMac so popular was the ability to chose your own color.

Btw I'll reply to your PM shortly thanks for sending it my way!

Thanks, man.

I actually thought about it, maybe selling them in different colors (red, blue, mix, green, yellow, etc). Hence, the whole theme of 'Flashlight'. What do you think about that?

I'm almost afraid to suggest this...as it may be an asinine idea..but I picked up on 'music', 'sunglasses', 'design'. I can see parts of lyrics printed on the sides of sunglasses, or crazier...on the lenses !

Haha, I thought I was crazy when I even released this sunglasses initially.

So yeah, I'm aiming for crazy - it's remarkable. Printing out lyrics ain't a bad idea, kinda like the Snapple with the weird facts under the caps kinda thing?

WHOA, I thought of a cool idea: maybe I can put in random lyrics underneath the sunglasses cases that I'm selling, like with the Snapple/weird facts thing. What do you think?

Man, you're awesome with your idea!


Anyone got any more ideas? Shoot 'em here!

I'm looking forward in building this startup with all of you; it's good to know that I'm not alone in this.

Thanks.

 

[F430]

sounds good so far Ill be following your progress

by the way if you ever need help with losing weight let me know. I do some freelancing work as a nutritional consultant. Helped my little brother lose 150lbs in less than a year and I've been lifting weights for years myself. let me know if your interested- I can help you setup an eating schedule for example (for free of course)

 

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[Steele Concept]

Good looks Sir Ingenious. It is sad that a lot of people lack the self esteem to stick up for themselves/defend themselves. A good solution for that guy would have been to tell that guy to F*ck off or if he was concerned with his job to politely confront the demeaning individual after the situation.

Public humiliation is a terrible tactic to try and change behavior patterns.

I look forward to seeing your glasses man, speed on taking action and having some big cahonas to do it.

 

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[liquidglass]

Good job on starting the ball rolling. When I first read your thread I was thinking man this guy is doing a lot of activity and not much action. But it looks like you're headed in the right direction.

My advice for kickstarter read this: hacking kickstarter

Also I do have a question, did you do all the work on the drawing yourself or did you use someone else? If you did it yourself and are interested in a very small freelance project I have something in mind for you. PM me.

 

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[rblitz]

Amazing.

I read your story a few days ago and I'm happy to see you're still on the ball.
The first thing that came to my mind by looking at your poster were the "old Coca Cola posters". So I think you've done a great job so far!


Keep it up!

 

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[ManWithABeard]

Also, as far as more styles in the future, I see that old school Macho Man Randy Savage style of shades blowing up, Neff did a style i guess for MTV Riff Raff (he wears that style alot), and of course a wayfarer style in like a bamboo-like material, I think folks will dig that, I notice folks like the usual style, but they love it when a usual style is made differently, hence a bamboo-material wayfarer, or even the style you already have and just messing around with different colorways and different materials.

Fyi - of course you don't have to use real bamboo for cost reasons, but you can definitely roll with a feaux-bamboo style that's just as durable

anyway just my two cents, really looking forward to seeing this progress my dude!

 

[TJPB]

I don't think the font and color of "the Flashlight" go well with the product. It looks more like a horror movie title. Also, its hard to tell that's an "F". Just my opinion.

 

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[TJPB]

Also.....when I read the sentence at the bottom.....even though "lenses" is in red, I'm reading it as part of the sentence. You need a colon, or dash, or something in there to tell the reader you are describing lenses.

 

[Vick]

One thing that strikes me about the layout, is the Side view of the shades. cant really see the overall design.

Do you have any 3/4 views ? like these http://www.spyoptic.com/sunglasses/l/100_viewall

This way people will see the whole design, as opposed to just the arms.

Great progress so far

 

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[Sir Ingenious]

Also.....when I read the sentence at the bottom.....even though "lenses" is in red, I'm reading it as part of the sentence. You need a colon, or dash, or something in there to tell the reader you are describing lenses.

Gotcha! I'll address that as well. Thanks.

One thing that strikes me about the layout, is the Side view of the shades. cant really see the overall design.

Do you have any 3/4 views ? like these http://www.spyoptic.com/sunglasses/l/100_viewall

This way people will see the whole design, as opposed to just the arms.

Great progress so far

Yup, I do have a 3/4 view of the shades. I'll test it out in Photoshop.

And thanks, man.


Any more ideas, folks? Feel free to keep 'em coming!

Really loving the collaboration that we got going here.

 

[liquidglass]

I actually thought about it, maybe selling them in different colors (red, blue, mix, green, yellow, etc). Hence, the whole theme of 'Flashlight'. What do you think about that?

I think that's a great idea, and mix music in with the "night vision" glasses (green) - first thing that popped into my head.

I think different colors is a wonderful idea, I assume you mean of the lenses themselves within the same frames, aka, not interchangeable. I was considering that it might be simpler for you to offer them without the option to change out the lenses.

People would love having different colors offered IMHO simply because I see this as being marketed as being your own person or your own 'rebel' much like your own music defines who you are. Places like Buckle would probably love to have these on their shelves as they try to portray the image of individuality.

--------------------------------
Outside of that, I will comment to everyone reading this Sir Ingenious is a great person all around, I've communicated with him a few times through PM, he seems very genuine, passionate, and willing to offer help. My opinion may not count for much but I fully back him and his dreams. -End Endorsement

It really reminds me of what I was reading in Cracking the Success Code About how during an interview the author noted a comment made "I see them biking too much" in reference to start ups in silicon valley. Simply stating that people truly interested in their work will wake up excited, work nights and weekends, without rest because they have a vision they want to achieve. Where as the "bikers" take time out of their day for long bike rides and relaxation when their company hasn't even gotten off the ground. In the interviewees opinion it showed lack of commitment, they were only there for what they thought would be a quick market to make money on rather than having a dream. As a result the start-ups he saw being lazy and disingenuous often failed and left the founders wondering "why."

The person and product Sir Ingenious has created seems to very genuine and I bet he can't wait to get up and work on it some more

 

[Vick]

3/4 view. Waaaaaaaay better

Overall the poster looks great. Can't see anything wrong. Even the type is nicely placed. Maybe reduce the flares slightly, but that's me being picky.

Good job!

 

[Bigguns50]

Too sweet !

Where will this poster be displayed ? I'm assuming where the sunglasses are on display ?

 

[KLaw]

Awesome thread. Thank you for your insight. First time I read this thread - one song and only one song popped into my head:"Race Car Driver" by Primus. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

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[LibertyForMe]

Maybe I am just not getting something, but it doesn't really make much sense to me. The name is Flashlight but it is music to your eyes? The line about the most remarkable thing about the lenses is my ability to hear them doesn't make any sense to me. I may just be missing something, because everyone else in the thread seems to get it, but I am just being honest with you.

How does a flashlight relate to music and eyes? If you are going with the music to your eyes theme, it would seem to me like the name should be StereoVision or something that hints at music.

If I am missing something, please let me know. I am honestly not trying to be a jerk.

 

[CommonCents]

"See...and be seen" comes to mind.

 

[Sir Ingenious]

Alright, so I thought it would take longer but I asked the designer who made the font for my logo for permission to use it, he replied immediately and okay'ed it. Sweet. Anyways, here's the revised poster below.

I changed the name from 'The Flashlight' to 'Lysergic Acid Diethylamide' or LSD for short. Figured that the name 'The Flashlight' fails to conjure up a story the way I wanted to; like the fella above that didn't get it, this tells me that I failed. So, let's see if this poster below reveals the entire story of this particular glasses. Hope it works. If not, then back to the drawing board!

Feel free to provide your opinions and be a jerk if you want to!

 

[TJPB]

It doesn't look like a promotional poster to me. It's amateurish......looks more like an ad for a late night disco party at bowl-a-rama to me.

Maybe that is what you're going for? Again , I'm not your target market so it might work.

 

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[Vick]

i like it. it screams retro.

i think you need a bit more contrast though, its a little flat.

good stuff

 

[LibertyForMe]

I'm feelin' the groove now....lol. I like it.

 

[Bigguns50]

I agree with Vick...Brighter light colors (or white) with the words, the highlight spots on the top of the glasses, maybe brighter arms...

 

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[DeletedUser12]

I feel like the glasses are getting lost in the latest poster, I liked the previous one better. I wasn't a big fan of the name 'Flashlight', but I'm not sure 'LSD' is better. To me they feel more like a 50's / 60's retro rather than 70's disco LSD. IMO, it conjures up names of old classic cars (Starlite, Electra, Skylark, Starfire, Turnpike Cruiser etc., ). Also, I know it would be a manufacturing nightmare, but it would be cool if you could swap out lens colors / mix and match.

 

[Vick]

looks like Indiegogo is a good alternative.

Can't find anything on there site which says otherwise.

 

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[GreenBricks]

Great progress so far, keep it up!

Since you want feedback I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents. Not sure if you plan on marketing it as the long name or the abridged version, but the long LSD name is a bit too difficult to spell and remember.

If you intend to follow through with the interchangeable lenses, here's a neat idea for an ad. Have a fixed image of the glasses on the screen, with the lenses changing colors to the beat of whatever song is playing in the background. Just something to work with if you're searching for ideas.

Anyways, best of luck to you! I hope I see your product on store shelves in the near future.