8 Eyewear: From Idea, to Launch, to Growth (And Quitting the Job)

[Vick]

Dude you are Kicking a$$! Wooo!

Fingers crossed it's all ready to ship for a Christmas BOOM!

Thanks. Won't be ready for Xmas. Early 2014

 

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[Vick]

production update.

our manufacturer has finally got back to us with everything.

we have some good news and bad news. whats new, typical with business. oh well, the good news out weighs the bad.

so good news first.

they can make them to how I designed them, colors and all, huge weight off my shoulders. the only thing that needed changing was, I wanted some of the lettering on some of the styles to be Matte finish (for the Glossy frames). But they can only do Glossy lettering. which is ok. I can live with that.

they also gave us a price quote for everything, molds, glasses, box packaging, hard zipper cases, micro fiber cloths cases, even export fees.

the quote was what I was expecting.

which is very good news, I don't have to go hunting for more cash and we finally have a final cost of production. so we can start to plan accordingly.


now the bad news.

production time.

originally I was expecting a production time of about 90 days (3 months). that is no longer the case.

it turns out it will take 180 days to receive the first shipment (6 frigin months) so in March/April sometime. which really sucks, this puts our schedule behind by 3 months. 6 months is a long a$$ time.

90-100 days for mold creation (CAD model, tooling of molds, etc) then about 70-85 days for production.

they also said we can receive our 8 samples (1 of every color) in 5 months. which is kinda weird. 100 days for molds(3 months), then another 2 months for making 8 samples, and then pump out 1,200 in 1 month. seems strange.

so in 5 months when we get the samples, we can verify quality and then actually start to accept pre-orders, while they pump out the 1,200 units.

OR

we can take a gamble and start to accept pre-orders sooner. and just hope the glasses are of good quality and the way we envisioned them. for some reason this doesn't sit well with me. i don't like taking peoples money on the assumption that our very first product will be good.

either way, its a huge setback in terms of time.

I guess all that matters is they can be made, and will be.

just a waiting game now.

 

[LibertyForMe]

I talked to a cool Skate Shop in Greenville, SC yesterday about 8. Showed them your website, the dude thought they looked super good.

That is another avenue of distribution you could target; skate shops and surf shops.

 

[Vick]

Yup. I agree

We are goin to pursue hitting all the skate and surf shops. Starting off with the local small shops. Then expanding from there.

 

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[Vick]

Also.

I've decided to play the safe route and wait for our first samples before taking people's money.

I know a lot of people disagree with this decision. But the decision has been made. And I'm sticking to it.

 

[TJPB]

Also.

I've decided to play the safe route and wait for our first samples before taking people's money.

I know a lot of people disagree with this decision. But the decision has been made. And I'm sticking to it.

My plan as well. Although I won't be waiting 5 months for production samples! Damn. You talk to any other factories?

 

[Vick]

I did my factory testing already.

 

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[JudoTom]

Also.

I've decided to play the safe route and wait for our first samples before taking people's money.

I know a lot of people disagree with this decision. But the decision has been made. And I'm sticking to it.

I think this is a smart idea. I have order from companies before during a pre order phase some went fine others did not. The ones that did not basically lose my trust and most of the times I will not purchase from again.

I know you wanted your product sooner but if they come in around march/april that is spring time and many people will be looking for new cool shades.

Good Luck!

 

[mayana]

I know you wanted your product sooner but if they come in around march/april that is spring time and many people will be looking for new cool shades.

I was thinking about this the other day, and it might actually be a better time to get your inventory in. I was curious about this (and you may have already done this research), so I did a Google trends search just for the keyword "sunglasses".

http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=sunglasses#q=sunglasses&cmpt=q

It looks like June/July are the big sunglass months, with a much smaller spike in December (presumably for Christmas).

So, keep your head up! If you keep working on pre-loading demand, you might just have a really freaking awesome first few months of sales, and you'll be extra ready (and more experienced) for the Christmas spike next year.

 

[Vick]

update.

Ok. the deal is done. wired $7500 deposit to manufacturer.

no turning back now. not that I would

starting to feel that something good is coming. So much effort over the past 8 months. fun effort though.

now I just gotta wait and be patient for 6 frigin months. im sooo antsy. i just wanna sell these bad boys

guess I can catch up on the 60+ books I've been wanting to read.

 

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[Kak]

update.

Ok. the deal is done. wired $7500 deposit to manufacturer.

no turning back now. not that I would

starting to feel that something good is coming. So much effort over the past 8 months. fun effort though.

now I just gotta wait and be patient for 6 frigin months. im sooo antsy. i just wanna sell these bad boys

guess I can catch up on the 60+ books I've been wanting to read.

Hell yes Vick. Thats being a boss. Speed!!!!

 

[stefan]

I just read this beautiful thread in its entirety and want to congratulate you on your execution. Sticking to a project for eight months is a long time and huge commitment. Now you also have some extra meaning behind your brand since it took eight months of creation

 

[Vick]

Hell yes Vick. Thats being a boss. Speed!!!!

Thanks Kak! cheers

 

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[Vick]

I just read this beautiful thread in its entirety and want to congratulate you on your execution. Sticking to a project for eight months is a long time and huge commitment. Now you also have some extra meaning behind your brand since it took eight months of creation

Thanks Stefan!

 

[nevergiveup]

Was looking at different ecommerce platforms today and ran across this website Volusion had showcased...

shadesdaddy

I immediately thought of your sunglasses. They would fit in great on that site.

 

[Vick]

Was looking at different ecommerce platforms today and ran across this website Volusion had showcased...

shadesdaddy

I immediately thought of your sunglasses. They would fit in great on that site.

Lol. funny because I came across that site awhile ago too.

Thought the same thing. I'll contact them soon and see what they think

thanks

 

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[Vick]

Oh boy, things are about to get messy.

What to do. What to do.

Looks like I made a huge mistake about 6-7 months ago.

At the time, I thought that I would need help with this project.

So I found someone I thought would be a great partner.

Up to this point I have done basically everything, my partner has done very little. He looked into Importing a bit and that's about all he has done. I've worked night and days almost every single day for 8 months on this project.

I've come to the conclusion, that I don't really need this person, as of yet anyway. In fact, I don't plan on hiring anyone for a long time now. This is a project I fell that my wife and I can handle on our own for awhile.

Also, me and my wife have 100% of the risk. We are the ones who have to pay back the 15,000$ we received as a loan. Which means everything is on us. And nothing on this partner.

What really peeved me is that, I asked him months and months ago for an equity percentage he thought was fair. He finally gave me his quote the other day. And said he wants 33% of my company.

Seriously!?! 33% of my company. For what? Doing research on importing.

I made a huge mistake taking this guy on.

Seems to me like he's just hitching a ride to success on my back.

Thankfully, we have never really agreed to anything on paper, or vocal. Except for some stupid reason 5-6 months back, I told him he can use the Co-founder as a title. I have no idea why I said that to him, he hasn't even done anything.

Jeez what was I thinking back then? Why and the hell did I go looking for someone when I didn't even need someone? Stupid, stupid.

Now I'm at a cross roads.

How do I handle this situation?

As of right now I hold all the cards.

My wife suggested that I give him an offer that he will not agree to. Technically, forcing him to move on. But, If he agrees, he'll have to prove himself with sales before any equity is determined.

OR

Just let him go. I'm leaning towards this, because I have a new plan for the way I would like to run my business. By that I mean, no employees.

Anyone know how I should handle this? I feel pretty bad for what's about to happen and by no means was planning on this to happen. I just made a mistake and asked someone to help me to early.

 

[mayana]

As of right now I hold all the cards.

Don't forget this!

Are ANY of the negotiations, conversations, and agreements in writing in ANY form? Even e-mail exchanges?

 

[Vick]

I'll have to go through all our Skype convos, and text messaging convos.

But as far as I remember. I never agreed to anything in terms of his stake in the company.

 

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[mayana]

But as far as I remember. I never agreed to anything in terms of his stake in the company.

What type of legal entity is your business? I think potential legal problems will depend on the way that you've set things up already.

Edit: I'm sorry if you already said this in your thread - if you did, I must have missed it.

 

[Vick]

The business isn't a business yet. Nothing has been filed. I haven't applied for anything.

I will be in January. I'll be setting it up as a Sole Proprietorship.

 

[mayana]

The business isn't a business yet. Nothing has been filed. I haven't applied for anything.

This might be a case where more government regulation saves you. If you are doing business under your own name (which I don't think you are) then it looks like you wouldn't have to register it for it to be legally considered a business (correct me if I am wrong). But since you are using a name for your business, you would have to register it before you start using it (so does this technically mean that the business doesn't really "exist"?).

Are there any experts in Canadian business law on the forum?

It almost seems like talking to a lawyer who really knows about this kind of thing might be a good idea. Your idea is really good, and you've got potential traction right now. I'd want to make sure this is all behind you before you are making millions and this guy wants to cash in his "part". I know it would suck to spend the money, but consider that spending a few hundred dollars right now for a consult (where hopefully, he tells you that you don't have anything to worry about) might save you hundreds of thousands or even MILLIONS years down the road.

I'm sorry this is happening!!

 

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[Bigguns50]

I'm not an attorney...I believe we have at least one on the forum...but it sounds perfect to me.

Dump him. He doesn't have any offer...didn't do any work...no financial commitment, no verbal or written agreement (if it would even hold up now that you've done all the work)... you haven't formed the company yet. If you guys are friends...well, this is business.

 

[Vick]

Thanks Mayana

Another member has said this as well.

But If I send him a letter, and he agrees to leave. Won't that end everything?

and thanks again, I made the huge mistake of jumping the gun too quickly.

 

[Vick]

I'm not an attorney...I believe we have at least one on the forum...but it sounds perfect to me.

Dump him. He doesn't have any offer...didn't do any work...no financial commitment, no verbal or written agreement (if it would even hold up now that you've done all the work)... you haven't formed the company yet. If you guys are friends...well, this is business.

We aren't good friends if that's what you mean. I've only known him for about a year.

If I do drop him. I'm betting alot of his friends on Facebook that I'm friends with are gonna be hating on me and posting alot of bad shit.

But, again, like you said. That's business. And I'm prepared to handle that shit.

 

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[mayana]

But If I send him a letter, and he agrees to leave. Won't that end everything?

I would think that this would help a LOT. It's definitely worth a try... he doesn't sound like he is super serious about being part of it.

But, again, like you said. That's business. And I'm prepared to handle that shit.

 

[Mrs. BRKb]

I'll have to go through all our Skype convos, and text messaging convos.

But as far as I remember. I never agreed to anything in terms of his stake in the company.

For sure. Gather this info. Then consult with an attorney before you do anything.

Maybe there's a way to neatly & legally dissolve your current informal situation (which he may claim an interest in), so that it would be very clear that he's not part of your new company that will start up in January.

 

[Vick]

I was hoping to avoid legal matters.

 

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[hughjasle]

Going to try and brighten your day here for a min as it seems you could use some positivity right now-

I spent some time at the SEMA convention in Las Vegas last week. Its a huge convention for automobiles and everything related to it. Great show for anyone (like me) in that niche. Anyways I found a new vendor there specializing in sunglasses. I immediately thought of you and this thread and spoke with the owner briefly. He had product FLYING off his shelves AT THE SHOW! Most people dont go to buy at the show so I thought that was a pretty good sign. His business is infernousa.com

I didn't care for his designs and prefer yours over his. He was selling them at $200 a piece with case. That price obviously did well for him so I want to echo what others have said and suggest you look into raising your price.

Bottom line, your product looks 10x better than his. If he can do it, you can do it - and do it better!

I'll upload pics of his product on display at the new products area (not his booth). Sorry about the terrible quality... Hopefully you can make out what you need.

 

[Bigguns50]

Hughjasle..I like his sunglasses but I think it may be a bit of a different market than Vick's. They're flashy...not for me for sure.

Sure is encouraging thought for Vick.

Vick...I can't wait to post some of the hate mail I'm gunna get when things start heating up with my startup. I will welcome it...means I'm rattling cages. :icon_fU: In the bigger picture with your bus and mine...people will buy our products if they want them...shit talk or not. No worries.