I read MJ's book and started my business :)

[GregMG]

Just have to say that Ive known a few people over the years that would buy this, your definitely onto something! If this is successful theres many more types of pipes that could be made indestructible, take one thing at a time but dont stop here!

 

[JAJT]

Another idea - I'm quite frankly surprised at how few pipes are out there that offer some kind of topple-over protection. A triangle shaped bowl, for example.

I know one buddy of mine who smokes regularly is CONSTANTLY knocking his pipe over, picking up the ashes, putting them back in, then knocking it over again in 2 minutes.

 

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[Steele Concept]

Just a quick update... October went well, I have been expanding to NY, MI and CO and I'm currently sold out. I managed to get some great quality mouthpieces that can cut costs significantly and make life easier on my machinist. This month I have an ad out in Hotbreath magazine and next month it's Nuggetry Magazine and BIG Industry. I'm going to see what avenues produce the greatest ROI. Feedback from consumers has been great, people think its an awesome product and that makes me happy as that's why I'm in this business. I want to provide the highest quality indestructible water pipe on the market and be able to make a living doing so.

Currently working on a product upgrade and doing some further product testing tomorrow. Peace and love all.

 

[Steele Concept]

Hey guys wanted to post a vid of the Percolator Plate we have been working on. After visiting my machinist we finalized the design. Like Mr. Chiesel says in Grandma's Boy... "Good things are coming." :smx1: Enjoy

Steele Concept - YouTube

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

With marijuana being legalized in some states, I'd say the value of your business just increased dramatically.
There is a thread on the Inside about potential opportunities and I immediately thought of your business.

Anything new to report since the new legislation?

 

[Steele Concept]

Just got all the materials for the new percolator batch. Assembling them tomorrow and advertising will bring the product to a larger audience. Good stuff!

 

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[buckmajor]

Interesting! Is it any different to smoking cigis and build amount of fluid in your lungs? Health wise

But yea best of luck!

 

[Steele Concept]

Interesting! Is it any different to smoking cigis and build amount of fluid in your lungs? Health wise

But yea best of luck!

A lot of customers utilize a vaporizer with the Steele Concept. So it's vaporization+water filtration+frozen heatsink = super smooth hits. Vaporization alone will drastically reduce combustion related lung problems, let alone coupled with a cooled water pipe.

Check us out in the Gear section of High Times February 2013, this months Hotbreath, BIG Industry and Nuggetry.

The new percolator plate model has launched and reception has been great

 

[JasonR]

Congrats in the success so far. I hope you get your production issues figured out. Good luck!

 

[ChickenHawk]

Here she is... Hot Product hell yea. High Times covering counter culture since before most of us were born

Name: 615077_145164308964441_772042918_o.jpg Views: 3 Size: 73.9 KB

Impressive media coverage! And it looks like your product was featured as editorial content, as opposed to a paid ad, if I'm seeing it correctly? Very, very sweet.

By my quick calculations, this easily represents $5,000 or more worth of media coverage. This is calculated as follows: A full page ad in High Times costs about $5,000 (at least according to what quick info I could find on the Web). Your product is featured on approximately 1/3 of the page. This puts the exposure value at $1,667, until you factor in that this is featured as editorial content, as opposed to paid advertising. Positive editorial content is considered at least three times more valuable than pure ad-content because editorial content has much higher credibility. And this doesn't even factor in any resulting Internet coverage, or the fact you can now say, "...As Featured in High Times Magazine."

This is really exciting stuff!

 

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[Steele Concept]

Thanks ChickenHawk. You are right a full page is ~5 g's. I can't forget the "...As Featured in High Times Magazine." That's important because it gives the product more credibility. High Times is a wonderful publication and is the original. I respect those guys there a great deal. Brave pioneers they are.

 

[TheTruth]

Very cool stuff. Let us know how this converts, I know I am dying to know.

Congrats!

 

[DustinG]

Congrats man! That's great coverage.






-Do any people actually smoke tobacco out of bongs?

 

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[Steele Concept]

Just a little update,

Last week I had my best week of sales to date. We are going to utilize polycarbonate injection molding to form a unibody mouthpiece, tube and perc plate which will significantly lower cost while making manufacturing easy.

This stuff is all about listening to the market and always improving It's been a ton of fun so far but certainly not easy. I can't think of a much more rewarding thing than to start your business and have people calling every other day about how they want your product. Very satisfying.

 

[Steele Concept]

Here is a pic of our engineer Evan who is hard at work. Lookin pro, hehehe.

 

[MMatt]

Never smoked in my life but found myself watching that review with interest lol. Product looks quality, congrats on progress.

 

[Steele Concept]

Great looking product! I know a few people with alot of disposable income that would buy this in a second if they knew about it. I'm in Southern California and pretty much everyone here has a medical marijuana card. It's hilarious how there are still people out there who think that the only people who smoke weed are losers and can't afford this type of thing.

Ex: I was at in customers house who lived on top of a mountain in a private community. He was a multi millionaire from the stock market. Ferraris and an Audi R8 in the garage. He had some type of cancer and was doing some chemo, which killed his appetite as well as gave him body aches. Cannabis GREATLY helped both of these as it increases appetite and kills pain.

Another is a friend who owns his own equestrian service and bee keeping service, two strange niches that make him a TON of money. He plans to retire for good in 5 years. He smokes daily.

Of course you have stoners who get high all day and do nothing, but those people would be worthless anyway.

Thank you so much for the kind words evltwin, please feel free to spread the word to your friends. All forum members or friends are entitled to a 10% discount off MSRP :coolgleamA:

Although we can't blame some people for their ignorance of cannabis, we can understand where that ignorance comes from. The media, religious fundamentalists, conservative groups etc. sometimes decry cannabis as a devil weed which makes people dumb and unmotivated. In the early 1900s tincture of cannabis indica was a staple in American pharmecopeia, after racially motivated propaganda and political pressure from competing fiber industries cannabis was made illegal and has stayed that way. For anyone who is curious, please watch the documentary The Union for a much better view on cannabis.

The fact is that this devil weed is a natural plant from the earth which holds great medicinal value. This is particularly true for people who are going through chemo, have epilepsy, wasting, crohns/colitis, glaucoma etc. we have medical marijuana laws in a nutshell because marijuana IS MEDICINE. Big pharma is a player hater because raw cannabis or simple extracts cannot be patented.

Let me tell you a story... During graduate school I was diagnosed with a horrible disease called Ulcerative Colitis. It is very similar to Crohn's disease and sufferers will have it the rest of their lives unless they have their large intestine removed. During flare ups individuals undergo excruciating gut pain and bleed out their a$$ needing to run to the bathroom. During my worst I have been hospitalized, lost 20-25 pounds and become very weak and anemic. During bad flares the disease can literally cripple you, forcing one to become a prisoner to the bathroom and bed. Running to the loo and passing >15 bloody stools a day during a flair isn't uncommon.

I had a very eminent professor/businessman suggest smoking cannabis with friends instead of having a drink. I had smoked cannabis earlier in life but stopped for a couple years when I was very busy with school and work. I began to partake again and it helps - especially during flare ups minimizing painful gut spasms and trips to the bathroom. I would not wish Crohs/Colitis on my worst enemy.

Nowadays I see a much better GI doctor from Yale GI center. I have found eating primarily paleo and avoiding nuts, dairy, wheat, alcohol etc. helps as well as eating anti inflammatory foods like Kale, spinach, fish oil, coconut oil etc. Regularly practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and minimizing stress is critical. With inflammatory bowel diseases any upset to homeostasis can signal the gut to go apeshit.

Getting diagnosed with a lifelong affliction is very humbling and will change ones life and views. These diseases can paralyze even the strongest indidual and despite ADA or FMLA laws workplaces will discriminate against people who are having these issues. People everyday can lose their jobs, relationships and watch everything around them collapse from these afflictions... Ugh now I'm getting teary eyed lol. Tell your family you love them and live life with appreciation for what you have. Always take time to relax and give thanks. Stay humble and help your fellow man cause these are the things that really matter in life.

So for anyone saying medicinal cannabis is a farce - get F*cked, I have a passion for this industry.

 

[1PercentStreet]

I don't want to sound slow but dude is that a Bong?::smxF::

It's a waterpipe, so yeah a bong.
Zoom | Steele Concept

 

[JasonR]

Hmm...interesting concept. Good luck!

 

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[Steele Concept]

Bong is considered slang terminology for consumption of an illicit substance. If you are in a medical state the laws can vary.

This is a water pipe for tobacco use only.

I definitely went for a clean and modern aesthetic after some research about Jon Ives (Apple designer) and Dieter Rams (Famous German designer)

These guys know their shit.

 

[JasonR]

What do you the cubes inside the pipe do?

I only smoke cigars occasionally, but I'm curious. The pipe looks neat, lol.

 

[Steele Concept]

What do you the cubes inside the pipe do?

I only smoke cigars occasionally, but I'm curious. The pipe looks neat, lol.

Thank you, i appreciate it. The 304 Stainless Steel cubes are filled with glycerin. Glycerine is a safe substance used in food and the pharmaceutical industry. Glycerin has a particularly low freezing point and will gel when the cube is frozen.

You freeze the cubes in the freezer prior to use and then add them to the tube prior to use. They stay cold for a LONG time. The water percolation through the frozen column of steel provides for a massive heatsink thereby making the smoke/vapor exhale as light as air.

It took me a while to design this as it looks simple but there were a lot of variables at hand. Design and manufacture is half the battle whilst distribution seems to be the other half.

I'm a sales/marketing guy by nature so this is the fun part for me. Well I won't lie both parts have been fun but I poured my heart and soul into this product and when I see the smiles or hear how people like it, it just lights up my day

 

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[Steele Concept]

Get any of your friends who has a dslr and make a lightbox and take a good product shot of it. The current one you have is not good enough for a $300 product.

Which picture are you referring to when you say not good enough?

Thanks!

 

[Kak]

With a product like a bong, I cant help but think you are not taking being an entrepreneur very seriously. At first I thought you created an indestructible plumbing pipe for homes. FYI most weed smokers are poor good luck with that target market.

They all say tobacco use only...

 

[PatrickP]

Just google Arrested for selling water pipes and you will see it DOES happen.

Raids Are Latest Round in Fight Over Drug Paraphernalia : DCist

Raids Are Latest Round in Fight Over Drug Paraphernalia

If you walked into what are commonly known as "head shops" in the District, you could legally buy yourself a large water pipe -- but a visible disclaimer would let you know that it could only be used to smoke tobacco.

Foolish as the disclaimer may seem, it represents the fine legal line between what's allowable under District law and what constitutes drug paraphernalia. It's that fine line which may have served as cause for the four raids on local head shops that took

 

[Steele Concept]

Marijuana is a bigger industry then most people realize. Your neighbor probably smokes everyday, and you would never know. Why? its Taboo, just like porn, and so many people love it! Props to this guy, he will be seeing the money roll in very soon, that is a promise. Obviously anyone commenting that this is not a good idea has never accidentally dropped a glass pipe. It happens all the time. The only competition really is the double glass pipes that are virtually unbreakable as well.

Thanks for your support. What are these double glass pipes you speak of? Are you talking the super thick 10mm scientific tubes out there?

From my experience glass is glass and no matter how thick, they will break eventually.

All material in my product is FDA approved and combustion/vaporization occurs in the GonG (glass on glass) section which is nice. The fit between the stainless and GonG is air tight.

Stainless is a stellar conductor of heat and therefore can cool the base water as well as the glycerin tube section quite well.
In all honesty when beta testing the product 15 users were quite impressed with the smoothness, especially for a unit being that compact. A little paradigm shifting in the world of excessive percolation ...

I'm happy when my customers are happy. They are the boss and this product was the result of a lot of feedback. Manufacturing is tough but to be able to hold and show something tangible is really nice.

 

[Steele Concept]

Rawr,

My core demographic is the college demographic 18-22 and white collar professionals and everyone who appreciate fine design and people who just tend to break shit.

There will be future variations and products so the cart is there for know. I have another device designed but this product is going to be my core competency and bread and butter. I have found its best to perfect a product, rather than launch into a bunch of products and overcommit so the quality on your core product suffers.

Better pics, video etc. will come in time.

Regarding I vs. we, I use both. I am a sole member LLC but have friends help me do sales and have close relationships with my suppliers to cross promote. I may utilize independent sales contractors in the future working off commission only.

My primary strategy is manufacturing the best indestructible designer water pipe out there and leveraging diversification through my 3 channels of distribution. It has been going well so far, once advertising and word of mouth grow, I believe the sky is the limit.

Thanks.

 

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[Rawr]

Look dude, this is a forum, not a panel of investors, so if you put a topic up to get some feedback it's a good idea to approach it as "what can I learn" vs "how can I come off cool", it makes people respect you when you are honest with yourself, you know what I mean?

Rawr,

My core demographic is the college demographic 18-22 and white collar professionals and everyone who appreciate fine design and people who just tend to break shit.

That is not a very specific demographic. In fact, it is confusing as to why you'd even include the last part, it shows lack of attention when looking at this very concept of "who will I sell this thing to - WHO WILL ACTUALLY NEED IT (BUY) THIS THE MOST?" The reasoning here is, the better you know your customer, the better you can target them, and generate more money, which is the goal here, right?

Better pics, video etc. will come in time.

Sure, but why wait? Why turn away any customers who might think the pictures look amateurish?

Regarding I vs. we, I use both. I am a sole member LLC but have friends help me do sales and have close relationships with my suppliers to cross promote. I may utilize independent sales contractors in the future working off commission only.

What I mean is, when you talk to the customer through the website, which one do you want to be? 'The guy who invented the thing and here i am selling it'.... or the company?

My primary strategy is manufacturing the best indestructible designer water pipe out there and leveraging diversification through my 3 channels of distribution. It has been going well so far, once advertising and word of mouth grow, I believe the sky is the limit.

Thanks.

Good luck, I think word of mouth can be a good move here, think referrals, possibly discounts for referred people?

 

[Steele Concept]

Rawr,

I'm not trying to come across as 'cool' or not listen to advice. That's why I posted to get advice.

The photography in the gallery section is professional photography and my dealers and customers have been pleased. Please tell me specifically which pictures you guys are referring to that look amateurish? It's hard to photograph polycarbonate due to the reflections, so I think the pictures came out nicely.

The primary demographic is those who participate in the "counter-culture" so to speak. Specifically, college kids older people with the money to afford a premium, indestructible water pipe.

I make it clear I am the inventor and owner of Steele Concept LLC. In this industry people appreciate local, independent artists (generally glassblowers) I am a local manufacturer who wishes to have the same, albeit a more premium image that reflects my product. I'm all about transparency and do not pretend to be a large company. The companies I work with can be large companies with international brand recognition.

The price is $319.99, those who are on my Facebook or read the High Times ad get a coupon code for $20 off. This encourages word of mouth. I have a referral discount program in place for those individuals in college towns who can move units.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Steele Concept]

JAJT,

That's what I'm F*ckin talkin about man. Some real solid advice you just gave.

The first thing you will see is an HD professional video featuring just the product and it's percolating action in real real time. I will be deleting my other video as it is too low quality and wordy. It sufficed for the first month or so but now my flight manual covers the specifics so the old video is irrelevant and detracts from the product. I'll also re arrange the pics in the right order, I know exactly what you are talking about.

People wanna see the product in all it's glory, not my ginger a$$ yapping

I have already arranged for the video and it will be coming soon.

Thanks for the advice.