Oroganlly Posted 12/14/05
Before we delve into my experiences starting and running the Denver Bicycle Design Center, Inc., it is useful to understand my prior work history and experience. I graduated from the University of Illinois in December of 1986 with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering. In my last year and a half of school I focused on polymeric materials (plastics) and advanced composite materials (such as graphite fiber/epoxy materials).
Like most engineers at the time, I graduated without a job, but as fate would have it in late January of 1987, I received a call from Martin Marietta in the Denver Metro area. I flew out from my home town of Rochester, NY on a Thursday, interviewed on a Friday and received an offer on Monday.
On March 16, 1987 at the age of 22, I started in my first post-college professional position as a lead engineer in the Composites Lab. My job was to oversee and facilitate the small scale production of composite components for various satellite programs. The job was interesting and certainly the pay was substantial for a new grad in 1987. Nonetheless, I really only looked at the position as a stepping stone to going into business for myself at some point in the seemingly distant future.
Within 6-12 months or so on the job, it began to become apparent to me that the life of a corporate engineer was not for me. In short, there was too much politics. The company and my colleagues weren’t so much concerned with producing the best quality of the product or the arriving at the best solution to a problem. Rather, many of fellow engineers were focused on looking good to the boss and other higher ups even if that meant misleading or misrepresenting the true state of the projects they were involved in. I was never good at politics; I told things the way I saw them good or bad with the intent that information was best freely shared so that the best solutions to problems and issues could be ascertained. I was so naïve! At big companies one gets ahead by covering your butt when you make mistakes and tooting your horn as loudly as possible when you do something right. It also doesn’t hurt to have someone below you to blame for your problems.
To step aside from the narrative at hand: it has been my observation that the primary advantage that large companies have over small entrepreneurial companies is economies of scale, developed contacts (such as a customer base and developed means of distribution) and an established reputation. What large companies have a huge problem with is fostering innovation and creativity at least when compared to the creativity of the entrepreneur. And for many new companies, it is creativity and ingenuity that gives them an advantage over their well heeled competition. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the entrepreneur or small company can lock up rights to fruit of their creative endeavors with PATENTS. Simply, for innovation and creativity to flourish requires taking risks. As a company grows and becomes more established, it has to protect its value and it becomes more risk adverse.
Anyhow back to our story: realizing that I was not cut out for the big company scene, I began to investigate starting my own business. Further, I began to study for an MBA part time. My first business idea was to sell advanced composite materials to radio control aircraft hobbyists. I knew where to buy the materials and I could repackage the materials in smaller lots and sell them at a significant profit. I identified suppliers, researched what types of raw materials hobbyists would most likely use and I investigated ad rates for the appropriate magazines. But in the end I never had the courage to flip the switch and get things started. I just did not have the confidence the composite materials would sell and the risk seemed just too great.
I was an avid bicyclist and mountain biker back in those days and I had a real desire to get involved in the business. I came up with my first product/invention back about 1989 or 1990: the Rack Camel. The product comprised a simple aluminum bracket that attached to the struts of a rear bicycle rack (such as a Blackburn rack) and had mounting holes for a water bottle cage. Accordingly, the a rider could carry up to 2 more water bottles during a long back country ride. The inspiration came from pedaling around the desert surrounding Moab, Utah. I received quotes to manufacture the product as well as advertising rates for the major bicycle magazines. I even made and tested several prototypes. I did not pursue a patent although I have no doubt I could have received really broad coverage if I had. In the end, I didn’t pull the trigger. Within the next year or so, a company called Fastrak Systems, Inc. made a splash with the Camelbak hydration system, and well, their solution to the problem of carrying enough water was just plain better than mine. Incidentally, if I had proceeded, Fasttrak would have likely shut down my use of the phrase “Rack Camel” as infringing on their “Camelbak” trademark even though I didn’t know about their product when I came up with the name. So in the end, perhaps this venture ended the way it should have: never getting off the ground.
Coming in Part III: My first actual entrepreneurial venture and the genesis of Rocket Science.
