About two years ago, engineer and avid angler Greg Ferris came up with the idea for a personal watercraft that would be an alternative to fishing kayaks. Knowing that if he were to move forward with the idea as the basis of a business venture – whatever the business model might be – he was going to need access to capital, Greg developed a PowerPoint presentation for his banker. He didn’t realize it at the time, but that was his first pitch deck for what was to become The Fisherman’s Edge™. With his most recent pitch, Greg came in third in Entrefest and is continuing to move forward toward product launch.
The Fisherman’s Edge™ is a tri-hull personal watercraft that Greg designed to minimize the problems associated with kayak fishing and to maximize the advantages of that type of recreation. The problems with using kayaks for fishing include that it’s difficult to stand in a kayak, they can be uncomfortable, and they can weigh a lot for one person to carry to the water. The Fisherman’s Edge solves those problems by being designed for stability, offering the ability to adjust positions between sitting or standing, and for ease of transport from vehicle to water. As a result, it looks totally unlike anything else on the market and really is a new type of watercraft rather than an improved kayak. The Fisherman’s Edge™ will allow people to enjoy the maneuverability of a kayak and also the ability to sit or stand and carry their fishing gear as if in a small boat.
Cuando Greg se reunió por primera vez con su banquero acerca de la idea, no le había dado a la idea exposición pública y no estaba familiarizado con lo que se necesita para lanzar un negocio innovador. Su banquero recomendó que Greg se reuniera con un asesor del centro local de desarrollo de pequeñas empresas (SBDC). Esa fue una experiencia transformadora para Greg. Él dice que "la conexión con el SBDC me obligó a desarrollar mi modelo de negocio", mientras que antes había estado pensando principalmente en lo que le gustaría mejorar sus experiencias de pesca.
Joel Youngs, director regional de America's SBDC Iowa en Davenport, recomendó que Greg se inscriba en Venture
Escuela: un programa de desarrollo empresarial (administrado por la Universidad de Iowa) en el que Joel es instructor. Venture School le mostró a Greg la importancia de pasar por el proceso de descubrimiento de clientes antes de lanzar su producto. Algo que Greg aprendió fue que su expectativa de poder patentar el diseño del producto y luego licenciarlo fácilmente a un fabricante no era realista. Los fabricantes querían ver las ventas antes de incurrir en el costo de producción y comercialización del nuevo producto. Esto significaba que la carga de llevar la embarcación al mercado recaería en Greg. Aunque darse cuenta de esto fue algo desalentador, Greg está aceptando el desafío porque le apasionan las ventajas que este producto brindará a los pescadores serios.
Joel Youngs also referred Greg to a colleague at America’s SBDC Iowa, Laurie Pieper, to assist with commercialization of the new tech. Having constructed several prototypes, tested them, filing for and receiving a patent on his design, and having gotten input from anglers, retailers and manufacturers, Greg is now working with Laurie on his plan for taking The Fisherman’s Edge™ to market which he hopes will be sometime late 2020 or early 2021. Participation in Entrefest was an opportunity for Greg to continue refining his product pitch and to generate interest in the innovative watercraft before the product launch through public exposure.
Visite Fisherman's Edge en https://www.thefishermansedge.com o en Facebook.
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