Ep. 003: On Launching a Drum Accessory Company — The Jeff Sevaldson Interview

Learn how two bootstrapping college roommates launched a drum accessory company. Hear how they networked with industry insiders, attended key trade shows and used Google to get the company going. And see how social media marketing has been “huge” for them, given their limited marketing dollars. Leave a Rating & Review in iTunes for the Product Launch Rebel Podcast Podcast Timeline: 0:44 – Introduction to Jeff Sevaldson, co-founder of Drumlite 1:33 – Company description and what makes its products unique 2:20 – The story of how they discovered the product idea in college, how they tested the idea, and how the idea started rolling 3:50 – The motivation to be an entrepreneur and start Drumlite 7:21 – The quest to find a find parts and a manufacturer 14:03 – Finding the money to launch the business 15:38 – Coming up with product pricing so it is profitable and satisfies retailers 19:20 – Preparing to sell to retailers – how they did it 24:50 – Creating product awareness so it would sell in the stores: the role of social media and getting drummers to spread the word 28:58 – Forming a distributor relationship with Pearl Drums 30:00 – Biggest challenges and mistakes: being smart with their limited dollars. Learning how to bootstrap well. 31:30 – What have you learned most about yourself? “I’m not perfect.” “I don’t have all the answers.” “It can be a tough lesson.” Find a good business partner. 33:33 – Top piece of advice to budding entrepreneurs: Make sure you have a good partnership. Don’t be distracted by the glorious life of tech companies. Hardgoods companies are not sexy, but do it if you are motivated by it. Surround yourself with good people.