How I Landed A Partnership With SpaceX
This is a follow up story for SEE/RESCUE Corporation. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 4 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
Aloha! Dr. Robert Yonover here from SEE/RESCUE Corporation, developer/manufacturer or the military-approved/adopted SeeRescueStreamer.com technology for locating persons lost at sea or on land.
In addition to our recent appearance on Shark Tank, we are extremely honored to announce that SpaceX has decided to carry the SeeRescueStreamer below the seats of all astronauts going into space to protect them in case of a challenging splashdown.
We have sold over $15 Million dollars worth of streamers in the past 2 decades and we are averaging $20K per month at this time, with sales remaining stable.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?
Our business continues to grow as a result of the Shark Tank and SpaceX exposure, especially in the military and consumer markets. We have built our business predominantly through media exposure and bringing on 3rd parties sales representative groups, including large military contracts.
The connection we made with SpaceX occurred when their experts were in attendance at one of our International Survival Conferences, whereby they immediately recognized the value of the streamers and how the military had embraced them over the years. SpaceX recognized the military’s extensive testing and long-term adoption, making their acquisition for the space flights seamless.
COVID has confirmed our practice of staying lean and mean - we like to envision ourselves as the Tortoise rather than the Hare, i.e., we slowly and methodically plow ahead with minimal risks to our core business.
For over 20 years, SEE/RESCUE has been part of the SAFE Association and the military International Safety/Survival community. The SeeRescueStreamer was tested and approved for use by all branches of the military and we became long standing members of the community and their respective professionals.
The original SeeRescueStreamer did not have lights, however I invented a self-deploying streamer for people that might be incapacitated during an emergency. That invention led to an U.S. Air Force program that further refined the technology and resulted in the SDIRS (Self-Deploying InfraRed Streamer) that is now used in fighter jets in various commands worldwide. SDIRS was built for an ejection seat and there was demand for a more compact personal unit.
The new compact personal SeeRescueStreamer can fit in a pocket (or the similar consumer versions come in a holster carrying case) and has military-grade chemlights and SOLAS-grade RetroReflectors for active and passive night signaling, respectively. SpaceX employees are part of our community and I met them at one of the trade shows - the best place to get face-to-face with people that normally would be hard to get a hold of by standard means.
SpaceX recognized the military approvals/adoption of the SeeRescueStreamer and incorporated them in their standard approved form (with additional inquiries into the materials contained in their construction) into the flight seats of the astronauts in case of emergency during splashdown.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
COVID has confirmed our practice of staying lean and mean - we like to envision ourselves as the Tortoise rather than the Hare, i.e., we slowly and methodically plow ahead with minimal risks to our core business.
We are a small family-owned and operated company that has a few permanent employees and sub-contract additional assistance as necessary. We have a network of military representatives worldwide that provide distribution in their respective countries. We also sell to consumers directly via the internet and select stores in Hawaii.
Be prepared for everything to take twice as long and cost you twice as much money, thus don’t quit your day job (income source) so you can quit it one day!
Our team of sales/technical representatives are typically experts in the survival field and take on the SeeRescueStreamer as one of the multiple technologies they represent/provide to their customers. In fact, in many cases, the streamer is the lowest cost and lowest complexity of the technologies they represent. We pride ourselves on solving problems with the least amount of materials at the lowest cost, and are built for the most grueling of conditions.
Our international representatives are natives to their country and thus able to navigate through the sales/delivery/servicing of the technology for the customer. On the consumer side, we have kept it very simple and funnel most of our sales via an Amazon exclusive distributor, keeping our core business in the Research, Development, and Manufacturing sectors.
We are not looking to grow too fast and thus are not taking marketing/advertising risks.
We continue to operate with a two-pronged simple marketing strategy of 1) attending professional International Military/Safety meetings to meet face to face with our customers and our representatives; and 2) continuing to generate organic marketing via press releases, social media posts, and outreach presentations. We have remained primarily focused on the domestic and international military customer as they value safety and survival higher than consumers - sad, but very true. The network we have built with the military markets has been developed and maintained for over 20 years. We believe there is a large potential for consumer side growth, however we have not actively pursued dedicating marketing dollars in that direction. Rather, we rely on guerilla marketing for that in the form of free publicity/PR, e.g., Shark Tank appearance/reruns, SpaceX prestige, etc.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
Tortoise mode throughout, methodically moving forward and remaining lean/mean. We have several related technologies (e.g., Pocket DeSalinator, Pocket Floatation Technology, LIFE/FLOAT RescueBoard that are on our back burner that may come to market in the next 5 years.
My favorite existing invention remains the Pocket DeSalinator and I am actively looking for partners to get involved with the official launch of the technology, beyond just the patented and military-funded level that it remains today.
Perhaps someone reading this interview might be a future partner as there is clearly nothing more important than fresh potable water, whether you are on a life raft or in a city!
Have you read any good books in the last year?
A couple of book recommendations for those looking to start and build and small business:
Thick Face, Black Heart. Stand Alone Inventor, Hardcore Inventing, The E-Myth Revisited.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Be prepared for everything to take twice as long and cost you twice as much money, thus don’t quit your day job (income source) so you can quit it one day! By starting your business on the side in your spare time, you have a better chance of succeeding and weathering the cost and time requirements of the early phases.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
We are always looking for top notch outside salespeople that can generate sales and be compensated by commission or through a buy/re-sell scenario.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
