There's a good reason Doug Oxborrow and his team of northern Nevada advisors are making such a hard push on The Original Balloominator, a tiny LED-and-battery package that illuminates balloons.
They figure they have a tight window to get the product and its brand name established in the market before they begin battling knock-offs from China and elsewhere in the world.
Already, Oxborrow says, two Chinese competitors are gearing up production and an outfit in Italy is selling a product that appears to violate his company's patent.
Oxborrow grew up in northern Nevada and although he lives these days in a Houston suburb, he's turned to home folks for much of the work for his company, Ballumination Inc.His stepfather, Siegfried Goepner, handled research and development from his home in Washoe Valley.
Other professionals in the region are providing services such as public relations most of them giving up immediate billings in hopes of a bigger payoff after the Balloominator gets established.And Oxborrow himself hopes the product pays off well enough that he can move back to northern Nevada.
Worried from the beginning about the possibilities of knock-offs, Oxborrow kept quiet for most of the decade that he spent developing the product.
The project was financed by Oxborrow's savings he wrote a good-selling software package for auto dealers as well as loans from friends and families.
"Every spare penny I have, bar none, is in this.
The ax is hanging over my head," Oxborrow says."But when you've got the winning lottery ticket in your hand, you'll do anything you can to purchase it."
He turned away inquiries from large outfits that promised him help with manufacturing, distribution and the like."If they could do it, I could do it," Oxborrow says.
The product was introduced on a limited basis about a year ago, and it's now the top seller in some gift and novelty stores around the country, Oxborrow says.
But now Ballumination Inc.
has distribution deals in seven countries and the company is looking to ramp up quickly.
Longer production runs will drive costs down sharply, boost margins and give the company some cushion to battle knock-offs.
The Original Balloominator sells for $1.50 to $2.50 at retail.
At the same time, Oxborrow is moving quickly to bring the next generation of Balloominator to the market.He expects that the choice between blinking or non-blinking lights, for instance,will keep his company a step ahead while it continues to build its brand among consumers.
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