got us an offer of investment,” says Cowper Smith. “That was remarkable. We took that investor on board and consider him an honorary founder.” “The first pitch we made outside of the class got us an offer of investment`` From there, Spring Loaded secured other financing and seed funding from high net worth individuals. The team kept a tight focus on product development, driven by the feedback of pilot testers and health care professionals. MAINTAIN A TIGHT CONTROL OVER SPENDING About $2 million was spent over three years to develop the bionic knee brace. Cowper Smith says he’s seen more established companies spend 10 times that on comparable products. “We kept our cash burn quite responsible with very limited resources, which was attrac- tive to investors.” But that focus on market fit has created some challenges. It seems that just about everyone wants a bionic knee brace. FOCUS ON A NICHE Spring Loaded has decided to go after the
skiing market, where its brace can be used to enhance performance for healthy individuals who may have minor knee complaints. Success there will be parlayed into other markets for active people, as a precursor to moving into the health care market. Cowper Smith and his team have learned the best way to overcome barriers and unearth new opportunities is to just get out there and talk to people. If he has any advice for other young entrepreneurs, it starts with that.
5 LESSONS LEARNED
1. Brainstorm and research Understand the competitive landscape for the product you want to bring to market.
2. Aim high Determine how your product can surpass competing options by a decisive margin. Incremental improvements over existing technologies are not enough. 3. Assess the market opportunity Talk to potential customers. The first question shouldn’t be “can we build this?” but “should we?”
4. Build and test a prototype Engage pilot testers. Build on their feedback and user experiences. Repeat.
5. Outsourcing or in-house manufacturing? Consider the pros and cons of in house manufacturing and assembly versus outsourcing to third parties. If you have concerns about quality control and trade secrets crucial to you company’s competitive edge, outsourcing may not be your best option.
“We kept our cash burn quite responsible with very limited resources, which was attractive to investors.”
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MAY 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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