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The Entrepreneurial Life- Kliptec - Access this video through Media Quizzing in Chapter 10

Overview: KlipTech develops eco-friendly building materials, used in a variety of products, including skateboard ramps and counter tops. This video describes how a modern retail company created a culture that generates positive energy.

Discussion Questions:

"If you can't compete in a marketplace, create a new marketplace." Why is this important for the entrepreneur's focus in staying positive?

How does the concept of "pit bull mentality" tie to the chapter's emphasis on a positive work culture?

Chapter 10 Video Title: The Entrepreneurial Life- Kliptec

[ Music ] We had an idea and nobody wanted to do it. And that idea was to make super sustainable building products out of recycled paper. My wife one day just said why don't you do it yourself. What do you mean? Start your own company do it yourself you keep complaining that you can't get anybody else to do it for you do it yourself. And that was a very frightening thing. In the last 10 years we've got products in all of North America and most of Europe.

We've shipped container loads of material to Middle East, Australia and Japan. We've been profitable since our first week in business and that was over ten years ago. Today we're going to go on a little tour around and Washington we're going to take a look at some different products ranging from my original product skateboard ramp surfacing to my final my most recent product exterior building claddings. Everybody thought I was crazy. Even my own family and best friends.

Now you can't go to a skateboard hardly in America and if it's not concrete, it's this. This original skateboard ramp product was really all I wanted to do when I started my company. This now is almost a hobby to me. I don't do that much of it anymore. When I started this company I put together a business plan like everybody puts together a business plan and I was going to get funding. And I went to numerous banks with my business plan about how I wanted to invent a product and manufacture a product made out of recycled paper. They would kind of shake their head and wonder what is it you're going to use it for. I said I'm going to make skateboarding ramp surfacing out of recycled paper.

And almost every banker I talked to chuckled and said, well, good luck with that. Shortly after we made the skateboard ramps surfacing we had a previous customer come back and ask us if we would make them a countertop product. In 2005 we brought out EcoTop, which is the latest and greatest in our countertop products we produced over the last decade. This one's made out of 100% post-consumer recycled fiber ad it has a UV stable resin system and the beauty of this product was that we were able to make light colors that were appealing to a much broader market than we were able to appeal to in the past.

I think that anybody that has an idea can be an entrepreneur but don't get me wrong in saying that an idea is all you need because it's easy to get ideas. It's hard to implement those ideas, The great part about being a small business is that you're like a speedboat on the water. You're able to adjust extremely fast on the fly where big corporations are like this ferry. It takes them an hour to turn this thing around. Marketing 101 told me that if you couldn't be number one in your market place go create a new market place. For me I knew I wasn't going to compete with DuPont and become the biggest countertop product in the world.

I wanted to create a countertop product that was unique that nobody else was making. I actually haven't been back here in 5 years. They were familiar with our skateboard ramp panels and asked us if we could make them a custom colored skateboard ramp panel. And my answer was I have no idea; do you want to be the guinea pig? And they said yes. When I first started out nobody wanted to help me manufacture my product, so I had to buy my own factory and build it. I'm amazed at how good they look for our first attempt. And we've developed the product a lot further along since.

The way I've always paid myself is I'm the last one paid. I pay all my vendors, I pay all my employees first and whatever's left is what I pay myself with. Wow, this looks really good. This product is called EcoClad. It's made from 100% post-consumer recycled fiber mixed with rapidly renewable bamboo fiber. I think that one of the most important pieces to owning a small business is understanding finances. Fortunately I'm pretty good at math and I was able to fumble my way through it but I wish I would of paid a whole heck of a lot more attention in finance class.

I think the number one thing an entrepreneur has to have is a pit bull mentality. You have to have this unbelievable conviction that you cannot fail. And your idea will not fail. Because I had so many doors slammed in my face. All I had to do was laugh and keep going and open another door. The past decade doing this has been like a fairy tale. I don't consider myself a brilliant person, but I think we've had a really good idea that we've been able to get to market and then adapt it in the market over time. I wake up every day with a smile on my face and go I can't believe I get paid to do this. 1 KlipTech Rough-cut