Douglas Speth wanted to launch a business and Matt Tucker had an idea.
The concept was simple. So simple, in fact, that many people told the pair of entrepreneurs that if such a product could be developed, someone would have already done so.
Speth and Tucker wanted to create a new fire detection system that also exhausted smoke from burning homes through the existing furnace ducts, giving occupants an easier escape. The problem was, neither man possessed the electrical background to assemble a prototype.
“We knew what we wanted to do,” recalls Speth, CEO of Brecksville-based VisionAire. “But, the question was, could we tie all this together or were we just talking off the top of our heads?”
Ultimately, Speth found Gary Christopher, VisionAire’s product design manager, who coincidentally was also looking for a way to improve fire safety after his 15-year-old son suffered severe smoke inhalation in a house fire just a few months before.
Without a proven track record, Speth and his crew found investors on the strength of their idea. Then came the task of designing their AireVac system. Along the way, they learned a bit about bringing a new product to market.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Early discussions about the product’s design took some strange detours before Christopher brought his electrical expertise to the mix. Looking back, Speth says they were simply trying too hard.
“We were talking about having photoelectric beams and everything else,” he says. “But then Gary came on board and told us we could actually do it another way, which was a lot easier.”
It turns out the system could be assembled almost entirely by combining products already on the market, such as photoelectric smoke detectors and exhaust fans. The only thing VisionAire had to “invent” was a way to wire the system together.
Get a second opinion
After Speth built a test lab and the product was designed, there was still a lingering question of how the system would play with fire officials. A poor reaction could leave the product dead in the water.
So Speth invited a raft of fire chiefs and building inspectors to the lab to gauge their reaction.
“We just wanted to know what they thought,” he says. “That was a key, bringing in as many people as we could to show it to. We just wanted to make sure we were on the right track … we also talked to insurance companies about whether a system like this would give people a decrease on their homeowners insurance.”
Keep it simple
One of the biggest decisions was whether to include a carbon monoxide detector as part of the system. Fire officials touted the importance of CO detectors, but readily admitted there was a high rate of false alarms with some brands. Even the best were not 100 percent reliable.
Speth wrestled with the issue before finally deciding not to include a CO detector as part of the basic system.
“I just didn’t want anybody to have false hope,” Speth says, explaining he did not want to chance jeopardizing the reputation of what is an otherwise solid product. “Especially when putting a new product out there. Either it’s got to be the best or I don’t want it.”
How to reach: VisionAire, (440) 526-3840 or www.visionaireinc.com
Jim Vickers ([email protected]) is an associate editor at SBN.
