Innovating a Product Category, Plus...Hear from Francine Glick of Water Journey as she shares some RealTalk about Patents and Selling to Big Box Retailers.

RealTalk Podcast:  Episode 15

Guest: Francine Glick

Francine Glick, founder of Echo Strategic Consultants and Water Journey, a personal care product company. Francine has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA in computer science from Barnard College at Columbia University. 

She is a perfect example of the crossroads where super-intelligent meets the super creative problem solver. Her background as an expert in Mergers and Acquisitions, specializing in the technology space enabled her to leverage her skills as she transitioned to entrepreneur and innovator when she created the category of alcohol-free hand sanitizers, and she received two patents.

Key Takeaways, Tips and RealTalk:

• Just because you think you have something that's patentable doesn't mean that it is.
• A patent is expensive. Use caution about jumping into soon and really think about whether it's important to patent your product.
• Patent pros: 
• • Gives you a marketing advantage
  • If you want to sell your company to a larger company, the larger companies are very interested in patents.
• When dealing with the retail marketplace, they want more SKUs. They don't want one product. They want more! 
• Once you have the traction and the numbers are kicking in - roll out your next product.  Don’t bring too many products to market too soon but at the same time, get prepared for “what’s next” once the primary product is thriving.
• When working with Big Box Retailers:  You need to be the expert in your space to explain to them how this is going to increase their sales and who’s going to buy it. 
• You have to be able to articulate who that ideal client is that buys your product so that collectively you can collaborate and market to them
• Big Box Retail is not always the best route. Really analyze whether your product is a good fit for that particular Big Box: Is there alignment with core values or does it just happens to be a product that everyone wants or needs in some capacity? 
• Relationships are important. Cultivate great relationships with your buyers and suppliers and MOST importantly, your banker (especially before you need your bank and more money).  
• Growth and Scaling: When you think about growth, don’t forget about the cash flow. When you're in a product business, you need to plan ahead and think through what growth will look like. It’s not just about increased sales revenue, it’s about funding more product as you grow and scale and expanding logistics and operational efficiencies.    

 

Guest:

Francine Glick 

 

Companies:

 

Water Journey

https://www.waterjourney.com/

 

Echo Strategic Consultants

www.echo-strategic.com

 

Social: 

• Hands2GO Alcohol-free Hand Sanitizer - Facebook
• @save_our_hands - Twitter
• @hands2go - Instagram
• Hands2GO - Amazon

We'd love to hear from you!  If there are topics or burning issues that you'd love to hear about, or if you would like to be considered as a guest on the RealTalk Podcast with Maureen Borzacchiello, just shoot us a note:  [e-mail] or complete this short questionnaire:    https://programs.maureenborza.com/