BLOGS FOR JUSTIN MARTY AND JOSHUA PACE

CASTING (Premiered September 14, 2005) - It felt like a dream. Whether it was the surreal feeling of competing on a nationally televised show or the fact that we may be very close to validating the last five years of our lives, it just felt incredible. We had no idea what to expect in LA, but we sure didn't expect all of this. Seeing all of the other inventors and teams was a great thrill. It was like a giant support group for creative people who have spent all of their money and many years of their lives investing in their ideas. Yes, some of the inventions had more ingenuity, marketability, or potential than others, but we were all peers, so it didn't feel like a competition. Well, at least until the competition started! With this being such a great opportunity for us, we worked hard to prepare for our three-minute pitch before the judges. We figured, if our technology wasn't impressive enough, we would win them over with our charm and good looks ;). Although we felt that our technology was impressive and that our presentation was solid, we didn't expect the unanimous praise as we received from the judges (and they never even mentioned our charm or good looks!). When we found out that we were selected to be one of the six teams to move on, we were even more ecstatic. Again, it was surreal. It was a dream.


DOES IT WORK? (Premiered September 21, 2005) - We were introduced to The Lab, had our products tested for quality control, and participated in an egg drop competition. Having been labeled "inventors," we suppose a lab is the ideal place for us to work and compete... although garages would have been appropriate too. Just as we were settling in, we were introduced to the Quality Assurance experts from HSN. It's amazing how a lab coat and a clipboard can make an otherwise benign individual seem very intimidating. We understand that it was their mission to expose any flaw in our product or concept. At first, they tested our metal zippers... and we were very confident that the metal zippers would pass any test with ease. Then the QA experts turned to our prototype jacket, and we started to get nervous. Our jacket was outfitted with plastic prototype zippers that were very fragile. As expected, the QA experts revealed that weakness, and we were left wondering what could be done in a very short period of time and with limited resources to fix the problem. The task we were given was to replace the plastic zippers with the metal zippers. Hmm, that seems easy enough (wrong). The plastic zippers and the metal zippers work on two different types of chain. In order to replace the zippers, we had to rip out the old chain and replace it with chain that worked with the metal zippers. Getting the right chain isn't as easy as running down to the nearest fabric store. The teeth of the chain have to be the right shape, the right size, the right thickness, the right brand, etc. We didn't have the time to travel to a zipper tape manufacturer to find the appropriate chain, so we had a courier try to do the best that they could to find a chain that would work. Long story short, the chain didn't work. Fortunately, we had packed in our supplies a couple of sample chains that worked with the metal zippers. We didn't have enough of any single color to put in the jacket, so we had to improvise. The result: a functional multi-colored zipper jacket that looks like something out of the early 80's. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. The judges were pleased, and we felt lucky to survive the elimination round.

Now, as much fun as it was to scramble to fix our zippers, we did get to pit our creative minds against the other teams in an egg-drop competition. The basic idea was to drop your egg from a specified height and have it land nearest to a target without breaking. In theory, our conical egg harness/torpedo seemed like it was going to work... as long as we could get it to hit the ground vertically. In order to assure that it would land the way we wanted it to, we tried to add significant weight to the base (like a badminton birdie). It wasn't enough, and our hideous contraption met an early fate. In hindsight, a parachute would have worked wonders.


DOES IT LOOK GOOD? (Premiered September 29, 2005) - For most of the teams, the packaging and marketing challenge came down to designing an attractive box or label. The functionality and benefit of their products could be explained with a series of pictures or words on the side of a box. Our challenge seemed to be quite different. Our jacket would hang on a rack in a store. We needed to come up with a strategy/concept that, if executed well, would lure the consumer into trying on the jacket and experiencing the benefit for themselves. There are many reasons why people buy jackets. Two of the primary reasons however are '"look" and "function." Okay, right away, our prototype early 80's clown-suit jacket fails the 'look' test. Of course, we know that our zippers can and will be easily incorporated into the most stylish jackets available... but for now, all we had to work with was our, uh, prototype. All we could really focus on is the unique functionality and benefit of the jacket. We worked with a graphic designer to develop an interactive hangtag that would communicate easily and effectively the benefit of the jacket to the consumer. We also developed some conceptual labels that would help the consumer understand how to operate the jacket. In the end, we did the best we could with the time that we had... all we could do is hope that the judges could overlook the rough and cheap-looking mock-ups and catch the overall vision of our marketing strategy. Fortunately, they were able to see that vision and we survived another elimination round.

Now, like the egg-drop challenge in the previous episode, we did get another chance to match our creativity against the other teams. This time it was a challenge of who could create the best mascot for a local high school. The mascots were to be constructed in the lab and then "auditioned" during a pep rally for the school. Our team opted for the universal appeal of rugged masculinity... we chose to create a warrior that could energize the guys at the school and make the girls swoon. Overall, we were happy with our creation, and we seemed to have garnished a lot of support from the students. Unfortunately, we lost out to the brilliant and scantily-clad theatrics of the hydration guys. In hindsight, maybe Josh should have gone out there without a shirt on... uh, actually, that would have done more harm than good.


DO PEOPLE LIKE IT? (Premiered October 7, 2005) - All good things must come to an end. We met our end in the focus groups. We're not going to candy coat it... we were frustrated. Well, correction, we weren't frustrated with the people in the focus group... we were frustrated because we felt that our product wasn't ready for the focus group. First and foremost, we were conducting a focus group on an ugly jacket. If people don't like the look of a jacket, they are not going to place much value in it... and that is especially the case if they don't understand its functionality. Another factor that put us already at a disadvantage in the focus group was that our product caters to people who live in cold climates... people who understand the value of extra warmth when they're in the stands at a Minnesota Vikings football game. Our focus group was primarily from warm climates, so the value of "extra warmth" fell on deaf ears. So, in short, we were showcasing an ugly jacket that no one understood, and had to watch and listen behind a sheet of glass, helpless to be able to explain it. Fortunately, some of the participants began to understand the benefit... and soon we had a couple of converts.

With the judges, we explained what went wrong in the focus group and we accepted full accountability for the results. We then proceeded to explain how modifications on our end would yield drastically improved results in future focus groups. The judges, however, seemed to disregard everything we said... and at that time we had a pretty good idea that our heads were on the chopping block.

Looking back, we realize that even though quad zipper technology is revolutionary and that our jacket has enormous potential, our product was the least prepared to move further in the competition. We wish the absolute best for the remaining teams, as well as all the best for all of the inventors who participated in this competition. We also want to encourage any inventor out there to never give up on their dreams.

Peace,
The Quad Zipper Boys