Hammerhead Sleds Audio Story
Many times, when I’m looking for a new story to blog about, all I need to do is poke around the Why Didn’t I Think of That? site to find something inspiring. But every once in a while, the Why Guys find inspiration from the Think of That blog.
Today’s World Premiere of a brand new Why Didn’t I Think of That? story was inspired by a blog story I ran about 14 months ago on a company called Hammerhead Sleds. As I put it back in 2009, the concept is simple: Take a timeless children’s activity, update it, make it significantly more exciting/dangerous, and market it as a must-have for any extreme sports enthusiast.
With that, I’ll hand it over to Bob and Greg (for the next 90 seconds, at least) as we premiere their brand new story, “Hammerhead Sleds.”
“Rip turns with blazing speed and total control, bust freestyle moves that’ll make jaws drop, dust the competition, or tire out your dog,” boasts the Vermont company’s website.
It took Steve Luhr about a year and a half to go from product idea to working prototype, but it was well worth the battle. His product can now be purchased from the Hammerhead Sled website, as well as at R.E.I., L.L. Bean, the Discovery Store, and Amazon.com.
Luhr attributes his company’s level of innovation to its small size. “Bigger companies…can’t do this,” Luhr says. “They can’t come down to our level and create something this exciting and new – they’re just too burdened. We just keep moving.” Luhr echoes a sentiment I’ve examined before (see my 2009 article, “Too Big To Innovate”).
Hammerhead Sleds are popular, especially with those who have tried them. The company started out small, with a $300,000 investment, and is growing steadily, looking to start a major national rollout in the near future. As of September 2010, Hammerhead was “shopping for a $500,000 investment that would fund the hiring of a sales manager and national marketing.”
While Luhr and company continue their steep climb to the top, I for one will be gleefully riding a Hammerhead Sled all the way back down.
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