|
Interview with Marty Dehen, Inventor of the Turd Burglar™
1. How did you come up with the idea?
The two biggest days in Minnesota are the State High School Hockey Play-offs and the snow melt. The melt comes as a result of several days of rain and it usually exposes a winters worth of dog poop. Three years ago, when I went to the garage for the shovel, I noticed my old high school hockey stick and had one of those epiphanies&wouldn't it be nice if that stick had a spatula attached to it and I could fling everything over to the mulch pile in the back corner of my yard. I fashioned the first Turd Burglar out of and old auto license plate. Frequently, the neighborhood kids would sneak over and clean my yard because of the cool hockey poop stick propped against my deck. When all the neighbors asked if I could make them one, I thought I may be on to something.
2. How long did it take to bring your idea to market?
My daughter wanted to attend a brand new Prep-school, five blocks from our home. We told her it wasn't in the budget. She suggested we manufacture and sell Turd Burglars for supplemental income. I agreed and began the patent process. That took much longer than expected. I suffered a heart attack and lost six months to the recovery, which also delayed market launch. Our test marketing was renting booths at several community festivals and game fairs and we sold product, but basically only broke even on our time and talent usage. Most of our sales are from the internet, youth hockey fund raising efforts and golf leagues as a "reverse trophy" for the worst team in tournaments.
3. What makes your product unique?
We sell the Turd Burglar, complete with an indestructible, rubber Practice Poopie®, and an official looking rule book, called, "Poop Dreams" filled with 9 poop related yard games, using the Practice Poopie® as the game piece. The uniqueness comes from the many different markets we serve. It's a yard and garden tool for pet poop, rotten vegetables, and shedding fruit trees. It's a training tool for teaching kids to enjoy pet care responsibilities. It's nine fun outdoor games for the whole family. It's a very popular "gag" gift for many occasions. It's a comedic award for friendly humiliation at banquets, retirements and sports events. It's a highlight at "white elephant" office gift exchanges. It's a product that can lead to big dollars for fund raisers in many different fields.
4. Are you planning any enhancements/improvements to the product?
I have the next two generations on the drawing board, but it doesn't make sense to fund them until volume increases or until retailers want a different look.
5. What is your professional background? Did that line of work or education help you in developing this product?
My college degree is in Industrial Education, but I did some stand-up comedy in college and it led me to a variety of marketing positions. For the last 25 years, I've been in the business of raising venture capital for start-up medical companies. Getting a medical product through FDA approval and patent process and sales requires patience and forward thinking. The October, 1987 Black Monday crash and the dot-com bubble burst of 2001 clearly showed me the best and worst case scenarios and the importance of networking with the right people. The combination of mechanical, sales and fund raising skills, mixed with a warped sense of humor, all play a role in our little company, 3-1/3 LLC (we pronounce it- tree and a turd- in our worst dialect imitation of the movie, "Fargo")
6. Throughout the entire inventive/manufacturing process what was the hardest obstacle you faced?
Actually, inventing the Turd Burglar was easier than I thought it would be. The big set-back was the heart attack and slow recovery. Juggling family, church and venture financing is challenging and having a wife and two daughters who are worried we may become famous for dog poop instead of a cure for diabetes is probably the biggest concern.
7. What type of pets do you own?
We own two female English Black Labradors, a 10 year old named Dakota and a 10 month old named Bella.
8. Is there anything else you'd like readers to know about you or your product?
If you have time to read the testimonials on my web site www.tburglar.com
or the disclaimers and safety tips, I had a gas putting all that together. I sent a box of Turd Burglars over to our troops in Iraq with two new military games I developed. Also, I placed an option for the various buyers on my web site to elect to have $1.00 from the purchase price go to one of four, well known charities.
You can find different dog houses made with wood and plastic on several pet stores. There is special food available for puppies and other pets. If you love Pomeranians then you can get pomeranian puppies from different local breeders at low rates.
|
