Interview with David Carson

David Carson, Envision Product Development Group, LLC located in Stuart, Florida.

What is your background and how long have you been involved with this industry?

I grew up in a machine shop as a kid, became a degreed draftsman in my early 20’s, and founded my first contract drafting and design company in 1996.

I re-branded the company in 2009 and currently offer napkin sketch to finished product development and finished goods fulfillment.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

We are a product innovation and development company that provides inventors, entrepreneurs, and corporations all the key services needed to research, design, enhance, produce, and deliver branded, packaged, finished products.

I am going to expand my companies turnkey service offerings nationally, cherry-pick life enhancing highly marketable products, and support mass production, through distribution of high quality finished goods.

How did your idea come about?

As a kid I worked beside my Dad in our home business machine shop, and simply got hooked on the joy of creating physical, functional, useful items out of an idea and drawing on a piece of paper.

How did you get started in your business?

It was in my blood I guess. Growing up in a family business gave me the opportunity to learn how to work and contribute for each dollar I made, and after working my way up the ladder as an employee for a few engineering firms and an industrial model shop, I took the risk to venture out on my own as an entrepreneur.

How did you organize your team?

I surrounded myself with highly talented people, who share the same innovative passion I have, that I could organize, lead, grow with, and learn from.

What were some of your concerns as a start up?

Time and money. Starting out offering drafting and design services, I thankfully found projects if I tried hard enough to find them, BUT if it took more time than anticipated to find the work, and more time than anticipated to deliver on contracts, financial pressures would soon grow.

The moral of that story is to market swiftly, and deliver promptly…at the same time.

What is your favorite quote?

“A life best lived is a life by design” Jim Rohn

What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

There are many, but to narrow down to one, I’d say having the freedom to create my own destiny tops the list. Although there’s constant pressures, setbacks, and frustrations, there is also the opportunity to travel, meet great people, and weave my own lifestyle.

As a startup entrepreneur what type of lessons could you give to inventors and people with new ideas as to how to bring their ideas to fruition?

First, be very clear on who your target market is, and 100% certain they will actually part with their hard earned money when it becomes available on the market.

This can be accomplished early on with base level “online” market research of competitive or similar products, and then validated constantly each step of development all-the-way through product launch through different methods such as focus groups and questionnaires.

The magic lies in inviting market feedback into the development process, and listening quietly and carefully to your future buyers, and responding to their quantified suggestions.

If market driven enhancements are included into the finished product, it’s much more likely the market will return the favor and “pull” the product into acceptance, magnifying the likelihood the product will be adopted into the mainstream market…and don’t forget about the product line extensions that should have taken at least conceptual form, by the time the first product launches.