When Dave Ollila set out to commercialize his most recent invention, the
Marquette Backcountry Ski, he challenged himself. He's already accomplished goals most entrepreneurs dream of, like creating a large company and manufacturing in China. Those things, he'd done previously with
V.I.O., a point-of-view camera company in Marquette. This time, he's trying a new approach. Could he make a product exclusively in Michigan for less than $100,000 and commercialize it within a year? He attempted to set an example of how even with the poor economy, anyone can use Michigan resources to create a small, start-up company. He could and he did.
"I wanted to prove that somebody with a good idea and somebody with a network of connections and somebody with some knowhow on product development and marketing and business execution could do something without taking a handout," Ollila says.
The ski is part snowshoe and part cross country ski. Ollila felt nothing on the market adequately combined the two, and he sought to invent the very thing that he wanted to use, a ski to climb up hills and then slide down. The short, wide ski has a fish-scale pattern on the bottom to keep the ski from sliding backwards when climbing, but makes gliding down a hill easy.
As per Ollila's challenge, the skis are made entirely in Michigan. Product liability insurance is the only aspect of the production that is not Michigan-based. He started working on the skis in November 2009 and made 200 pairs in the first manufacturing run less than a year later downstate in Coldwater.
The Marquette Backcountry Ski is the sole product now, but as Ollila produces more revenue, he hopes to produce a soft boot binding for the ski, which would make it easier for someone to use a typical winter or hiking boot with the ski. Right now, boots and ski poles must be purchased separately.
Part of keeping production under $100,000 meant spending nothing that didn't go directly to the cost of producing the ski. Ollila works out of his basement, does not have business cards and does not have any employees; he does all the work himself. He says once he makes revenue he can make new products for the ski or hire employees.
"Outside of printing my cards here that hang on the ski, I think zero has been spent in marketing to sell that first 100 pair," he says.
Instead, Ollila is relying on word-of-mouth, the uniqueness of the product and social networking to draw in new customers. "And that 100 pair will sell the next 300 pair and the next 300 pair will sell the next 900 pair," he says.
Ollila says this with experience in inventing and producing various products under his belt. He was the thought behind the Marquette-based company Viosport, now V.I.O., which produces point of view cameras for uses like extreme sports terrain, all-weather conditions, or police and military environments. Ollila says he left V.I.O. for the opportunity to pursue the Backcountry Ski and return to what he likes about commercializing his inventions and ideas.
"I like the start-up challenge. I'm not necessarily as interested in the operating aspect, and I also don't necessarily work well in a group environment," Ollila says. "Entrepreneurs are usually much more individual-based, and so having the freedom to follow one's own passion is more important to me then having some sort of stable environment to work in."
Now, he's created three companies, all named Snapperhead: one to consult, one to invent and produce his ideas, and another to invest in renewable natural resources.
"It was a good way of organizing the things that I do on a regular day to day basis and putting them into a company," Ollila says.
The Marquette Backcountry Ski is the first endeavor of Snapperhead Inventions. Ollila says that the idea has been "on the backburner" for 15 years, and about a year ago he decided to push the idea through to commercialization.
Switchback Gear Exchange and Outfitters in Marquette is one of three stores to sell the skis in the area. Owner Mike Posthumus says customers have responded well to the skis, though he's found the snowshoe and ski hybrid isn't for everyone. Instead, it's been a good seller for a specific type of customer.
"If you are a snowshoer or someone who hasn't done a lot of skiing before, that customer has way more fun and enjoys it way more than a customer that is an avid downhill skier or like a hardcore touring cross country skier, because those other two customers are more likely to critique this ski in a way that it's not intended for," Posthumus says.
Posthumus says that he has tried the ski for several hours and though he was hesitant at first, he now really enjoys using the Marquette Backcountry Ski.
"The most fun I've had is when I took them out thinking I'm going to climb up this mountain and ski down. For that specific purpose, they were great," Posthumus says. "They are fun, they let you go down and stay in control, and I really enjoyed that."
Lucy Hough is a student at Northern Michigan University, studying history and journalism. She is also Editor in Chief of the student newspaper, The North Wind.