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Currently Creating in: United States
Seth McBee is lighting up the streets with inspiration and LED’s. He is the co-founder of You Saw Me, a start-up concentrating on the design, manufacturing, and marketing of their first patented product: a reflective vest (The Verve) with custom-color LED lights embedded inside for athletes, police, military, and various other consumers. Its 60 custom color, waterproof LEDs can be seen from over a mile away in any direction.
With engineering backgrounds and entrepreneurial bugs, Seth and his partner Kevin are putting everything they have into a strategic process wrapped with product development, market research, and future scalability.
These vests are so….f*****g… awesome.
Here are the highlights of my funky conversation with Seth:
- 06:06 – Being a young entrepreneur, filing patents back in 2009, studying Engineering at the University of Maryland, bringing his talents to Virginia as a nuclear engineer, and finally landing in Lexington in 2013 to pursue his passion,
- 10:07 – Where their idea originated and how customer feedback influenced the development of their product,
- 14:21 – About their first prototype, the processes and halts it went through and the next versions which came out after their tinkering,
- 17:29 – The challenges he faced including the rejections, discouragements, critics and all the ups and downs, and the things he learned and what he considers his successes so far,
- 22:54 – Networking, partnering with startup incubators such as Awesome, Inc., and the support he got from the community,
- 28:48 – Lessons learned from his unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign and how it led them to be featured in the Fast Company website,
Creative Influences
- Kevin Plank –CEO and Founder of Under Armour, Inc.
- Startup Communities by Brad Feld
One hour to create something, with anyone…
- “It would be with Henry Ford. He revolutionized commuting and developed products which are placid until now, as well as developed logistical assembly lines which really inspired me. I would go back and spend some time understanding his processes and what resources he had at that time.”
To defeat Godzilla with his talents…
- “I’m going to use the reflective properties of the vest I have invented and then strategically position myself so when he beams his laser eyes at me, it will shoot back at him and destroy himself.”
Advice…
- The phase of the marathon is largely generated by the fans alongside and the high fives that you get.
- It’s important to stay passionate and stay motivated, especially if you are trying to change the world one vest at a time.
- If you’re growing your own business, make it your own. Your personality should be reflected through your work. Be passionate about it as that’s how you’ll impress people.
Interview Links
- yousawme.com
- [email protected] – Seth’s email
- Pitch Anything by Orin Klaff
