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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,

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Creative Influences

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.

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