We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Colin Buckingham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Colin below.
Colin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
The idea for Disc Raptor “The Ultimate Disc Golf Cleaning Tool” started in 2013 with a simple question. “Why isn’t there a better way to clean/dry discs while out playing a round of disc golf?” When I finished my round I quickly jotted down some notes on the back of my disc. I was really excited and knew I might have something big. Work and life went on and the concept was put on hold but I always came back to it at some point.
The basic concept was there, a pocket of some shape with a curved spine and material to scrub away dirt and moisture.
I frequently went to Home Depot and Dollar Tree to cannibalize products to make my prototypes.
I used mops, sheets of abs, dusters, PEX water pipe cut in half and heated up to form a half circle spine (at the time I was working as a Plumbing apprentice), synthetic turf, door mats, sponges, yoga mats, rip stop nylon, cotton towels.
I made many different versions and at some point came to the realization that I was putting off the next step whatever that was. I was getting caught up in design and making the prototype over complicated. The chosen design at the time was fairly simple and very effective at cleaning/drying discs. The working prototype was a half circle pocket with synthetic turf on the spine and micro fiber chenille on both side of the pocket. I remember paying a round of disc golf and using the prototype and being very excited at how well it worked.
During prototyping and testing I was careful to keep it relatively secret and only showed a few friends and family. In the back of my mind I was thinking the most important thing to do now was get a patent or some kind of IP but wasn’t sure where to start.
I started to look into obtaining a patent and came across Patent it yourself by David Pressman. Reading the book and doing research was overwhelming in the beginning but I kept at it and filled a provisional patent application around 2017. Around 3 months prior to the deadline to file a non provisional patent application I got to work on the process. In 2018 my non provisional patent application was filed with the USPTO.
Around 3 years later the patent application was accepted and my utility patent was awarded in January of 2021. In 2021 I began contacting Disc Golf companies to see if they would be interested in licensing the product. I sent off a few prototypes that I glued together and hand stitched myself. At the same time I began looking into how this product would be made and consulted Andy at Technical Softgoods in Seattle. Andy produced several prototypes that looked professional and I was finally holding in my hand what I had been working on for so long.
After considering my options I decided to make a crowdfunding campaign. I read the book Crowdfunded by Mark Pecota and decided to start the program Launch Boom. Launch Boom is an online training program that teaches you how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. Launch Boom was a very involved process but thankfully members of the team would answer questions and give guidance via weekly online meetings. In August 2022 I launched my campaign on Kickstarter and then Indiegogo Indemand. The campaigns were able to raise over $48,000 USD from 1118 backers.
Finding the right manufacturer turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I must have talked to or tried to talk to 15 different companies. Thankfully I found one and placed my first order for 5000 units. The cargo arrived in late January 2023. With the help of my family we managed to get out all 1000 plus orders within a week.
In march 2023 my website went live discraptor.com. In June 2023 I did a vendor booth at 2 PDGA disc golf tournaments: Beaver State Fling and Portland Open.
In September 2024 I got my products on Amazon and was able to remove counterfeit products that were violating my Patent.
In 2024 I’m working on organization and business structure as well as the future of my company.
This process is not a sprint but a marathon. My greatest challenge today is organization and finding the right people to take this to the next level.
I started out not knowing much at all but have stuck with it and so far couldn’t be happier with where I’m at.
Pushing through the fear of failure and being willing to take risks has been essential for my success.
I didn’t know how much work this would be when I started. The key for me is to keeping going forward even if it’s a little bit some days and to be able to give myself down time which is always a struggle.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My background before starting my business was pretty all over the place. In 2011 I was enrolled in the doctorate of pharmacy program at W.S.U. After completing the first semester I voluntarily withdrew from the program. It just didn’t seem to be a good fit for my personality type. Over the next couple years I did different jobs and started my journey of becoming a licensed plumber. When I came up with my idea for Disc Raptor I was really excited. When I got my Utility patent approved I took a leap of faith and went all in on bringing it to market. I have since written another patent and I’m currently working on another with an IP lawyer. Most of my time right now is spent on trying to catch up on learning how to run a business efficiently. I’m really happy to have a successful product in the sport I love, Disc Golf.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience has been needed all throughout this process and continues to be needed. Writing and getting my patent approved was a lengthy work intensive process. I remember sitting down at the computer day after day refining and changing my application. The program I joined to launch my Kickstarter campaign required a lot of computer work and tech stuff which I’m terrible at. I just chipped away at it a little bit each day. Being confident in my product helped me continue on with the process. I would read an article or do some work only to double back and start all over again. I had to learn Adobe Illustrator to design my own logo after hiring out someone to do it and not getting the results I wanted. I think the key for me was to do something every day even if it was a small task. For me and I assume alot of people the biggest obstacle is just getting started on something. Once I started I’d make some progress which made me want to do more. There was some kind of mental block with starting each new project for me. It’s kinda like going to the gym. It takes a lot of effort to get through the door but once I start I’m always happy I did. I think without a huge amount of resilience no business would be able to survive. It’s what sets apart someone with an idea and someone making that idea happen in the face of constant challenges.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting is constant, especially in the beginning. At first I was considering licensing my product. As I learned more and continued on with my plan I decided to do it all myself. At the time I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. As I learned more about various subjects and opportunities, what I thought was my plan changed several times. You need to have a plan but constantly ask yourself if that plan needs to change. Bringing a completely new product to market has been nothing but changes and re-evaluation: getting prototypes from one manufacturer to another, settling on a manufacturer and changing the design after the first order, changing to a new design after the 2nd order. Right now I’m taking an advanced small business management class from SBDC. My hope is that I can get a strong foundation on how to run a business which will set me up to make better decisions on where to go in the future. I’ve got a lot of things to learn and it’s pretty overwhelming at times but is so rewarding. You need to know why to pivot to pivot effectivly.
Contact Info:
- Website: discraptor.com
- Instagram: @discraptor