We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steven Watson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

A few summers before the pandemic, I was visiting New Orleans. Like most visitors, I was walking down Bourbon Street on a very hot summer afternoon and observed everyone walking with a drink in their hand. One thing stood out to me. Everyone was holding their drink in one hand and fanning themselves with the other. So, I had a thought and a vision…. what if their cup could cool them off as they drank their drink. Ever since then, I have been working on developing and preparing for manufacturing an invention which I call the Fancup. The Fancup is a 24-ounce multi-functional drinking tumbler that has a fan attached to the lid which will allow you to be cooled off as your drink your favorite beverage. The fan sits in a cavity in the lid and can be removed from the lid to use as a handheld fan which can also stand alone on a tabletop.

Steven, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I reside in Atlanta, Ga but grew up in Compton, California. I have always been a visionary. Have always asked “what if?” I have never been afraid to try, knowing that failing could be a result. However, without trying, you can never succeed. So, throughout my life, I’ve thought of many witty ideas and inventions, but this one was special. I felt from the beginning, this was God sent. This would be the one that would be manufactured and sold by the company I formed from this vision simply called Beyond Imaginable. “The impossible becomes possible. The unbelievable becomes believable. If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, God will bless you Beyond Imaginable.” This is my affirmation statement which encourages me to not give up on this vision.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My journey has been one of perseverance. I have vision of a product which no one else can see but me. So how can I tell an engineer to make it? Not knowing that I had the skills, I actually created my invention by using different materials until I had a functional temporary prototype. I then had a Computer Automated Drawing or CAD drawing made, which was needed to have it transferred into a 3D printer which resulted in my first working prototype. All of this was done by having absolutely no knowledge of what steps I needed to take to develop my vision into reality. From there, I needed to create a cost analyst spreadsheet which would show the profits from sales and have a strong enough profit margin that would attract investors in which I had to seek out. After successfully finding an investor, we were, in my thoughts, ready to have the manufacturing tool made and go into production and manufacturing. The appointment set to go pick up the check from the investor……and the day before my appointment, the world shut down due to the pandemic. The blessing in disguise was, contrary to belief, I wasn’t ready. I learned from a manufacturing company, I still had engineering designs that needed to be create. And if it wasn’t for the delay from the pandemic, I would’ve made a costly mistake in starting a project that wasn’t ready to start. What appeared to be another obstacle I needed to overcome was actually a step I needed to make. The lesson I learned was that of perseverance, which reminded me that obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goal!

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Yes, I will manufacture my product, at least part of it. As previously shared, I had to design and create my product from various materials until it was complete enough to be drawn by computer automation. This CAD drawing allows the product to be 3D printed, which in turn is a functioning prototype. Also from the CAD drawing, a mold is made for manufacturing which will then be set up for production. I learned all of these methods as I went through each step of creating a product from a vision. I had absolutely no prior experience or knowledge of manufacturing and production.

Contact Info:

• Website: yourfancup.com ; beyondimaginable.net