How an Eye for New Product Design Translated into a Small Empire
In the early days, the company was composed of a single product designer and a vision
GoTech is a team of designers, entrepreneurs, photographers, filmmakers, and action-adventure enthusiasts. We joined together to create performance and lifestyle products fused with innovation, simplicity, originality, and style. We currently design, manufacture, and market mounts and accessories for GoPro HERO® cameras, action cameras, headphones, and smartphones.
Our products have been adopted by photo/video enthusiasts, action sports athletes, and adventurers throughout the world seeking to capture and share their experiences more creatively. If you share our passions for high-quality media content and extraordinary products – we invite you to join our tribe.
Creating the brand story
GoTech was founded in 2013 by industrial designer and action-adventure enthusiast Nick Knight. As a designer, Nick has driven innovation, creative thinking, and product development for some of the world’s top brands – including Hasbro Toys, the VF Corporation, and 3D Systems. He developed his inspiration for GoTech after packing up his full-time job and moving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to work freelance and snowboard (a lot) with his GoPro® HERO camera. Today, GoTech is proudly located in Asheville, North Carolina – a vibrant cultural and startup hub in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Western NC. Asheville was recently named by Forbes Magazine as an unexpected source of Innovation, and by Popular Mechanics as the second-best startup city in America.
Developing a 2-minute quick pitch
Hey, good evening everyone! My name is Nick Knight, and I’m the founder, CEO, and Chief Designer of GoTech. As a designer I’ve helped drive innovation, creative thinking, and product development for some of the world’s top brands and organizations – such as Hasbro Toys, the VF Corporation, and 3D Systems.
I founded GoTech in 2013 while living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado pursuing my passion for snowboarding. Today, GoTech is a team of designers, entrepreneurs, photographers, filmmakers, and action-adventure enthusiasts. We’ve joined together to create performance and lifestyle products fused with innovation, simplicity, originality, and style. We currently design and manufacture mounts and accessories for GoPro HERO® cameras, action cameras, earbuds, and smartphones.
Our product line provides creative and exciting new ways to capture photos and video. Our flagship product – The Original Handle – empowers action sports athletes to capture larger than life perspectives and stabilize their GoPro videos. Our second product – GoFist – raised over 200% of its funding goal on Kickstarter.com, and gives adventure enthusiasts the ultimate grip on their GoPro camera.
Creating new products to outpace competitors
Our newest product launches next month on Kickstarter. (hold up prototype) Meet the world’s most versatile and well-designed smartphone accessory – empowering you to simply and securely attach ANY smartphone with ANY case to ANY GoPro mount or camera mount featuring a standard tripod adaptor. Our unique design unlocks hundreds if not thousands of ways to mount, use, and capture life creatively with your smartphone.
Our products have been adopted by over 7,000 photo/video enthusiasts, action sports athletes, and adventurers throughout the world seeking to capture and share their experiences more creatively.
Working the sales channels in a competitive consumer electronics landscape
GoTech products are sold direct-to-consumer via our website and Amazon.com, through wholesale/retail channels, and to International distributors. Through high-quality media, a growing social media network of over 60,000 fans, an internal Ambassador program, and referral marketing strategies we’re able to effectively drive awareness and demand for our products.
We can become one of the leading manufacturers of creative and innovative camera accessories both in the US and internationally. Our focus on building our brand and community also opens the door for GoTech to branch out into other lifestyle and accessory categories in the future.
GoTech is looking for strategic retail and distribution partners, as well as identifying potential talent for our team. Finally, we’re looking to connect with investors interested in partnering with our emerging brand in an exciting market space.
Thanks for your time everyone. Once again, my name is Nick Knight, and I’m the founder of GoTech.
Creating Effective New Product Presentations
The WOW Statement
I want you to think back, and remember the first time you saw a Dyson Vaccuum Cleaner. Your idea of a vacuum probably changed forever, right?
Well, GoTech is the Dyson of the camera mounts and accessories.
We create innovative and exciting products for action sports athletes and adventure enthusiasts that empower them to capture creatively with the world’s most popular cameras – from GoPro to Smartphones.
We’ve re-imagined the way you capture photos and videos.
Potential WOW Sentence
We design products to help you capture creatively with your GoPro® HERO camera and Smartphone.
We design mounts and accessories to help you capture creatively with your GoPro® HERO camera and Smartphone.
Products designed to help you capture creatively with your GoPro® HERO camera and Smartphone.
We design creative mounts and accessories for your GoPro® HERO camera and Smartphone
Competitive Grant Example 2-Minute Video Script
Nick: Hello! My name’s Nick Knight, and I’m the founder, CEO, and director of design at GoTech.
Brenden: And my name’s Brenden Foss, I’m the VP of Business Development here at GoTech
Nick: We design, manufacture, and market mounts and accessories for the world’s most popular cameras – from GoPro HERO® cameras to smartphones. Our product line provides creative and exciting new ways to capture photos and videos. Our products have been adopted by over 7,000 photo/video enthusiasts, action sports athletes, and adventurers throughout the world seeking to capture and share their experiences more creatively.
Please take a moment and enjoy some of the amazing footage our products have captured.
Brenden: GoTech products are sold direct-to-consumer via our website and Amazon.com, through wholesale/retail channels, and to international distributors around the world. We effectively drive demand for our products through social media, partnering with consumer influencers, and content marketing strategies. We can become a leading manufacturer of creative and innovative camera accessories both in the US and internationally.
Nick: Over the last 2 years we’ve established an authentic brand in an exciting and massive global market. We’re excited to participate in the selection process for the NC IDEA Grant. With the NC IDEA grant, we’ll be able to to scale up our product line and operations to meet the demands of our customers worldwide.
We truly appreciate your time and consideration in reviewing our application – and we look forward to becoming a high-growth success story in the state of North Carolina.
Competitive Grant Semi-Finals Example Video Script
Hey! My name’s Nick Knight and I’m the founder and designer of GoTech!
As a product designer, I saw a lack of creativity in the products being developed for the action camera accessory market – which was littered with white-label and unauthentic brands.
Two years ago, I set out on a mission to change that! Today, GoTech represents a unique product line which provides creative and exciting new ways to capture photos and video with the world’s most popular cameras – from GoPro to Bluetooth Smartphones. We broke the status quo and took an approach that has differentiated us from our competition with products featuring our signature blend of form and function.
Our core team is made up of myself, and Brenden Fitzgerald who is our VP of Business Development. Brenden brings a diverse skillset to the table in the areas of Sales, Marketing, and Digital Design. As for myself, I’ve helped to drive innovation, creative thinking, and product development for some of the world’s top brands – including Hasbro Toys, the VF Corporation, and 3D Systems. We also have Photographer Joshua Niven, and film maker Jared Sims helping us grow our brand and media content. Both of which graduated from Savannah College of Art & Design.
Our products have been adopted by over 7,000 users throughout the world seeking to capture and share their experiences more creatively. We’ve grown a social media following of over 70,000 fans which we engage with amazing daily content. Our product line has been successful in specialty retail shops the world over, as well as, supported in larger retail outfits like Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, B&H Photo, and Fry’s Electronics. Additionally, our products have been utilized in Street League Skateboarding competitions broadcasted on Fox Sports – which is the world’s largest competitive skate league.
GoTech products are sold direct-to-consumer via our website and Amazon.com, through wholesale/retail channels, and to International distributors. We drive awareness and demand for our products through social media, consumer influencer and referral marketing strategies.
Our target audience consists of action sports and adventure enthusiasts with a passion for photography and filmmaking. While this demographic spans a wide age range, we’ve found those between the ages of 18-34 who are interested in capturing and sharing their experiences on social media to be the core audience for our brand.
GoTech was founded with an initial investment of $50,000 which I saved from working as a consultant. Luckily, we have been able to grow and continually reinvest in our business through successful sales. To expand our product line and team, attend more trade shows, and ultimately gain more momentum for our brand, we need additional capital and ideally – some strategic partners. An investment of ~$75,000 will help us speed up the process of becoming a leader in our market.