The Ledger
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Springfree's Redesign Eliminated 90% of Product-Related Trampoline Injuries
“Keith started writing research papers, and of measuring our statistics, and we were going, you know, we remove 90% of the product related injuries. So he's taken, his design has removed 90%”
Holmes: Springfree Trampoline Design Eliminates 90% of Product-Related Injuries
“Keith started writing research papers, and of measuring our statistics, and we were going, you know, we remove 90% of the product related injuries. So he's taken, his design has removed 90%”
Holmes: Springfree dropped major retailers attempting to enforce 180-day payment terms.
“So we cut out almost all of our big retailers. We had a big retailer right at the start who sent us a notice and say, we, we're in 90 day terms with them. And they sent us a note and said, we're going to a 180 day terms. And we said, have a nice day. You're no…”
Holmes: Springfree Sold Initial Canadian Units at a Loss to Test Demand
“It was more than that. We were losing money on every product. We had to do that to find out if we could create a market.”
Holmes: Springfree kept proprietary rod manufacturing original while moving assembly to China
“Even to this day, most of the original Manufacturing components, the rods and the net material that we use, we are using the exact same manufacturing partners. They've come a long way, the whole way through the whole journey. We've never deviated from that, bu…”
Holmes: Springfree invested $5M to build its own factory in China
“And we skipped apart guy, which is in 2008, we decided to build our own factory in China because we weren't satisfied with the quality. So I invested about five million dollars in building a Chinese factory.”
Springfree Lost Money on Every Initial Unit Sold at $999
“We were losing money on every product. We had to do that to find out if we could create a market.”
Holmes: Costco placed an order for 3,265 Springfree trampolines in 2005
“Worked out to be about 3265 pieces in oh five.”
Holmes: Early Springfree trampolines cost $1,450 each to manufacture in New Zealand
“They were costing about 1450 dollars. To make one.”
Springfree Has Sold Nearly 500,000 Trampolines Globally Since Launch
“And according to the company, since its launch, Springfree has sold nearly half a million trampolines worldwide.”
Holmes: Costco accounted for basically 90% of Springfree's Northern Hemisphere distribution
“Virtually in, in the northern hemisphere and our only. We were selling direct in places where we could, but they were basically 90% of our distribution.”
Costco Canada Placed Springfree's First Commercial Order
“We got one important order by Costco Canada.”
Holmes: Springfree sells around 30,000 trampolines annually
“We look at, you know, our probably 30,000 is our annual volume, and we build our business model around that.”
Holmes: 50% of Springfree Trampoline sales came from customer word-of-mouth
“If a spring-free customer has a spring-free trampoline, if a parent who says, well, I really don't like trampolines, they'll sell it for me to other friends and neighbors, and 50% of our sales came from our customers.”
Alexander: Angling flexible trampoline rods at 45 degrees prevents impalement on impact
“These things are sticking straight up, and if you're on a trampoline on the top, and you fell on it, because they're vertical, if you fell right on the edge, you can impale yourself on them. So what if we laid them over so that they're 45 degrees? Then if you …”
Holmes: Springfree paused sales for a year to develop soft enclosure
“So we didn't sell any products. We didn't make any products. We just spent a year building an enclosure for the spring.”
Holmes: Springfree redeployed retail staff to field 700 to 800 calls daily
“So when our retail stores shut down, those people stepped up, they got on the phone, We were running, you know, seven, 800 calls a day, not missing one of them.”
Holmes: Springfree Trampoline Sells Approximately 30,000 Units Annually
“You know, we look at, you know, our probably 30,000 is our annual volume, and we build our business model around that.”
Holmes: Costco Represented 90% of Springfree's Distribution Prior to 2007
“Virtually in, in the northern hemisphere and are only. We were selling direct in places where we could, but they were basically 90% of our distribution.”
Holmes: Springfree Invested $7M in Manufacturing and Raised $3M in Debt
“We probably invested maybe five to seven million dollars in the factory construction and then a couple more million in some other stores. And I think we had a debt raise of about, at the time, three million dollars.”
Holmes: Early Springfree Trampolines Cost About $1,450 Each to Manufacture
“They were costing about 1400 and 50 dollars To make one.”
Holmes: Acquiring the Springfree Trampoline Patent Cost Close to $1 Million
“To buy everything when everything was all said and done and all the settlements at the university, I think it was probably close to that, yes.”
Alexander: Traditional Trampolines Are Dangerous Due to Steel Frames and Springs
“Traditional trampoline has got a steel bar around the outside edge and springs right beside it, and then the mat that you jump on in the middle, and I can see that it's dangerous because the accident rates have gone up, and it's pretty obvious. You give this n…”
Holmes: Springfree Kept Proprietary Parts Local While Moving Steel to China
“Even to this day, most of the original Manufacturing components, the rods and the net material that we use, we're using the exact same manufacturing partners. They've come a long way, the whole way through the whole journey. We've never deviated from that, but…”
Holmes: 50% of Early Sales Came From Word-of-Mouth Customer Referrals
“If a spring-free customer has a spring-free trampoline, if a parent who says, well, I really don't like trampolines, they'll sell it for me to other friends and neighbors, and 50% of our sales came from our customers.”
Holmes: Springfree Spent an Entire Year Developing Its Safety Enclosure
“So we didn't sell any products, we didn't make any products, we just spent a year building an enclosure for the Spring Free Enclosure.”
Alexander: Angling Fiberglass Rods at 45 Degrees Prevents Trampoline Impalement
“These things are sticking straight up, and if you're on a trampoline on the top, and you fell on it, because they're vertical, if you fell right on the edge, you could impale yourself on them. So what if we laid them over so that they're 45 degrees? Then if yo…”
Alexander: University deemed trampoline prototype not market ready, requiring up to $100K
“They had a look at it, and they said, this is not market ready. You need another 50,000, 100,000 dollars to make it market ready, and then they went away.”