Forget the big tech retailers. Your next find can be very, very small — and local.
Burton Goods and the Laptop Strap have east metro roots and tons of ingenuity.
Consumers looking to accessorize and protect their digital devices — often those with the fruit-shaped logos — will typically turn to corporate giants such as Nomad, Belkin and Logitech.
But there’s room for the little guy, the company that might provide a mere handful of tech accessories — or maybe just one product.
The Pioneer Press met a couple of tiny companies with east metro roots that are enduring challenges but believe they are providing worthy competition in a crowded field.
The poet laureate
Todd Boss seemingly had no business becoming a tech entrepreneur and patent holder.
The St. Paul native and Austin resident is a word nerd. He’s published four volumes of poetry via W. W. Norton & Company. He’s operated a libretto writing service for composers. He has anointed himself the poet laureate of Nina’s Coffee Cafe and helped start a Verse and Converse series at the St. Paul coffeeshop.
But, when he was packing for a globetrotting journey with strict space constraints, he realized he could not accommodate a computer bag or backpack. He needed something aggressively minimal — just a shoulder strap attached to his bare laptop.
The Laptop Strap was born. It wasn’t pretty, at first. Initial prototypes were made of grocery-bag paper and fishing twine. When the laptop slipped out of that contraption and took a nasty tumble, Boss realized he needed to look into adhesives.
“I tried to work with 3M at first, but we ended up going with something proprietary out of my factory in China,” he said.
The Laptop Strap has two pieces: the strap, and an adhesive flap that wraps around the computer’s hinge and doesn’t impair the machine’s use. The flap sticks to the laptop, and the strap attaches to the flap. It costs between $39 and $49 depending on size: small, medium or large.
If correctly installed, Todd says, his apparatus has a 114-pound pull strength. He commissioned a video of a man swinging a girl who held on to his laptop.
Getting the word out about the Laptop Strap has been a challenge, Boss acknowledges.
Perhaps the biggest buzz (not the right kind) has come from a Gizmodo article, “I Can’t Even Look at This Laptop-Carrying Strap Without Getting Stressed Out (I’ll stick with my padded sleeve, laptop bag, and peace of mind, thank you very much).”
Boss says it’s clear the writer never laid a finger on his product and is welcome to request a review sample anytime.
But Boss also specifies that the Laptop Strap is intended only for “short totes,” not long-haul lugging, and that it should only be used with a list of vetted machines from Apple and other companies
Boss loves showing off his product. People “stop me here in Austin every time I wear it. They’re just curious about how it works and whether I trust it. I don’t tell them I invented it. I just try to learn from them.”
Laptop Strap: toddbossoriginals.com/post/laptop-strap
Once again, but littler
Brian Holmes’ tech business never approached the size of say, Nomad — but for a time it had wings.
Pad & Quill offered dozens of products that included not only iPhone and iPad cases but luxury business bags made of Mexican leather. The company generated tens of millions in revenue over 14 years. Holmes was, for a time, the toast of consumer tech.
He was also, financially, in tatters.
“I had to declare personal bankruptcy late last year,” Holmes said. “The reason why is Pad & Quill had accumulated too much debt. Easily, next to my divorce, this is the most painful thing I’ve experienced, and both occurred within a close span.”
But Holmes is very much in the game. He has a new company, Burton Goods, with products that come out of China.
There are only about 20 products, total, compared to about 100 at Pad & Quill during its heyday — and those fancy Mexican bags are no more.
But if someone wants protection for their Apple notebook, phone, tablet or watch, Burton has them covered.
“We do have a loyal customer base who came with us. And as long as we’re serving them well and providing accessories that protect and look nice, then, you know, it’s worth it,” Holmes said.
It happened quickly. “We set up a Shopify website. People put down money and we delivered a couple of months later. We’ve been running for good since then.”
Burton has to tread carefully. Holmes can’t take out big loans to fund expansive skunkworks projects because he’s already financially overextended. Raise cash as collateral for a smaller, go-slower project? That’s, possibly, doable. He happens to like the slower pace.
Holmes, who currently calls Apple Valley home but who has lived and worked in St. Paul, has a local maneuver he’s excited about. He is negotiating to use SB Foot Tanning Co. leather, the same used for Red Wing Shoes, in some Burton products at a slight markup. He’d obtain the leather in bulk via a distributor and have it shipped to China.
“I’m in a great place now with Burton Goods,” Holmes said. “I see it as a new chapter with my customers, my designs and the way I structure a company. What a blessing it is to be in a country, like the U.S., where you can start the adventure over. It’s kinda like going to ‘Go!’ again. :)”
Burton Goods: burtongoods.com
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