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Misfit Entrepreneur 15: Kelly Roach

Dave Lukas Chats with Ken Ehrman

273:  How to Use Your Experience to Disrupt Markets and Change the Game with Ken Ehrman

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ken Ehrman.  Ken is a technology and safety visionary, who has spent 25+ years pioneering IoT innovations. As the founder of I.D. Systems which is now publicly traded under the symbol PWFL, he has 40+ patents that have revolutionized efficiency and worker safety for the biggest and most demanding companies in the world such as Wal-Mart and others.

Most recently, he has partnered with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, to create the Halo Collar and leverage his industry relationships and expertise to bring best-in-class safety solutions to dogs and dog lovers. 

We use the Halo Collar for both our dogs, Champ and Luna, and I must say it is an awesome invention.  We have several acres, and our dogs are both Aussies who love to run.  We also spend time at our other properties throughout the year and needed a solution that we could take anywhere that would work to keep them safely in the area we want them to stay in and Halo has worked perfectly. 

I’m excited to talk to Ken about his experience, how he has leveraged it to go into completely new industries, and how he’s built partnerships to succeed.

www.KenEhrman.com

www.HaloCollar.com

Connect with Ken on LinkedIn
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Show Notes

Ken graduated from Stanford with an engineering degree.  He went to work at a tech company Silicon Valley that wanted to be “chip” in everything, but computers.  The company was founded by one of the founders of Apple.  He worked there for 1.5 years and then took the chip and built into smart RFID tags.  This created ID Systems in 1995.  The company tracked high value assets for corporations and helped with safety. 

Specifically, he found a niche in tracking and creating safety and efficiency with Forklifts.  In 2016, his son got very sick and stepped down to be there for him.  His son eventually recovered, but while he was home, his nieces dog escaped their yard and was hit by a car and killed.  This tragedy gave him the idea for Halo to help protect dogs.

At the 6:50 mark, Ken takes us through the steps he went through to make Halo a reality including how he got Cesar Millan to sign on to it.  It’s best to just listen.
  • Invisible Fence is traditionally wired, not wireless.
  • Ken knew wireless was the future and from his work tracking with GPS, knew that there was an opportunity to go wireless by GPS creating your own Fences around house or anywhere as an owner using GPS and an App that connected to a dog collar.
  • He called his patent attorney to do research and there was nothing our there patented like he wanted to create in Halo.  The patent attorney actually asked if they could invest and Ken knew he had something.
  • Ken then used his industry relationships with chip makers and app developers to create the product.
  • He used the best of the best in GPS, Wifi, and Bluetooth to make Halo.
  • After getting it created, he knew he needed an expert in dogs to help it to succeed.  So Ken went to Cesar Millan.  Cesar and his group initially said no.
  • Ken kept going back to him and kept getting a “no.”  So, he looked at who Cesar closest competition was – a woman named Tamara Geller.
  • As a last-ditch effort, he went back to Cesar and told his group that if they didn’t sign on, he was taking it to Tamara.  That did it.  They signed the NDA.  Ken didn’t even know Tamara, nor had spoken with her.

Talk to us about shaking up markets…
  • You have to do a lot of research and know how people buy.
  • If you are going to disrupt, you need to know when people buy, so you can be there at that point.
  • There is an advantage to solving a problem you’ve experiences and solved for yourself.  Look for those things.
  • You also need to be in the position to focus on the idea and business.

At the 25 min mark, Ken talks about the next frontier and markets that are ripe for disruption…

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?
  • You need advice from people who have done it before. 
  • There are unlimited number of ways to create and build companies.
  • Fundamentally, a great way to grow your business is to get customers to invest in your product helping it to grow instead of raising money.
  • Give clients an incentive to take a chance with you and grow with you.  Have them fund your R&D.
  • For example, Ken gave clients a great deal to buy HALO prior to release raising several million dollars which paid for the product to get done and its initial units.

You’ve had to compete against some of the biggest names in the world and separate yourself to get business.  What did you do differently?
  • The big guys are more stagnant – they don’t have the ideas and vision smaller, more nimble entrepreneurs have.
  • Additionally, building and creating relationships are critical to success. 
  • The right customer is someone who wants to buy from you at least or as much as you want to sell to them.  They are the best partners.

At the 40 min mark, Ken talks about having to step away from the company he built to help his son and how it affected him as an entrepreneur.
  • He had no choice.
  • ID Systems was his first baby, but his family came first.
  • He had put in place a great management team and the company was publicly traded, so he left in good hands.
  • He was not sure what he would do next and even consulted for a little while trying to find his way.
  • If you stay in an industry long enough, eventually an opportunity will present itself.

Best Quote

  •  ​There are unlimited number of ways to create and build companies.  If you stay in an industry long enough, eventually an opportunity will present itself.
Misfit Three

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​ Sales is not a bad word.  In everything you are doing, you are selling.  Selling a vision, concept, yourself, etc.   Embrace selling and providing great value to others.

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 You must believe.  Believe in yourself, your abilities, and that you can succeed.  It will not be easy, but you will   make it.

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Identify the best possible people and partners to achieve success.  Seek them out and bring them into your world.


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Misfits, you know something I know everything entrepreneur is excited about – compliance and compliance related issues and certifications.  Aren’t they just a joy? 

Whether it’s HIPAA, Data Security, Processes and Procedure certifications like SOC 2 and host of others, it seems like a never ending job to keep up with it all and just when you think you’ve done everything needed, they change and you have to update and on and on. 

There has got to be an easier way to keep up with all this stuff and make it easier!  We’ll guess what, there is.  It’s called Laika

Laika helps growing companies manage compliance, obtain security certifications, and build trust with enterprise customers.  Laika goes beyond integrations. Their platform connects to your everyday applications and applies actual human expertise to a robust software that powers your compliance. Laika easily connects to your applications and instantly creates tailored policies based on your business.  Then, compliance experts guide you through automated workflows, designed to help you conquer certifications like SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR.  Laika is the only compliance platform that offers a true integrated audit solution.  No more messy spreadsheets and misc audit documents. Their team of experts manage your audit from beginning to end, with full progress tracking through the app.

And Laika’s more than just a onetime solution. Maintain 100% confidence in your compliance program with custom monitors and alerts.

Right now, Laika is giving Misfit listeners 20% when you join.  That’s basically almost 2 months free! 

All you have to is go to HeyLaika.com/misfit  (Misfit must be lower case)
Misfits, do you have a great idea for a software product, but maybe don’t have the resources to create it?  It used to be that you would need to hire a team of developers and project managers, etc. to get it done, but all of that has changed.  And the company that has made it super simple and easy is Aloa.co. 

Aloa is a platform for outsourcing software development for startups.  Aloa provides clients the platform and tools to achieve a predictable and successful outsourcing experience. And it’s done through a three-pronged process: Partner Network, Platform, Process.

Partner Network:  Aloa has vetted through over 7,000 firms around the world, doing the upfront effort to find the diamonds in the rough. And through their proprietary process have qualified only the best to be their network.

Platform:  Aloa buil their own project management platform, Aloa Manage, so their clients, even non-technicals, can manage their team as easily as editing a Google Doc. They’ve also built Aloa Pay, so clients don't have to deal with foreign transaction fees, foreign exchange rates, or international-contracting tax compliance making things simple and easy.

Process:  It is impossible to have a one-size fits all solution, that is why Aloa assigns a Strategist to work with each Client in building out a customized development strategy ensuring their Clients have the tools and foundation needed for a successful project.

And if that is not enough, their hourly rates offer an amazing value compared to what is out there and the rates include everything in them with no hidden fees which make it easy to budget and plan for your project.

Right now, Aloa is giving Misfit listeners 20% off for their first 4 months on all services – that’s an incredible savings off their already low rates. 

Just go to Aloa.co/Misfit 
​​

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