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Originally Posted by not_so_new  Sure thing but we didn't know their names before they started doing what they are doing did we?
I know Wade's name because of his gear, same with Tim. Their names did not sell their gear. What sold their products was the fact that they made high quality hardware that people had a need for backed up with great customer service all at a fair price point. Their names became popular because their gear and companies were popular not the reverse.
When I was a kid I didn't know a lick about Microsoft or Bill Gates and neither did anyone else in the world. That didn't stop them from creating one of the largest companies on the planet now did it? 
Almost all companies start with no product recognition. There are a few names like Paul Wolf and Rupert Neve who have a built in reputation (even Paul was a little under the radar after he left API and started Tonelux). Most of the designers out there today were not known before they had a product on the market. |
This is going to sound a little mercenary but many who are involved in the audio business are doing it out of a passion for audio rather than a rational pursuit of some fertile business opportunity. If you are a strong businessman there may be some weaknesses there to exploit. Unlike your Bill Gates story I don't see any fast growing pie here to grab a small slice from. IMO it is more like a near zero sum gain with your sales coming out of the share of some other less effective merchant.
I believe there's opportunity to be found anywhere but in a room full of romantics maybe being the one clear headed one would give you a merchantable advantage. Mackie did it to a lethargic MI indusry by applying consumer style advertising to close the customer directly with ads rather than depending upon traditional dealers to make the sale. Uli exploited another opportunity to take advantage of low cost off shore manufacturing when many domestic manufacturers still beleived their customers when they said they wouldn't buy Chinese made gear (they lied). I don't mean to gloss over the rest of Uli's BP which I don't consider worthy of discussion in a "how should I do business thread".
I already said this, but perhaps perform a survey of the market you are interested in. Identify who has the major market shares and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Hopefully an opportunity will present itself from a thorough analysis and comparisons with your business experience in other markets. If you decide to just steam into the market because you believe you can "do that too", plan on being very lucky.
Good Luck
JR
PS: If you want to be another Rupert Neeve, it's simple, put your name on a recording console that doesn't suck and manage to keep the product name in the market for a few decades. To be another Paul Wolff be stubborn, very persistent, and work your ass off for a few decades. To do it in less time, you could always throw (early days) Mackie level advertising bucks at it, but even Greg had a previous Tapco back story to flog, with all those ad dollars.