Technology & Innovation - LIT
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Martin Lombardini, Founder, and President of LIT, located in Franklin, TN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
LIT is a product development company, and one of our major focuses is inventing new games and toys. We try to capture the meaning of fun, excitement & wonder and work to manifest that creative spark into something tangible. We create new concepts that have never been done before or find new ways to do old things. It’s all about solving problems and creating benefits. Ultimately, our customers are anyone who likes to play with games and toys. However, we currently rely on partnering with manufacturers as our means of getting our products to market. So, we have working relationships with over a hundred different toy companies from around the world. Some of them are iconic, like Hasbro, Spin Master, Jazwares, Disney, Universal, and Goliath, just to name a few. We take our ideas to them and negotiate licensing contracts for our inventions.
Typically, we develop a new concept or technology and cover the design, engineering, and intellectual property side. Then generate marketing in the form of sell sheets and short videos that showcase the product’s benefits, usually with prototypes. This is how we bring our inventions to life. This also helps toy companies evaluate the invention and make a determination as to whether or not a particular concept will work with a brand or line that they have. In many cases, these toy companies will come to us with “wish-lists” of what they are looking for. These can range from a demand for outdoor products to certain age demographics, an add-on to existing brands, they have to look to create a whole new brand based on loose hypotheticals.
Tell us about yourself
I am a first-generation American; my parents immigrated from South America and Europe. I grew up in Queens, New York, and can remember daydreaming from a very early age. My father, who was also a small business owner, always gave me the same answer to just about any question I asked him, which was, “Use your imagination.” I heard it so many times that I started to do just that, use my imagination. It took me many years to get to where I am now, using my imagination in an effort to generate an income. LIT is my third business venture, and it took me being successful in my other two businesses to enable me to live out my dream of being an inventor. Neither of those businesses is even remotely close to what I am doing now.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
In the short time LIT has been in business, I would say our biggest accomplishments are having secured a licensing deal for one of our outdoor sport/action games and also having received a granted patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for our drone technology. Unfortunately, due to the whole COVID situation and subsequent supply chain issues, the game product launch has been postponed till the summer of 2023.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It’s all on you! What happened, what didn’t happen, what should have happened, etc. We have to take total ownership of our successes or failures. I think that can be hard on a lot of people. When you consider the fact that most businesses have to shut down in less than five years, you have to ask yourself, is this for you?
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The first thing I would say is to set yourself up for success and not failure. That is a pretty deep statement, and I mean it that way. For example, have a financial plan, be educated in the business you are going to embark on, and know what your edge or point of differentiation is. It’s what you do not consider in the beginning that may be your demise in the end.
Second, plan for the worst-case scenario, period. If you figure everything out and do the numbers, and even in the worst possible circumstances, you are still above water, you are going to be successful. The reality is most people plan for the best-case scenario and not the worst. In my experience, I have found that things will never be the best or the worst but will land somewhere in the middle.
Finally, remain persistent and relentless and always celebrate the wins!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.litconcepts.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IntegratedLit
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-lombardini-64b668108/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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