How would you start a new cruising cat company?

Discussion in 'Services & Employment' started by SailorSteve270, Oct 17, 2020.

  1. SailorSteve270
    Joined: Oct 2020
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    SailorSteve270 Junior Member

    Finding a builders and licensing or some other form of profit sharing is one thing, and I plan to pursue it Alik.
    However, if you know how to find an investor without a business plan, I'd like to know.
    BTW, my claims may seem big to some but to me they seem to be simple and accurate.
    Remember, I'm not claiming better performance than a Catana, the performance of a FP is a relatively low bar.
     
  2. SailorSteve270
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    SailorSteve270 Junior Member

    The bow of my design could easily be made fuller for more reserve buoyancy if found to be of net benefit Mr Efficiency.
     
  3. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Steve, could you please post some sketches at least of this amazing design which will take the world by storm?
     
  4. Rumars
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    Rumars Senior Member

    Please remember that the "performance" of a Lagoon or FP is not in sailing ability only, it's space and payload. You want to compare apples to apples you need to match that. "Performance" is what the customer designates it to be.
     
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  5. Alik
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    Alik Senior Member

    Well, if You can spend money for lawyers to protect the IP in different counties, You are probably rich enough not to get involved in boat design/building business.
     
  6. Alik
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    Alik Senior Member

    No-no, it will be copied immediately! :D:D:D
     
  7. Alik
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    Alik Senior Member

    Or 'sales performance', not sailing performance!

    Lagoon is sold not because of its qualities, but because of sales power.
     
  8. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    So, we have the classic Catch 22 - how can Steve expect us (or anybody else) to invest in his new product if we have no absolutely no idea as to what it looks like? [​IMG][​IMG]:rolleyes:
     
  9. Alik
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    Alik Senior Member

    To find an investor, You just need to find someone who just want a boat. This is how all starts. And now the question is: will they take any unproven design, from probably unproven designer? Maybe You can find someone...

    Boatbuilders will not likely to invest anything. These guys do have experience! In best case, they will build You a boat 'for cost'.
    Profit sharing? In boatbuilding? In realyity, 90% of boatbuilders work for very low or no profit. I found everyone walking in with such projects and promising us a 'golden mine' ended up with uncompleted hull, due to lack of funding... Just experience, nothing else.
     
  10. SailorSteve270
    Joined: Oct 2020
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    SailorSteve270 Junior Member

    I get it, I'm a stupid dreamer.
    Not worthy of assistance.
    Not worthy of the benefit of the doubt.
    Not even worthy of kindness or respect.
    Only worthy of ridicule.
    How silly of me.
    No wonder I'm not a Senior Member.
    I'm sorry for all of us that we weren't capable of better.
    I wish you all better than that.
     
  11. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Steve, nobody is ridiculing you - please don't think that way.
    Everybody is simply trying politely to offer some gentle advice, based on hard won experience - especially as you have embarked on another variation of 're-inventing the (catamaran) wheel'.
    We would all love to know more about your fine cat design, but you are very reluctant to divulge any details.
     
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  12. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    fallguy Senior Member

    Boatbuilding is not simple. Boat building to retail is even harder. You are oversimplifying and this is the real reason you are frustrated.
     
  13. Rumars
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    Rumars Senior Member

    Steve, nobody is ridiculing you, it's just that some of your assertions are a little bit naive. I don't know what you invented, but IP protection in boats is almost zero. You can't patent the underwater shape, the abovewater parts are only protected by artistic license.
    Nobody is going to give you grief, there is no conspiracy out there. Almost everything on a boat is either custom, or has multiple suppliers, or is generic industrial stuff. Nobody can pressure anybody, especially in todays global market. Talent is out there for hire, you just have to pay for it.
    You keep ridiculing Lagoons and FP's, but those are the highest selling models. And believe me, price or "performance" has nothing to do with it. People conveniently forget that all Lagoons are VPLP designs, if you think those guys don't now how to make a boat sail however they wish, take a look at their Wikipedia page.
    Yes, finding a few millions for a startup is no big deal if you have the right connections and a good business plan. Building a successful enterprise in this field is another kettle of fish, just think of Gunboats.
    So please take this piece of unsolicited advice from me, if you can not stomach a little bit of scepticism regarding your claims, how are you going to face potential clients or investors?
     
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  14. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Steve, it would have been better not to edit your original post, with the suggestion you have met hostility and ridicule here, I think you have been met with reasonable questions that it would be in your own interests to answer, if only to yourself. First amongst those, is where is the competitive advantage coming from ? From what I've seen of people entering competitive business environments, "cold", the usual result is failure. Unless thoroughly grounded in the nuts and bolts of the business concerned, you are at a competitive disadvantage, your only hope would be to have a "hot" product that sells itself with outstanding performance, and in your case that is not demonstrated. We don't even know how you have become convinced of the superiority of your design. I know customers will shell out big bucks for unproven product, but usually only if the maker has a long reputation for successful innovation. So I would say, as a basic pre-requisite, you must have demonstrable proof that your innovation has that clear advantage, without that, there is no hope.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
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  15. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    What is the status of the design? Possibilities include:
    - Sketches
    - Initial 2D drawings
    - Initial cost and mass analysis
    - Performance analysis based on 2D drawings
    - 3D CAD model of exterior and interior
    - Concept renderings
    - Performance analysis based on 3D models
    - Structural design and analysis
    - 3D CAD model with all components
    - Bill of materials, weight analysis, cost analysis

    What is the form of the intellectual property?
    - Ideas
    - Analytical/numerical studies
    - Experimental studies
    - Patent applications
    - Patents

    If you shop the design to existing builders and a builder likes the idea, what would stop the builder from developing a similar design without a license agreement with you? My guess is most builders would be very reluctent to sign any form of NDA or similar before seeing your design.
    Do you have experience building production boats?
    How deep are your pockets?
     
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