Once upon a time, I was employed by a small business, originally founded to pursue a wild dream which never quite took off, although an attempt was made. Seeking ways to keep the business afloat and the employees from wandering off to greener pastures, we went into the "haunted house attraction" business. We immediately made some buzz because I had built and set up a large Tesla coil which tossed eight foot long electrical arcs around an elaborate "Mad Scientist laboratory" set.
Inquiries were received, and we immediately responded, "why yes, we could build a Tesla coil and some Jacob's Ladders for you... let us consult a bit and come up with a price."
Eh, the owner's idiocy over pricing was a whole other story and post if I wanted to write about that. Moving on...
So we found ourselves in the business of making Hallowe'en SFX props for the Haunted House industry. and believe you me, it is an industry, and a significant one. It's a weird industry, and typically an exploitative one, but Hallowe'en over all is the second biggest retail event after Christmas, and when a single haunt can bring in a million dollars in profit in just 30 - 45 days of operations out of the entire year... you bet your ass it is competitive and big money gets spent on special effects. So this industry has its own trade show, which is enormous. And we went there, and showed off our wares, and made some sales, and startled the entire industry a little bit, for a few years, before it all went *pffft*.
Now, within this industry, there are a few heavy hitters - companies who have been making and selling huges quantities of *whatever* into that market for a long time, and they are just these big four hundred pound gorillas in the room that you have to deal with, one way or another. And they try to move in on and monopolize anything new, too.
So a bro / family member / good friend who I (mea culpa, mea culpa) had Tom Sawyer-ed into helping out our little company with some contract (er? I do not know or recall his actual arrangements with the boss, only that he got screwed because of what happpened) arrangement to design an effect or two.
He comes up with a cheap little problem solver which helps to address a classic operational problem of haunts; the distribution of room- or scene-specific audio tracks to each room or scene in the house.
But it exists only in a prototype form, and the deceptive simplicity of the core technology would be so easy to replicate that we immedately decide that for production, the core tech widget would be potted in something heinous and nasty* which would make figuring out how it worked practically impossible.
In the mean time, we informed our president, head cheer-leader, and main marketing/salesman - under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to see the insides.
The 400 pound gorilla comes by our booth and immediately recognizes the utility of this gadget. They buttonhole our Head Cheerleader, figure him out immediately, promise him much sales and distribution (they are a distributor / supplier) if only he will let them show the unit around to their other sales guys and bla bla you see where this is going. Our guy - the fucking idiot - gives it to them, and that's the last we ever saw of it. They never gave back our prototype.
The very next year, they had one just like it for sale. Around then a whole bunch of us gave up on Fearless Leader and shortly after the company folded up, dried up, and blew away. They died owing me a bit over $800 in back wages. But I got it back and much more besides, selling off some of the company's old property which fell off the back of a truck and right into my hands, somehow.
Is there a lesson in here? I dunno. Never assume there isn't some shark that is even sneakier or more dishonest than you swiming in the same waters, I guess. Listen to your technical advisors.
_________________________________________________________________________
* I came up with a (somewhat expensive, but workable) potting compound of epoxy, coarse
tungsten carbide grit, and coarse nickel chips -- plus a nasty little surprise for anyone trying
to attack the epoxy with acids -- which would have been heinously difficult and dangerous
for anyone without a decent laboratory fume hood and some smarts - to remove.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment