Elite Innovations & Fluent PR: A Partnership for Innovators
Visit Fluent PR and the first thing you’ll notice is our commanding view of the Cape Fear River and the Battleship North Carolina. It is pretty awesome!
But, it’s hard to overlook the impression that you’ve walked into a 21st Century shop class – what with the tools, equipment, product prototypes, 3D printer and such.
This is a reflection of our partnership with Elite Innovations which draws innovators and inventors, along with their ideas, to our office every week.
Elite Innovations, LLC is a product development and consulting firm founded by Andrew Williams. Elite got its start in 2011, when Andrew and a fellow marine created TacLace while serving in Afghanistan. TacLace is a boot lacing system that allows wearers to cut valuable time from their daily routine, and it served as the start of an entirely new business and life direction for Andrew.
During combat deployment, the difference mere seconds can make in preparedness can be the difference between life and death. Similarly, small projects (shoelaces!) can bring big opportunities, and so TacLace served as the first project and product for Andrew’s new company.
Upon returning home, TacLace was manufactured, marketed, and distributed to every Marine Corp Exchange in the world. Elite pitched TacLace to Amazon VPs in Atlanta, Georgia, where they were given Amazon Launchpad listing for all their products, as well as an Amazon’s exclusive Vendor Express platform. So, with that success and experience of developing, marketing and sourcing his own product, Andrew became a process engineer to help other people do the same.
In October 2014, Andrew opened Wilmington’s Makerspace with some PR help from Ann Revell-Pechar. Makerspace was a haven for entrepreneurs and inventors to gain access to the development and manufacturing services now offered through Elite Innovations. These services include 3D printing, manufacturing design and fabrication, printed circuit boards patent and trademark filing, supply chain sourcing and more.
Since TacLace, Elite Innovations has developed over 40 products in the medical, dental, fitness, Internet of Things (IoT), and general consumer goods space. The majority of which are in production or having serious discussions for immediate exit with companies such as Proctor & Gamble, and others. Products to note include: ORIGOConnect, a distracted driving and holistic solution for vehicle fleets; TailGator, an all-purpose truck bed extender; Fytostick, a walking stick that plants flower seeds as you go; and many others.
And with Fluent PR now a few steps away, we can pick up their projects with consideration of branding, competitive positioning, product launch and marketing.
If you or someone you know has an idea for a new product, but don’t know where to start? Elite Innovations is your go-to resource. They’ll even tell you if it’s a bad idea ;>
