A most interesting thread, thank you.
I too am on the road to going back into the hi-fi business. I did this once before in 1970, grew it to 40 employees and 50 dealers. A California Divorce took care off all of that and I moved into the back of a friend's a friends warehouse. After that I became a techno-whore designing lots of products for many companies, until Noel Lee talked me into becoming an Evangelist for him as the head physics guy. I became VP his fiber optic project, a spin-off located in Austin, TX.
You are right, you can make a living in audio but, well, you won't get rich. So I changed course, designed and founded a company making the Blade computer and something called vitalization (got 30 patents) and retired after 20 years, spent the last 10 years taking a medical device company I started and now I have taken it public.
Now it had time to play with audio again. I spent 3 years messing around with state-of-the-art and developed a phono-preamp and a headphone amp to offer a vinyl disc auditioning system. These are in the first article production status, build a few to evaluate, sold all the prototypes to betas who wanted what they heard. I have a DAC on the bench am building a prototype 50-watt amp using my no-feedback, current-mode headphone amp circuit. My betas gave me good feedback, loved the sound, started to fund a company though sales. This is classic bootstrapping, something considered high-art here in Austin.
Having been a mentor and done 5 startups I decide it was time for me test all my theories and write a book about how 70 is a good to start doing something you like and make a few bucks on it.
So my wife (see is also from the audio industry) and I decided we would look into starting a bootstrap audio manufacturing company. I called old Reps and few surviving retails, old friends who are now still sales managers for contemporary companies, most of the young and old guys I know, did my market research and go a finger on the pulse..
What you have described as the evolution of the industry I will affirm as being accentuate. No one knows (Expletive Deleted) today leaving an incredible vacuum.
Your suggested are all good, what is missing that creating a business is not an accident, itis a dream. Somewhere there has to be a plan and a goal, one that is clear enough for you to be able to find the path to it knowing that it is slippery slope..
My wife and I are going to RMAF this next week end to immerse ourselves in the flow, visit old friends, make new ones, and lock down our plan moving from vapor to jello on the way to executable concrete.
Given that your assessment of the industry and the players is very on target, and that the old rules don't work, it is a good time to take all that Seth Godin marking stuff and be creative.
What fun!
More after I get back from Denver
Barry Thornton
