006: From Ivy League School to NASA to Selling Curtains? The Story of my Brother, Walker Peek…

Background:

Walker Peek is CEO of Residential Acoustics & Commercial Acoustics. The two companies offer acoustic consulting and products to customers on an array of projects from Offices and Commercial Space to Apartments and Theaters.

Residential Acoustics began with their flagship sound-blocking curtains which they manufacture in downtown Tampa and distribute around the globe. Commercial Acoustics is focused on larger-scale, complex projects that require acoustical and engineering analysis to determine the proper acoustical solution. They customize all of our solutions to each customer's budget, schedule, and technical requirements.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [0:48] Own an Acoustics Firm. They do residential and commercial acoustics, primarily sound proofing.
• [0:56] Got into the business with his wife Liz, girlfriend at the time, when she complained about the noise downstairs.
  • [1:42] He started the business when he was 25
  • [1:49] Big fan of Business Podcasts (especially the new: Millionaire Interviews).
  • [2:15] His buddy Dylan lent him his first $3000 bucks which he bought with a book “Patent Pending in 24 Hours” by David Presman
  • [3:14] Got their first sale in 3 months
  • [3:26] Started selling in New York and Chicago and some bigger cities but they were only making $3000-$5000 revenue per month
  • [3:40] He went full-time with the company after 3 years
• [4:02] The initial product was a curtain that rolls up and down and seals around the window to block outside noise.
• [4:38] The Residential Acoustic gave them some cash flow and clientele and that transformed the company. Now, they do large scale acoustical projects.
• [5:14] He’s a Structural Engineering undergrad in University of Florida
  • [5:39] His friend Carol Craig brought him to work in Kennedy Space Center
  • [6:58] He also worked in Aerospace Manufacturing
• [7:10] The book “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss changed his life
• [8:25] While studying in Columbia, part of the program was an Entrepreneurship class where they need to come up with a product to take in the market. This pushed him to do a product development.
  • [8:45] One of the biggest hurdles to him was money
  • [8:51] Another book “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries that talks about Minimum Viable Product, motivated him to make something and put it online.
• [9:47] Found some candidates from Craigslist and other search platform to work by the hour
• [9:54] Learned how to do some programming for the website
• [10:50] Hiring is the toughest thing he do. He learned all about HR processes by reading the book of Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, entitled “Winning”.
• [12:27] He started October 2013 from $5,000 sales to $200,000 at second year, all through the website, to $450,000 to $650,000 last year.
• [12:37] This year, their biggest accomplishment as a company, is a new division called Commercial Acoustics.
• [14:27] “Content is King, quality is Queen”
  • [14:43] Once a week, he sent press releases to local newspapers
  • [15:23] HARO is one of the most helpful tools he learned from “the 4-Hour Workweek”
  • [16:19] The website traffic increased from 2 visitors a day to thousand visitors a day
  • [17:00] The company has now 6 production employees
• [17:16] The complains pushed the company towards Commercial Acoustics
  • [17:26] “Amazon changed the consumers mindset. Since we do a lot of customs stuff, it’s tougher to return those things.”
• [18:22] His sister Jordan brought her friend KC to the company whom become a critical employee and is now working in Marketing and Sales
• [20:08] Sourced materials from various suppliers
• [21:44] Upon searching for new products and ways for soundproofing he stumbled across DB Sound Control from North Carolina. The company became an incredible partner for them.
• [23:26] Their competitors just buy the same product from the same suppliers and rebrand it.
  • [24:33] “It is more expensive because it is more effective.”
  • [25:08] The biggest thing they have to change is their sales process.
  • [26:00] “My biggest shortcoming as a salesperson is I don’t ask.”
• [26:56] Ethylene Vinyl Acetate changed the company.
• [28:38] They got the money from Baldwin Beach Capital. The brothers Keenan and Hannibal Baldwin made a lot of introductions for the company.
  • [29:05] The total investment is $500,000.
  • [29:09] He also invested the $40,000 he got from his parents and godparents about 2 years ago.
  • [29:23] The company should hit a certain revenue and profit margins for the investors to invest in the next project.
• [29:46] “Find those people and don’t be in a huge rush to do it.”
• [31:03] His early marketing guy used ASANA to keep things organize
• [31:31] “Early in the morning, don’t check your email, get a cup of coffee and start writing what you want to do today.”

Fabulous 4 Questions:

1. 📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Kindle Fire
3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Microsoft Suite
4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Customer Retention / Reordering

Key Point from the Interview:

• Early in the morning, write what you want to do today.

Resources Mentioned:

• Residential Acoustics – Designs and manufactures custom Acoustic Curtains and Acoustic Door Panels for home
• Commercial Acoustics – His other company that designs and manufactures premier soundproofing products for commercial use
• Baldwin Beach Capital – Their investment partner
• HARO – One of the most helpful tools he learned
• ASANA – An organizational web and mobile application used by his early marketing guy
• Florida Funders
• DB Sound Control

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