July 19, 2024 • 29 mins
The world of long boards is about to change. Ryan Pelletier, the founder of Morphite Boards. Ryan is a student at Scott L. Carmona College of Business at Saginaw Valley State University. He shares his journey of developing a collapsible skateboard that fits into a backpack. He discusses how SVSU supported his project through access to resources and grants, the initial skepticism and eventual interest in his product online, and his plans for the future, including potential production and investor involvement.
Links:
Morphite Board Website: http://morphiteboards.com/
Moprhite Boards on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morphiteboards/
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Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichigan
Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichigan
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction
01:57 The Concept and Development of Morphite Boards
03:13 Ryan's Background and Entrepreneurial Journey
05:44 Interest in Skateboarding and Longboarding
08:22 Challenges and Doubts in Development
11:11 Support from SVSU and Moving Forward
13:41 Online Reactions and Negative Feedback
19:02 Business Setup and Future Plans
28:49 Conclusion and Contact Information
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cliff Duvernois (2) (00:00):
Today's episode is brought to you by the Scott L.
Carmona College of Business, where topranked education and entrepreneurial
support turn ideas into reality.
Ryan Pelletier (00:09):
Oh no, the internet found all the hate that it could
muster and it threw it straight at me.
And it was, uh, a long, I'd saythree, four weeks before we got
our first, positive comment ofsomeone going, Oh, that's cool.
But we had a lot of people questioningthe idea at the very beginning.
And then all of a sudden, one personsays, Hey, wait, this is cool.
And it catches.
We now have a video thathas 2 million views.
(00:31):
And on our website we have 500 peopleon the waitlist, It's a great feeling
to go from pure negative feedback to allof a sudden everybody's very interested.
Cliff Duvernois (00:41):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Total Michigan, where
we interview ordinary Michigandersdoing some pretty extraordinary things.
I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.
I don't do very manyinterviews with universities.
Back in my day, universitieswere places where you went
to learn and to do research.
And that was about it.
The focus of this show is moreabout people who are doing and
(01:03):
impacting their communities.
But, over the last few decades, a handfulof people have worked really hard to
blur the lines between teaching andactually doing, allowing students, even
non students, an opportunity to pursuetheir dream in the academic environment,
gaining real world experience andbecoming a contributor to the community
(01:25):
that they've been called to serve,not four years from now, but today.
So with that being said,I'm at the Scott L.
Carmona College of Businesslocated in Saginaw, Michigan.
And this is part of the SaginawValley State University ecosystem.
With me today is one of thosedreamers, pursuing his dream
(01:47):
in the world of skateboarding.
His name is Ryan Pelletierfounder of Morphite Boards.
Ryan, how are you doing?
Ryan Pelletier (01:55):
Doing well, Cliff.
Thanks for having me today.
Cliff Duvernois (01:57):
So why don't you tell us what is morphite boards?
Ryan Pelletier (02:01):
Yeah, so Morphite Boards is a company that I started
during my time here at SVSU.
I'm a fourth year student, going intomy fifth, year here at the school.
Morphite Boards is an idea that Ihad to create a skateboard that could
shrink and fit into your backpack.
Uh, We started developing thathere at the School of Business.
We have a innovation lab.
(02:21):
We created our first functionalprototype back in July of last year.
And, we're now at the point ofgetting ready to actually start
production and, we're going to behopefully launching later in the
fall, maybe late fall this year.
Cliff Duvernois (02:36):
this is actually your idea, your concept, your product.
It's not like the university ownsit because you developed it here.
This is all you.
Ryan Pelletier (02:43):
Yeah, So, the way that the school does this here at
Saginaw Valley is very, very cool.
If a student develops a project hereat the school and can apply for a
patent, which I do have a patentpending now, The patent is 100
percent the student, student owned.
All of the rights go to the student.
I do work with an engineerhere at the school.
His name is Jim Pawolski.
And he is co listed on the patentbecause we invented it together.
(03:07):
But other than that, the schoolhas no claim to the rights of the
patent, which is very, very cool.
Cliff Duvernois (03:13):
a step back here.
Where are you from?
Where did you grow up?
Yeah, so, I'm
Ryan Pelletier (03:17):
Yeah, so, I'm from Midland, Michigan, which is only
20 minutes north of Saginaw Valley.
I grew up, born and raised in Midland.
And I worked my way down toSaginaw Valley after high school.
And I've been here forthe past three years.
Cliff Duvernois (03:29):
So what are you studying at SVSU?
Ryan Pelletier (03:31):
I'm studying International Business Management here at SVSU
with a minor in Entrepreneurship.
Cliff Duvernois (03:36):
Why international business?
Ryan Pelletier (03:38):
So I was doing general business.
And I switched over to internationalbusiness after studying abroad.
I spent, one semester in theCzech Republic, in Prague.
And, yes, it's a beautiful, beautifulplace, I can't wait to go back someday
and visit all the friends I made there.
And after studying abroad I was informedthat it would only be a few more credits
to, switch over to international businessmanagement from general business.
(03:59):
So I decided to make the leap and do that.
Now
Cliff Duvernois (04:02):
Now usually when people think about getting some
kind of a business degree, itmeans that they're going to be
sitting in a cubicle or an office,probably working for somebody else.
You, on the other hand, decided toscratch your entrepreneurial itch.
Now, do you have anybody inyour family who's entrepreneurs?
(04:22):
Do you have a background?
I mean, were you selling lemonadeas a kid on the street corner?
Ryan Pelletier (04:26):
Yeah, so it's funny you should say that because I was a
lemonade stand kid when I was younger.
Um, I have had this entrepreneurialitch since I was a kid.
I actually read a book about ThomasEdison back in fourth grade and,
on that day, I made the choice, Isaid, I'm going to be an inventor.
I spent the next eight yearsgetting told that's not a job.
and so I eventually, I was going downthe engineering path, for a while.
(04:50):
And, which is great because that'show I got a lot of the skills I
needed to develop this project.
But it was about, uh, I'd sayjunior year of high school.
I did the DECA program.
I don't know if you've heard of that.
But it's a business competition.
You go do pitches.
and you're quick thinking on your feet.
It's all business oriented.
And I fell in love with it, and I realizedbusiness was where I wanted to be.
(05:10):
Then I connected the dots that ThomasEdison wasn't actually a, engineer
as much as he was a businessman.
He worked for himself.
He invented for himself.
I came up with my own little catchphrasefor life that I didn't want to be the
guy who gets the big paycheck, I wantedto be the guy who signs off on it.
Um, and so all of my friends weregoing into university, planning
to work for someone else and, getthat high up job, climb the ladder.
(05:32):
I decided I was just goingto build my own ladder.
Cliff Duvernois (05:34):
build my Love that.
Ryan Pelletier (05:36):
that's how I got to where I am.
I, basically since fourth gradethough, I've been planning on, being
an inventor and doing my own thing.
Cliff Duvernois (05:44):
Now where did the interest in skateboards come from?
Ryan Pelletier (05:48):
It's a very funny story looking back at where I
got my interest in longboarding.
my brother
Cliff Duvernois (05:53):
So now you said longboarding.
So what's the difference betweenlongboarding and skateboarding?
Ryan Pelletier (05:56):
Longboarding is a lot more of the point A to point B transportation.
It's a fun way to transport yourself.
Skateboarding is more about thedoing the tricks and riding.
You can skateboard from point A topoint B, it's just not as efficient.
Skateboard wheels are a lot smaller.
It's a lot harder tobalance on a skateboard.
Longboards are more for, theywere invented over in Hawaii, to
replicate the feeling of surfing.
(06:16):
But it's a transportation unit morethan it is a, transportation unit.
Item for tricks and Yeah,
So if that makes sense It's largerwheels, longer decks, easier to balance,
easier to go over cracks on a longboard.
So our boards are closerto skateboard length.
But they're longboardwheels and longboard trucks.
So they're kind of a hybrid
Cliff Duvernois (06:34):
So then where did your interest in
skateboards long boards come from?
Ryan Pelletier (06:38):
Yeah, so my interest for skateboarding
longboarding is a funny story.
It actually stretches back to my brothertook a trip to Florida, And he showed
me all these pictures and videos of himriding around the streets of Florida
on these longboards with his friends.
And I was like, that's so cool.
And so I actually ended upgetting a, I believe it was $20
off of Facebook Marketplace.
This beat up old longboard from somebody.
(06:59):
They were selling it used.
Rode that thing everywherefor the next couple years.
Just fell in love with the sport.
Now fast forward, I believe it's beenwhat, seven years I've been riding?
I now have a collection of eight boards.
my, best board, quote unquote,is a, Tantian, Flex 2 from Loaded
Boards, which, it's a $350 board.
I ride that thing everywhere.
(07:20):
It's one of the best investmentsI think I've ever made.
It's a nice high end board.
I actually rode from Midland to Clareand back on a longboard, uh, 66 miles,
which it's a fun way to get exerciseand get out and, enjoy the nice weather.
So any beautiful day I'm out riding.
Cliff Duvernois (07:37):
Cause I've seen some of these, long boards with like battery
powered engines attached to them.
You got one of those.
Ryan Pelletier (07:45):
So we have a lot of requests for Morphite
board to go electric eventually.
But I'm committed at the moment forkeeping it, manual for the time being.
Because I'm a big fan of manual, nonelectric boards, just because I like
the exercise component of longboarding.
And I like it being human powered.
I always ride manual.
I've looked into getting electric,but, there's just something that
(08:06):
it takes away from the way I ride.
A longboard is an extension of yourself,Because you're putting the energy into it.
Um, The second it's electric, you'restanding on something, you're not, part
of the system, if that makes sense.
but we will be pursuing makingelectric Morphite boards in the future.
Cliff Duvernois (08:22):
Now speaking of the Morphite Board where did the
idea like initially come from.
Ryan Pelletier (08:30):
Yeah, so, the idea for Morphite boards came
straight out of, my need.
So, I used to ride my boardeverywhere, wanted to ride it to high
school, couldn't fit in my locker.
Simple as that.
I wanted a board that I couldshrink down and fit into my locker.
Back in 2018, I actually built thefirst prototype of a Morphite board.
At the time, I didn't have thename, I didn't have, it was a
whole different design, too.
There were a few componentsthat were similar.
(08:51):
But, I made a mock up basically,built in my garage at home
with what I had available.
And then it just sat in a box fora few years until I came to SVSU.
And I finally got theopportunity to actually take
my project to the next level.
Cliff Duvernois (09:06):
So you've come to SVSU.
You've got this prototypethat's sitting at home in a box.
At what point in time did youlearn that you could actually
take that project forward?
Ryan Pelletier (09:20):
The moment that I realized that this project could actually be
something was when I met Mohamed Adel.
He runs the EntrepreneurshipInstitute here at Saginaw Valley.
I met with him about a differentbusiness idea I had actually.
And we worked on developingthat for a little bit.
And then he brought me down to the lab andintroduced me to Jim, our lab technician.
(09:40):
And he said, Hey, you have any ideas?
You can develop them here.
And I said, Hey, wait a minute.
I do have this idea.
It's sitting in a box at home.
And I was like, let's see ifwe can take this somewhere.
and there was a lot of doubt at thebeginning, if the project could work.
But like I said, it was aboutfive months into development.
We had our first working prototype.
And that's when things reallytook off with Morphite.
And it became more of a reality then.
Cliff Duvernois (10:02):
Talk to us about the doubt.
What component was it?
Was it doubting that you could actually dothis, that you could actually create it,
that you could create a business from it?
Ryan Pelletier (10:10):
The doubt was definitely, multiple levels for this.
beginning, the doubt wasjust, can this project work?
Can we make a product that actuallyfunctions as I dream it will?
At the beginning, there was a lot ofdoubt in the structural integrity of it.
and it took us a long time.
It took us about a year to actuallyget it down to a functioning, product.
But, we pushed through that doubt.
(10:30):
But then, yeah, the other side of thedoubt was the business side of things.
Like, can we take this?
Will people actually want this?
Will there be interest in the product?
Or is this something that I want andno one else is really interested in?
So those were the two levelsof doubt that we worked around.
as we kept pushing forwards, Isaw more and more eyes light up as
they saw, you know, the prototypesgetting more and more advanced.
And people started, you know, It wasat the beginning, the, uh, saying
(10:54):
yes and shaking your head no, like,people are like, yeah, you can do this.
But they're shaking theirhead no, like, no, you can't.
But as we progressed through theprototypes and people started seeing
the advancements happening, I, I startedseeing more of the, yes, you can do this.
And I could see theybelieved it in their eyes.
which is really cool progress to make.
Cliff Duvernois (11:11):
got an idea you got access to technician slash engineer.
You've gone through many prototypes.
And at the end of the year, SVSUpresented you with a bill for $100,000.
Ryan Pelletier (11:27):
Uh, no.
the, uh, there was no bill,from the school for any of,
the tools or the engineeringexpertise that I've had access to.
The school has supported,the entire project.
I have not had to pay for any of thetools or, materials that I've used here
in the lab, which is very, very helpful.
I could not have proved that the ideacould work without, access to all of this.
Cliff Duvernois (11:51):
in other words, you get to keep the patent, you get to
keep the product that the school hasbasically funded the whole innovation
piece and getting the 3D working model.
That is amazing.
Ryan Pelletier (12:05):
Yeah it's very amazing.Um, I will say the legal side of things,
the patent, I did pay for myself.
That is separate from developing the idea.
but yeah, the whole developmentprocess of the actual physical
product and the prototype, thatwas, supported by the school.
Cliff Duvernois (12:19):
For our audience we're going to take a quick
break and thank our sponsors.
When we come back, we're going totalk about the reaction to Morphite
Boards and what's coming up next.
We'll see you after the break.
Carmona Lady (12:29):
At the Scott L.
Carmona College of Business of SaginawValley State University, you will gain
essential business knowledge throughreal world case studies, field based
experiences, and travel opportunities.
Our state of the art building featuresfinance, data analytics, consumer
behavior, and product innovationlabs, providing hands on training in
a data driven business environment.
(12:51):
We offer a prestigious AACSB accreditedMBA program with a range of concentrations
which offers flexibility and is one ofthe most cost effective in Michigan.
We offer multiple undergraduatemajors where our students enjoy
experiential learning opportunitiesincluding internships, cooperative
education, study abroad, and managinga student managed investment fund.
(13:14):
Our centers of excellence offer engagementwith local and regional businesses.
Our dedicated professorsprovide personalized mentoring,
helping you to maximize yourpotential and achieve your goals.
Discover how a degree in businesscan be your pathway to success.
Cliff Duvernois (13:30):
Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan where
we interview ordinary Michigandersdoing some pretty extraordinary things.
I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.
Today we're talking with RyanPelletier of Morphite Boards.
And Ryan before the break we were talkingabout how basically with the university
you now have an actual working prototype.
(13:51):
A collapsible skateboard.
You can zip around in theparking lot and see it in action.
The question I got for you, andyou kind of alluded to this before.
When you started posting this online,your little videos, whatever it is
that, you guys are putting out there.
What was the reaction?
Ryan Pelletier (14:09):
Yeah, so this was a really funny process to watch happen.
So the second we got our patentapplication, submitted, my patent attorney
told me it was okay to start being publicwith the idea and start posting videos.
Yeah.
So for about a year and a half,actually about a year and a month, we
had been very quiet about everything.
We hadn't shown any pictures.
(14:30):
There was nothing on theinternet about the idea.
But then the day that we got ourapplication submitted, I posted
a video just saying, Hey, my nameis Ryan Pelletier, I'm a student.
And this is my business.
And the internet threw tomatoes at me.
Rotten tomatoes from all directions.
Cliff Duvernois (14:45):
What the internet didn't love you?
Ryan Pelletier (14:47):
Oh no, the internet found all the hate that it could
muster and it threw it straight at me.
and I, uh, I don't know ifyou've seen the movie The Lorax?
But there's a scene where, theonce ler is trying to sell his,
invention that he made, and everyone'sliterally throwing rotten tomatoes
at him while he's up on stage.
And it very much felt like that sceneIn the movie, where like, everyone's
throwing rotten tomatoes at you.
(15:08):
And then all of a sudden, one personsays, Hey, wait, this is cool.
And it catches.
Suddenly, we now have a videothat has 2 million views.
We have 380 ish comments on it.
Over 6, 000 people have savedthe video, which is a really
good indicator for interest.
And on our website we have 500people on the waitlist, which, that,
it's a great feeling to go frompure negative feedback to all of a
(15:32):
sudden everybody's very interested.
It just took a couple peoplesaying, hey, this is pretty cool.
And all of a sudden everyonejust caught on to that.
And we've gotten to the pointwhere people do still give negative
feedback, of course, it's the internet.
You're always going to have your trolls.
But we have random peoplefighting and supporting the
idea in our comment section.
Cliff Duvernois (15:48):
So when you talk about the negativity, what in
particular was the negativity about?
Did they just say this was just adumb idea or did they like nitpick it?
Ryan Pelletier (15:58):
We had all varieties of negativity coming out.
but there was a lot of nitpicking, a lotof people called it a baby gate, because,
uh, I don't know if you've seen thoseexpandable baby gates, but it, it is
a similar structure to, it's a similaridea in that you want your baby gate to
extend and, cover a large surface area.
And then you want it to collapse in.
So we had a lot of peoplecalling it, like, Baby Gate,
(16:18):
board and things like that.
Which I honestly was pretty comedic.
I thought that was pretty funny.
But then, we had a lot of peoplejust saying like, This can't work.
And I found that kind of amusing becausethey were commenting that on videos of
it you know, function, yeah, working.
So I'm like, I don't know why you'd tryto say something doesn't work when you're
commenting it on a video of it working.
But then we also had peoplejust in general saying hey
(16:41):
this idea makes no sense.
Like why would you use this and What Ifound very interesting is people All as
I got started people all along the wayalways told me don't fight the trolls.
Don't don't pick up thatlike don't try to respond.
Just let them roll off your back.
But I didn't, I commented back.
And I talked to people, and over again,I successfully converted these trolls
into actually finding interest in it,which I found very fulfilling as well.
(17:05):
Because taking someone who's justtrying to bash your idea and then
explaining to them in a calm manner,like, Hey, this is why I did it that.
way, this is the purpose, maybeyou're not part of my target market.
But I have a target market, there is,there are people out there that want this.
Um, and, successfully, over and overagain, I took these internet trolls
and I turned them into, Hey, waita minute, this is actually cool.
Or, Okay, I see your point, andsometimes, Okay, I see your point
(17:28):
is all you can get on the internet.
But, that's better than, pure hate,
Cliff Duvernois (17:31):
Which is true.
And I really believe in my heart of heartswhen it comes to this kind of stuff.
Sometimes people just want to be heard.
Ryan Pelletier (17:37):
A lot of it Is just for attention, And you can tell when
they're just attention grabbing, but.
Cliff Duvernois (17:42):
Now, was there ever any point in time where you got some of
this hate online for your idea that youactually read it and thought, you know
what, that's how we can make it better?
Ryan Pelletier (17:52):
Oh, yes, for sure.
it's been really cool.
We're a little bit cart before thehorse, here, where we have a lot
of people interested in the idea.
And we're not completelyfinished developing.
I say that, I say that now we are prettymuch done developing at this point.
But when the video first wentviral, we were not done developing.
And because of that, yeah,people would say something like,
hey, I hate how this looks.
(18:13):
And I'd be like, okay, let me fix it.
And the next day I'd post a videolike, Hey, I changed how this looks.
And they'd be like,Whoa, you listened to me.
Um, I, a lot of times internettrolls are on there just trying to
say things so they can be heard.
They don't tend to know how toreact when you do hear them.
It's a pretty cool reaction to see.
I actually tagged some people.
they commented something nasty orgnarly on, uh, one of my, posts.
(18:34):
And then I tagged them in the next postand I say, Hey, look, I changed it.
I'm like, look, you gave mesome feedback and I, took it.
And, people found that really interesting.
And they started reposting my stuff.
And that's part of how we went viralis, a lot of people started reposting
things just because I called them out.
I was like, hey, called them
you have something negative to say,I'll respond with something positive,
Cliff Duvernois (18:54):
Oh absolutely love that.
Ryan Pelletier (18:56):
Yeah.
Cliff Duvernois (18:56):
You're getting all this feedback online and you're
making the product better as you go.
Talk to us about settingup the business side of it.
Because obviously at some point in time,the university can only carry you so far.
And at some point you're in,and I know we'll talk about
next steps here in a minute.
But you gotta have some kind of a businessentity put together, whether you're
(19:18):
thinking about either pursuing grants.
Or if you're thinking about bringinginvestors on board, we're going to
do some kind of Kickstarter campaign,whatever that might look like.
Talk to us about settingup that business stuff.
Ryan Pelletier (19:29):
Yeah, so this was the beautiful part of the grant that I got.
The entire grant process, in order toactually get the money, you have to
develop a rock solid business plan.
so we started with founding the LLCand like, the legal aspect of LLC.
formation.
We've got our businessinsurance, that was stage one.
and making a business model canvas.
And then after we had our businessmodel canvas prepared, the next step was
(19:52):
getting the prototype ready and, all that.
Once we had the blueprints, which Iactually submitted a patent application
for that stage, to show that we hada design ready, the next stage was
getting our marketing plan ready.
So I now have an 18 page marketing plangoing over all the different channels of
marketing that I'm going to be utilizing.
That was the next stage.
Once we got that done, we moved on tothe next stage, which is the financial
(20:13):
plan, and, now we're working, I'm stillon that stage, working through our
financial models and preparing for,all of the predictions that we can make
and forecasting, sales and whatnot.
And the beautiful part of all thisis I'm in a college of business.
And there are professors who canhelp out every step of the way.
So yeah, my marketing plan, I made thismarketing plan with a marketing professor.
(20:35):
We worked on it for, I think, two months.
Just going over it, we'd meet everyfew days we'd meet, after class,
and I'd work on this marketing plan.
And the same for the, two stagesbefore that, Jim, the engineer that
I work with, he helped with theblueprints, obviously, and the patent
application, getting that ready.
that, the application itselfwas my patent attorney.
(20:55):
But every step of the way, I've hadsupport from the business department.
And we now have a rock solid businessmodel and business plan fully prepared,
with the next five years forecasted.
Cliff Duvernois (21:07):
Speaking of five years forecasted, what
is next for Morphite Boards?
Ryan Pelletier (21:13):
Yeah so next step so we're currently in the middle of June and we're
looking at end of June starting the nextphase of um our business operations.
So right now we're in what we'reconsidering the innovation phase.
We're finalizing our designs.
We're getting, dipping our toesin the water of the market,
getting people interested.
(21:34):
But still finalizing that design.
On the 25th of June, we will bedone with the design and we'll be
moving on to the production phase.
That's when we'll startpurchasing supplies.
We're going to start.
getting tooling done.
We're going to be doing injection molding.
if you don't know how injection moldingworks, you have these, large steel casts
that, you pour the molten plastic into.
(21:54):
Those are very, very expensive.
Over the past couple months I'vebeen meeting with investors, angel
investors mostly, and discussingthe business and what plans I have
and getting people interested.
And we now have a coupleinvestors who are interested.
One in particular who I believe wewill be going with at the end of
the month to purchase those tools.
And once that happens we'll be movingon to The actual production which like
(22:17):
I said before should be in late August.
I'm hoping if not, maybe September.
Cliff Duvernois (22:22):
So why go the angel investor and give up equity in the
company versus doing something like acrowd funding thing like Kickstarter?
Ryan Pelletier (22:31):
Two things to hit on here.
First, with our angel investor, we'renot looking to give up any equity.
We're actually going to be lookingfor a, non equity, deal here.
So hopefully, we'll come to a dealthat no equity will be given up.
The investors that I'vetalked to all agree on that.
Especially as a student entrepreneur,they want me to keep my equity.
100 percent of my ownership,which I'm very, very, yeah, very
(22:52):
thankful to have found investorswho actually care about my success.
And, they're good people, butbeyond that, the other part of
your question, So I chose not todo a Kickstarter just because, it's
more of a PR move, in my, thought.
It's a public relation move.
Where, you know, 99 percent ofKickstarters fail, and I just don't
want to put myself into that bunch.
(23:14):
I don't want to be one of those companies,even if we are the one that succeeds.
I don't like the look of Kickstarter?
It just has a negative feel to it now.
I know a lot of people, at leastin my generation, don't really
trust, Kickstarter operations.
Um, so Yeah, it's not to hate onanyone who goes on Kickstarter and,
does that for a business startup.
(23:34):
It's a legitimate way to start a business.
It's just, when you have a angelinvestor supporting your business,
it shows a lot more validity and, it,Angel investors do a lot of research.
Kickstarter, funding, theydon't do a lot of research.
they're just like
Cliff Duvernois (23:49):
and whatever text they put up there.
Ryan Pelletier (23:51):
Yeah, they think, hey, this is cool, I'm
going to try to fund this.
Whereas an angel investordoes their research.
And they make sure that the product isvalid, that the business model is valid.
going with an angel investorjust proves that you're ready.
And that your business has alittle bit more, legs to stand on.
Cliff Duvernois (24:05):
And I can also imagine too that having an angel investor on
board, because they are interested ingetting their money back, that they would
actually work very hard as well to opendoors for you to get this into sporting
good stores or whatever that's out there
Ryan Pelletier (24:20):
Yeah, and a lot of the angels I've talked to are also
very well connected in the productionrealm, which, yeah, it's the networking
that I've done over the past fewmonths has just been incredible.
I mean, I've gotten to talk to a lotof titans of Michigan's industry, which
it's a really, really cool feeling tobe in that room with so many important
people and so many people who are suchvital parts of the Michigan economy.
(24:44):
And getting to work with them andeven some of the potential investors
who aren't going to invest, they'restill great contacts to have.
And I'm going to be putting togethera board of advisers and a lot of the
potential investors are going to endup being advisers now, just because
they're fantastic business leaders andpeople who will be good mentors for me.
Cliff Duvernois (25:04):
Just from a perspective standpoint, you go out to these
angel investors, you actually havea working prototype to show them.
And you say, Oh, I didthis at the Scott L.
Carmona School of Business.
What was their reaction to that?
Ryan Pelletier (25:16):
There's a lot of jaws on the floor.
You
Cliff Duvernois (25:18):
I bet there was.
Ryan Pelletier (25:20):
I've I've done a lot of presentations for the school.
Kind of demonstrating like hey,this is what can be done here at
the school with this process I'mone of the first people to actually
develop a product here in the lab.
And as far as I know, I'm the firstbusiness student to ever get a patent.
We haven't received the patent, but firstbusiness student to apply for a patent
while being a student here at the school.
(25:42):
So I do a lot of presentationsshowing off like, hey, this new
process is really, really cool.
Hands on experience actuallydoing things while a student.
And at a lot of those presentations,I've met, potential investors
and also just business leaders.
And yeah, like I said,lots of jaws on the floor.
They see I pull it out of a backpackand, all of a sudden there's a longboard
in front of them and they think, wow,that was built here at the school.
(26:05):
That was developed here.
It's very, very cool.
It's a lot different than, showing3D models or even sketches.
It's a whole different, and then Ican show them videos of me riding it
around the parking lot, like, you said.
I mean, It's, um, it's very differentto be able to just show it working.
Because there's no question marks anymore.
No one's like, hey, that soundscool, but like, will it work?
(26:26):
They see it.
It works.
which is really, really, really cool.
Cliff Duvernois (26:30):
From what I understand, just the fact that you've made it
to this point also carries a lotof credibility with you as well,
because you're actually showing upwith a board that you've defined, you
designed, you developed, you've gottenfeedback from a potentially your target
market to make it like even better.
This is before the angelinvestor even got on board.
Ryan Pelletier (26:50):
Yeah, the fact that we have a working prototype before
having an angel investor on board isincredible because normally you would
need the money to make the prototype.
And it is so hard to prove tosomeone that you have a valid idea.
before having the physical product.
I mean, it's doable.
People do it all the time.
But, it's a lot easier when youcan just pull out the product
(27:10):
and say, hey look, here it is.
Let's build more of these.
It's very powerful.
Cliff Duvernois (27:16):
Now I gotta ask this question here cause
you are on the young side.
Right?
You're still in college.
Did you ever envision in a million yearsthat you would be where you are today?
Ryan Pelletier (27:27):
As egotistical as it might sound, this was my plan.
Um, I, Like I said, sincefourth grade, I have known that
I wanted to be an inventor.
I knew that I'd wantto apply for a patent.
My goal was before 23.
I'm currently 22.
I'm on track, which, it feelsreally good to be able to say that.
I don't mean it to be too egotistical.
(27:48):
But, I'm on track for my goals, whichis a really, really awesome feeling.
And I wouldn't be if itweren't for the school.
Saginaw Valley State Universitytook me to where I wanted to be.
I'm pretty sure if I went to any otherschool, I probably wouldn't be here.
just because We're a smaller school, butwe have these opportunities like a big
school, which gives you that one on onefeel, plus the big school opportunities,
(28:08):
which I think is really special.
And I genuinely don't think I couldhave gotten to this point without
Saginaw Valley State University.
But yeah, since fourth grade, Ihad, I have a binder of ideas, it's
like, it's a three ring binder.
It's probably like four inchesthick now at this point with just
papers on papers of drawings.
My dad always told me, if you have anidea, write it down and sign it, put the
(28:29):
date on it and sign it, So I've alwaysdone that since I was in fourth grade.
Elementary school.
I've been coming up with ideas.
And yeah, this was the plan.
And here I am 22 years old with apatent application and still in college
Cliff Duvernois (28:41):
I think when I was 22, my biggest decision in life is do I want
to have McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch?
Ryan Pelletier (28:47):
Answer's always Taco Bell.
Cliff Duvernois (28:48):
The answer is always Taco Bell.
So if somebody is listening to this andthey want to check out what it is that
you're doing, cause I know you said yougot videos of the board, whatever it is.
What's the best way for them to connectwith you and follow your adventure online?
Ryan Pelletier (29:02):
Yeah, so if you want to see the process unfold in real time, best
way to connect with us is on Instagram.
We're very active on Instagram.
Also Facebook, but Facebook is basicallyjust getting our runoff from Instagram.
So if you want to see the,the true, um, close up action.
It's on Instagram.
We do have a website as well, www.
MorphiteBoards.
(29:22):
com.
Pretty easy to find.
You can also look upCollapsible Longboards.
And we should be one of thetop hits for that as well.
But yeah, those are the two best placesto find us, Instagram and our website.
If you're interested in the boards,we do have a waitlist on our website.
You can sign up.
All you do is drop your email.
I will not be sending out any spam mail.
It'll be one email whenthe boards go live.
Cliff Duvernois (29:41):
Ryan, thank you so much for taking time to talk to us today.
Really appreciate it.
Yeah,
Ryan Pelletier (29:44):
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me, Cliff.
Cliff Duvernois (29:46):
And for audience you can always roll on over to TotalMichigan.
com click on Ryan's interview and getthe links that he mentioned above.
We'll see you next time when we talkto another ordinary Michigander doing
some pretty extraordinary things.
We'll see you then.
Today's episode is brought to you by the Scott L.
Carmona College of Business, where topranked education and entrepreneurial
support turn ideas into reality.
Ryan Pelletier (00:09):
Oh no, the internet found all the hate that it could
muster and it threw it straight at me.
And it was, uh, a long, I'd saythree, four weeks before we got
our first, positive comment ofsomeone going, Oh, that's cool.
But we had a lot of people questioningthe idea at the very beginning.
And then all of a sudden, one personsays, Hey, wait, this is cool.
And it catches.
We now have a video thathas 2 million views.
(00:31):
And on our website we have 500 peopleon the waitlist, It's a great feeling
to go from pure negative feedback to allof a sudden everybody's very interested.
Cliff Duvernois (00:41):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Total Michigan, where
we interview ordinary Michigandersdoing some pretty extraordinary things.
I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.
I don't do very manyinterviews with universities.
Back in my day, universitieswere places where you went
to learn and to do research.
And that was about it.
The focus of this show is moreabout people who are doing and
(01:03):
impacting their communities.
But, over the last few decades, a handfulof people have worked really hard to
blur the lines between teaching andactually doing, allowing students, even
non students, an opportunity to pursuetheir dream in the academic environment,
gaining real world experience andbecoming a contributor to the community
(01:25):
that they've been called to serve,not four years from now, but today.
So with that being said,I'm at the Scott L.
Carmona College of Businesslocated in Saginaw, Michigan.
And this is part of the SaginawValley State University ecosystem.
With me today is one of thosedreamers, pursuing his dream
(01:47):
in the world of skateboarding.
His name is Ryan Pelletierfounder of Morphite Boards.
Ryan, how are you doing?
Ryan Pelletier (01:55):
Doing well, Cliff.
Thanks for having me today.
Cliff Duvernois (01:57):
So why don't you tell us what is morphite boards?
Ryan Pelletier (02:01):
Yeah, so Morphite Boards is a company that I started
during my time here at SVSU.
I'm a fourth year student, going intomy fifth, year here at the school.
Morphite Boards is an idea that Ihad to create a skateboard that could
shrink and fit into your backpack.
Uh, We started developing thathere at the School of Business.
We have a innovation lab.
(02:21):
We created our first functionalprototype back in July of last year.
And, we're now at the point ofgetting ready to actually start
production and, we're going to behopefully launching later in the
fall, maybe late fall this year.
Cliff Duvernois (02:36):
this is actually your idea, your concept, your product.
It's not like the university ownsit because you developed it here.
This is all you.
Ryan Pelletier (02:43):
Yeah, So, the way that the school does this here at
Saginaw Valley is very, very cool.
If a student develops a project hereat the school and can apply for a
patent, which I do have a patentpending now, The patent is 100
percent the student, student owned.
All of the rights go to the student.
I do work with an engineerhere at the school.
His name is Jim Pawolski.
And he is co listed on the patentbecause we invented it together.
(03:07):
But other than that, the schoolhas no claim to the rights of the
patent, which is very, very cool.
Cliff Duvernois (03:13):
a step back here.
Where are you from?
Where did you grow up?
Yeah, so, I'm
Ryan Pelletier (03:17):
Yeah, so, I'm from Midland, Michigan, which is only
20 minutes north of Saginaw Valley.
I grew up, born and raised in Midland.
And I worked my way down toSaginaw Valley after high school.
And I've been here forthe past three years.
Cliff Duvernois (03:29):
So what are you studying at SVSU?
Ryan Pelletier (03:31):
I'm studying International Business Management here at SVSU
with a minor in Entrepreneurship.
Cliff Duvernois (03:36):
Why international business?
Ryan Pelletier (03:38):
So I was doing general business.
And I switched over to internationalbusiness after studying abroad.
I spent, one semester in theCzech Republic, in Prague.
And, yes, it's a beautiful, beautifulplace, I can't wait to go back someday
and visit all the friends I made there.
And after studying abroad I was informedthat it would only be a few more credits
to, switch over to international businessmanagement from general business.
(03:59):
So I decided to make the leap and do that.
Now
Cliff Duvernois (04:02):
Now usually when people think about getting some
kind of a business degree, itmeans that they're going to be
sitting in a cubicle or an office,probably working for somebody else.
You, on the other hand, decided toscratch your entrepreneurial itch.
Now, do you have anybody inyour family who's entrepreneurs?
(04:22):
Do you have a background?
I mean, were you selling lemonadeas a kid on the street corner?
Ryan Pelletier (04:26):
Yeah, so it's funny you should say that because I was a
lemonade stand kid when I was younger.
Um, I have had this entrepreneurialitch since I was a kid.
I actually read a book about ThomasEdison back in fourth grade and,
on that day, I made the choice, Isaid, I'm going to be an inventor.
I spent the next eight yearsgetting told that's not a job.
and so I eventually, I was going downthe engineering path, for a while.
(04:50):
And, which is great because that'show I got a lot of the skills I
needed to develop this project.
But it was about, uh, I'd sayjunior year of high school.
I did the DECA program.
I don't know if you've heard of that.
But it's a business competition.
You go do pitches.
and you're quick thinking on your feet.
It's all business oriented.
And I fell in love with it, and I realizedbusiness was where I wanted to be.
(05:10):
Then I connected the dots that ThomasEdison wasn't actually a, engineer
as much as he was a businessman.
He worked for himself.
He invented for himself.
I came up with my own little catchphrasefor life that I didn't want to be the
guy who gets the big paycheck, I wantedto be the guy who signs off on it.
Um, and so all of my friends weregoing into university, planning
to work for someone else and, getthat high up job, climb the ladder.
(05:32):
I decided I was just goingto build my own ladder.
Cliff Duvernois (05:34):
build my Love that.
Ryan Pelletier (05:36):
that's how I got to where I am.
I, basically since fourth gradethough, I've been planning on, being
an inventor and doing my own thing.
Cliff Duvernois (05:44):
Now where did the interest in skateboards come from?
Ryan Pelletier (05:48):
It's a very funny story looking back at where I
got my interest in longboarding.
my brother
Cliff Duvernois (05:53):
So now you said longboarding.
So what's the difference betweenlongboarding and skateboarding?
Ryan Pelletier (05:56):
Longboarding is a lot more of the point A to point B transportation.
It's a fun way to transport yourself.
Skateboarding is more about thedoing the tricks and riding.
You can skateboard from point A topoint B, it's just not as efficient.
Skateboard wheels are a lot smaller.
It's a lot harder tobalance on a skateboard.
Longboards are more for, theywere invented over in Hawaii, to
replicate the feeling of surfing.
(06:16):
But it's a transportation unit morethan it is a, transportation unit.
Item for tricks and Yeah,
So if that makes sense It's largerwheels, longer decks, easier to balance,
easier to go over cracks on a longboard.
So our boards are closerto skateboard length.
But they're longboardwheels and longboard trucks.
So they're kind of a hybrid
Cliff Duvernois (06:34):
So then where did your interest in
skateboards long boards come from?
Ryan Pelletier (06:38):
Yeah, so my interest for skateboarding
longboarding is a funny story.
It actually stretches back to my brothertook a trip to Florida, And he showed
me all these pictures and videos of himriding around the streets of Florida
on these longboards with his friends.
And I was like, that's so cool.
And so I actually ended upgetting a, I believe it was $20
off of Facebook Marketplace.
This beat up old longboard from somebody.
(06:59):
They were selling it used.
Rode that thing everywherefor the next couple years.
Just fell in love with the sport.
Now fast forward, I believe it's beenwhat, seven years I've been riding?
I now have a collection of eight boards.
my, best board, quote unquote,is a, Tantian, Flex 2 from Loaded
Boards, which, it's a $350 board.
I ride that thing everywhere.
(07:20):
It's one of the best investmentsI think I've ever made.
It's a nice high end board.
I actually rode from Midland to Clareand back on a longboard, uh, 66 miles,
which it's a fun way to get exerciseand get out and, enjoy the nice weather.
So any beautiful day I'm out riding.
Cliff Duvernois (07:37):
Cause I've seen some of these, long boards with like battery
powered engines attached to them.
You got one of those.
Ryan Pelletier (07:45):
So we have a lot of requests for Morphite
board to go electric eventually.
But I'm committed at the moment forkeeping it, manual for the time being.
Because I'm a big fan of manual, nonelectric boards, just because I like
the exercise component of longboarding.
And I like it being human powered.
I always ride manual.
I've looked into getting electric,but, there's just something that
(08:06):
it takes away from the way I ride.
A longboard is an extension of yourself,Because you're putting the energy into it.
Um, The second it's electric, you'restanding on something, you're not, part
of the system, if that makes sense.
but we will be pursuing makingelectric Morphite boards in the future.
Cliff Duvernois (08:22):
Now speaking of the Morphite Board where did the
idea like initially come from.
Ryan Pelletier (08:30):
Yeah, so, the idea for Morphite boards came
straight out of, my need.
So, I used to ride my boardeverywhere, wanted to ride it to high
school, couldn't fit in my locker.
Simple as that.
I wanted a board that I couldshrink down and fit into my locker.
Back in 2018, I actually built thefirst prototype of a Morphite board.
At the time, I didn't have thename, I didn't have, it was a
whole different design, too.
There were a few componentsthat were similar.
(08:51):
But, I made a mock up basically,built in my garage at home
with what I had available.
And then it just sat in a box fora few years until I came to SVSU.
And I finally got theopportunity to actually take
my project to the next level.
Cliff Duvernois (09:06):
So you've come to SVSU.
You've got this prototypethat's sitting at home in a box.
At what point in time did youlearn that you could actually
take that project forward?
Ryan Pelletier (09:20):
The moment that I realized that this project could actually be
something was when I met Mohamed Adel.
He runs the EntrepreneurshipInstitute here at Saginaw Valley.
I met with him about a differentbusiness idea I had actually.
And we worked on developingthat for a little bit.
And then he brought me down to the lab andintroduced me to Jim, our lab technician.
(09:40):
And he said, Hey, you have any ideas?
You can develop them here.
And I said, Hey, wait a minute.
I do have this idea.
It's sitting in a box at home.
And I was like, let's see ifwe can take this somewhere.
and there was a lot of doubt at thebeginning, if the project could work.
But like I said, it was aboutfive months into development.
We had our first working prototype.
And that's when things reallytook off with Morphite.
And it became more of a reality then.
Cliff Duvernois (10:02):
Talk to us about the doubt.
What component was it?
Was it doubting that you could actually dothis, that you could actually create it,
that you could create a business from it?
Ryan Pelletier (10:10):
The doubt was definitely, multiple levels for this.
beginning, the doubt wasjust, can this project work?
Can we make a product that actuallyfunctions as I dream it will?
At the beginning, there was a lot ofdoubt in the structural integrity of it.
and it took us a long time.
It took us about a year to actuallyget it down to a functioning, product.
But, we pushed through that doubt.
(10:30):
But then, yeah, the other side of thedoubt was the business side of things.
Like, can we take this?
Will people actually want this?
Will there be interest in the product?
Or is this something that I want andno one else is really interested in?
So those were the two levelsof doubt that we worked around.
as we kept pushing forwards, Isaw more and more eyes light up as
they saw, you know, the prototypesgetting more and more advanced.
And people started, you know, It wasat the beginning, the, uh, saying
(10:54):
yes and shaking your head no, like,people are like, yeah, you can do this.
But they're shaking theirhead no, like, no, you can't.
But as we progressed through theprototypes and people started seeing
the advancements happening, I, I startedseeing more of the, yes, you can do this.
And I could see theybelieved it in their eyes.
which is really cool progress to make.
Cliff Duvernois (11:11):
got an idea you got access to technician slash engineer.
You've gone through many prototypes.
And at the end of the year, SVSUpresented you with a bill for $100,000.
Ryan Pelletier (11:27):
Uh, no.
the, uh, there was no bill,from the school for any of,
the tools or the engineeringexpertise that I've had access to.
The school has supported,the entire project.
I have not had to pay for any of thetools or, materials that I've used here
in the lab, which is very, very helpful.
I could not have proved that the ideacould work without, access to all of this.
Cliff Duvernois (11:51):
in other words, you get to keep the patent, you get to
keep the product that the school hasbasically funded the whole innovation
piece and getting the 3D working model.
That is amazing.
Ryan Pelletier (12:05):
Yeah it's very amazing.Um, I will say the legal side of things,
the patent, I did pay for myself.
That is separate from developing the idea.
but yeah, the whole developmentprocess of the actual physical
product and the prototype, thatwas, supported by the school.
Cliff Duvernois (12:19):
For our audience we're going to take a quick
break and thank our sponsors.
When we come back, we're going totalk about the reaction to Morphite
Boards and what's coming up next.
We'll see you after the break.
Carmona Lady (12:29):
At the Scott L.
Carmona College of Business of SaginawValley State University, you will gain
essential business knowledge throughreal world case studies, field based
experiences, and travel opportunities.
Our state of the art building featuresfinance, data analytics, consumer
behavior, and product innovationlabs, providing hands on training in
a data driven business environment.
(12:51):
We offer a prestigious AACSB accreditedMBA program with a range of concentrations
which offers flexibility and is one ofthe most cost effective in Michigan.
We offer multiple undergraduatemajors where our students enjoy
experiential learning opportunitiesincluding internships, cooperative
education, study abroad, and managinga student managed investment fund.
(13:14):
Our centers of excellence offer engagementwith local and regional businesses.
Our dedicated professorsprovide personalized mentoring,
helping you to maximize yourpotential and achieve your goals.
Discover how a degree in businesscan be your pathway to success.
Cliff Duvernois (13:30):
Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan where
we interview ordinary Michigandersdoing some pretty extraordinary things.
I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.
Today we're talking with RyanPelletier of Morphite Boards.
And Ryan before the break we were talkingabout how basically with the university
you now have an actual working prototype.
(13:51):
A collapsible skateboard.
You can zip around in theparking lot and see it in action.
The question I got for you, andyou kind of alluded to this before.
When you started posting this online,your little videos, whatever it is
that, you guys are putting out there.
What was the reaction?
Ryan Pelletier (14:09):
Yeah, so this was a really funny process to watch happen.
So the second we got our patentapplication, submitted, my patent attorney
told me it was okay to start being publicwith the idea and start posting videos.
Yeah.
So for about a year and a half,actually about a year and a month, we
had been very quiet about everything.
We hadn't shown any pictures.
(14:30):
There was nothing on theinternet about the idea.
But then the day that we got ourapplication submitted, I posted
a video just saying, Hey, my nameis Ryan Pelletier, I'm a student.
And this is my business.
And the internet threw tomatoes at me.
Rotten tomatoes from all directions.
Cliff Duvernois (14:45):
What the internet didn't love you?
Ryan Pelletier (14:47):
Oh no, the internet found all the hate that it could
muster and it threw it straight at me.
and I, uh, I don't know ifyou've seen the movie The Lorax?
But there's a scene where, theonce ler is trying to sell his,
invention that he made, and everyone'sliterally throwing rotten tomatoes
at him while he's up on stage.
And it very much felt like that sceneIn the movie, where like, everyone's
throwing rotten tomatoes at you.
(15:08):
And then all of a sudden, one personsays, Hey, wait, this is cool.
And it catches.
Suddenly, we now have a videothat has 2 million views.
We have 380 ish comments on it.
Over 6, 000 people have savedthe video, which is a really
good indicator for interest.
And on our website we have 500people on the waitlist, which, that,
it's a great feeling to go frompure negative feedback to all of a
(15:32):
sudden everybody's very interested.
It just took a couple peoplesaying, hey, this is pretty cool.
And all of a sudden everyonejust caught on to that.
And we've gotten to the pointwhere people do still give negative
feedback, of course, it's the internet.
You're always going to have your trolls.
But we have random peoplefighting and supporting the
idea in our comment section.
Cliff Duvernois (15:48):
So when you talk about the negativity, what in
particular was the negativity about?
Did they just say this was just adumb idea or did they like nitpick it?
Ryan Pelletier (15:58):
We had all varieties of negativity coming out.
but there was a lot of nitpicking, a lotof people called it a baby gate, because,
uh, I don't know if you've seen thoseexpandable baby gates, but it, it is
a similar structure to, it's a similaridea in that you want your baby gate to
extend and, cover a large surface area.
And then you want it to collapse in.
So we had a lot of peoplecalling it, like, Baby Gate,
(16:18):
board and things like that.
Which I honestly was pretty comedic.
I thought that was pretty funny.
But then, we had a lot of peoplejust saying like, This can't work.
And I found that kind of amusing becausethey were commenting that on videos of
it you know, function, yeah, working.
So I'm like, I don't know why you'd tryto say something doesn't work when you're
commenting it on a video of it working.
But then we also had peoplejust in general saying hey
(16:41):
this idea makes no sense.
Like why would you use this and What Ifound very interesting is people All as
I got started people all along the wayalways told me don't fight the trolls.
Don't don't pick up thatlike don't try to respond.
Just let them roll off your back.
But I didn't, I commented back.
And I talked to people, and over again,I successfully converted these trolls
into actually finding interest in it,which I found very fulfilling as well.
(17:05):
Because taking someone who's justtrying to bash your idea and then
explaining to them in a calm manner,like, Hey, this is why I did it that.
way, this is the purpose, maybeyou're not part of my target market.
But I have a target market, there is,there are people out there that want this.
Um, and, successfully, over and overagain, I took these internet trolls
and I turned them into, Hey, waita minute, this is actually cool.
Or, Okay, I see your point, andsometimes, Okay, I see your point
(17:28):
is all you can get on the internet.
But, that's better than, pure hate,
Cliff Duvernois (17:31):
Which is true.
And I really believe in my heart of heartswhen it comes to this kind of stuff.
Sometimes people just want to be heard.
Ryan Pelletier (17:37):
A lot of it Is just for attention, And you can tell when
they're just attention grabbing, but.
Cliff Duvernois (17:42):
Now, was there ever any point in time where you got some of
this hate online for your idea that youactually read it and thought, you know
what, that's how we can make it better?
Ryan Pelletier (17:52):
Oh, yes, for sure.
it's been really cool.
We're a little bit cart before thehorse, here, where we have a lot
of people interested in the idea.
And we're not completelyfinished developing.
I say that, I say that now we are prettymuch done developing at this point.
But when the video first wentviral, we were not done developing.
And because of that, yeah,people would say something like,
hey, I hate how this looks.
(18:13):
And I'd be like, okay, let me fix it.
And the next day I'd post a videolike, Hey, I changed how this looks.
And they'd be like,Whoa, you listened to me.
Um, I, a lot of times internettrolls are on there just trying to
say things so they can be heard.
They don't tend to know how toreact when you do hear them.
It's a pretty cool reaction to see.
I actually tagged some people.
they commented something nasty orgnarly on, uh, one of my, posts.
(18:34):
And then I tagged them in the next postand I say, Hey, look, I changed it.
I'm like, look, you gave mesome feedback and I, took it.
And, people found that really interesting.
And they started reposting my stuff.
And that's part of how we went viralis, a lot of people started reposting
things just because I called them out.
I was like, hey, called them
you have something negative to say,I'll respond with something positive,
Cliff Duvernois (18:54):
Oh absolutely love that.
Ryan Pelletier (18:56):
Yeah.
Cliff Duvernois (18:56):
You're getting all this feedback online and you're
making the product better as you go.
Talk to us about settingup the business side of it.
Because obviously at some point in time,the university can only carry you so far.
And at some point you're in,and I know we'll talk about
next steps here in a minute.
But you gotta have some kind of a businessentity put together, whether you're
(19:18):
thinking about either pursuing grants.
Or if you're thinking about bringinginvestors on board, we're going to
do some kind of Kickstarter campaign,whatever that might look like.
Talk to us about settingup that business stuff.
Ryan Pelletier (19:29):
Yeah, so this was the beautiful part of the grant that I got.
The entire grant process, in order toactually get the money, you have to
develop a rock solid business plan.
so we started with founding the LLCand like, the legal aspect of LLC.
formation.
We've got our businessinsurance, that was stage one.
and making a business model canvas.
And then after we had our businessmodel canvas prepared, the next step was
(19:52):
getting the prototype ready and, all that.
Once we had the blueprints, which Iactually submitted a patent application
for that stage, to show that we hada design ready, the next stage was
getting our marketing plan ready.
So I now have an 18 page marketing plangoing over all the different channels of
marketing that I'm going to be utilizing.
That was the next stage.
Once we got that done, we moved on tothe next stage, which is the financial
(20:13):
plan, and, now we're working, I'm stillon that stage, working through our
financial models and preparing for,all of the predictions that we can make
and forecasting, sales and whatnot.
And the beautiful part of all thisis I'm in a college of business.
And there are professors who canhelp out every step of the way.
So yeah, my marketing plan, I made thismarketing plan with a marketing professor.
(20:35):
We worked on it for, I think, two months.
Just going over it, we'd meet everyfew days we'd meet, after class,
and I'd work on this marketing plan.
And the same for the, two stagesbefore that, Jim, the engineer that
I work with, he helped with theblueprints, obviously, and the patent
application, getting that ready.
that, the application itselfwas my patent attorney.
(20:55):
But every step of the way, I've hadsupport from the business department.
And we now have a rock solid businessmodel and business plan fully prepared,
with the next five years forecasted.
Cliff Duvernois (21:07):
Speaking of five years forecasted, what
is next for Morphite Boards?
Ryan Pelletier (21:13):
Yeah so next step so we're currently in the middle of June and we're
looking at end of June starting the nextphase of um our business operations.
So right now we're in what we'reconsidering the innovation phase.
We're finalizing our designs.
We're getting, dipping our toesin the water of the market,
getting people interested.
(21:34):
But still finalizing that design.
On the 25th of June, we will bedone with the design and we'll be
moving on to the production phase.
That's when we'll startpurchasing supplies.
We're going to start.
getting tooling done.
We're going to be doing injection molding.
if you don't know how injection moldingworks, you have these, large steel casts
that, you pour the molten plastic into.
(21:54):
Those are very, very expensive.
Over the past couple months I'vebeen meeting with investors, angel
investors mostly, and discussingthe business and what plans I have
and getting people interested.
And we now have a coupleinvestors who are interested.
One in particular who I believe wewill be going with at the end of
the month to purchase those tools.
And once that happens we'll be movingon to The actual production which like
(22:17):
I said before should be in late August.
I'm hoping if not, maybe September.
Cliff Duvernois (22:22):
So why go the angel investor and give up equity in the
company versus doing something like acrowd funding thing like Kickstarter?
Ryan Pelletier (22:31):
Two things to hit on here.
First, with our angel investor, we'renot looking to give up any equity.
We're actually going to be lookingfor a, non equity, deal here.
So hopefully, we'll come to a dealthat no equity will be given up.
The investors that I'vetalked to all agree on that.
Especially as a student entrepreneur,they want me to keep my equity.
100 percent of my ownership,which I'm very, very, yeah, very
(22:52):
thankful to have found investorswho actually care about my success.
And, they're good people, butbeyond that, the other part of
your question, So I chose not todo a Kickstarter just because, it's
more of a PR move, in my, thought.
It's a public relation move.
Where, you know, 99 percent ofKickstarters fail, and I just don't
want to put myself into that bunch.
(23:14):
I don't want to be one of those companies,even if we are the one that succeeds.
I don't like the look of Kickstarter?
It just has a negative feel to it now.
I know a lot of people, at leastin my generation, don't really
trust, Kickstarter operations.
Um, so Yeah, it's not to hate onanyone who goes on Kickstarter and,
does that for a business startup.
(23:34):
It's a legitimate way to start a business.
It's just, when you have a angelinvestor supporting your business,
it shows a lot more validity and, it,Angel investors do a lot of research.
Kickstarter, funding, theydon't do a lot of research.
they're just like
Cliff Duvernois (23:49):
and whatever text they put up there.
Ryan Pelletier (23:51):
Yeah, they think, hey, this is cool, I'm
going to try to fund this.
Whereas an angel investordoes their research.
And they make sure that the product isvalid, that the business model is valid.
going with an angel investorjust proves that you're ready.
And that your business has alittle bit more, legs to stand on.
Cliff Duvernois (24:05):
And I can also imagine too that having an angel investor on
board, because they are interested ingetting their money back, that they would
actually work very hard as well to opendoors for you to get this into sporting
good stores or whatever that's out there
Ryan Pelletier (24:20):
Yeah, and a lot of the angels I've talked to are also
very well connected in the productionrealm, which, yeah, it's the networking
that I've done over the past fewmonths has just been incredible.
I mean, I've gotten to talk to a lotof titans of Michigan's industry, which
it's a really, really cool feeling tobe in that room with so many important
people and so many people who are suchvital parts of the Michigan economy.
(24:44):
And getting to work with them andeven some of the potential investors
who aren't going to invest, they'restill great contacts to have.
And I'm going to be putting togethera board of advisers and a lot of the
potential investors are going to endup being advisers now, just because
they're fantastic business leaders andpeople who will be good mentors for me.
Cliff Duvernois (25:04):
Just from a perspective standpoint, you go out to these
angel investors, you actually havea working prototype to show them.
And you say, Oh, I didthis at the Scott L.
Carmona School of Business.
What was their reaction to that?
Ryan Pelletier (25:16):
There's a lot of jaws on the floor.
You
Cliff Duvernois (25:18):
I bet there was.
Ryan Pelletier (25:20):
I've I've done a lot of presentations for the school.
Kind of demonstrating like hey,this is what can be done here at
the school with this process I'mone of the first people to actually
develop a product here in the lab.
And as far as I know, I'm the firstbusiness student to ever get a patent.
We haven't received the patent, but firstbusiness student to apply for a patent
while being a student here at the school.
(25:42):
So I do a lot of presentationsshowing off like, hey, this new
process is really, really cool.
Hands on experience actuallydoing things while a student.
And at a lot of those presentations,I've met, potential investors
and also just business leaders.
And yeah, like I said,lots of jaws on the floor.
They see I pull it out of a backpackand, all of a sudden there's a longboard
in front of them and they think, wow,that was built here at the school.
(26:05):
That was developed here.
It's very, very cool.
It's a lot different than, showing3D models or even sketches.
It's a whole different, and then Ican show them videos of me riding it
around the parking lot, like, you said.
I mean, It's, um, it's very differentto be able to just show it working.
Because there's no question marks anymore.
No one's like, hey, that soundscool, but like, will it work?
(26:26):
They see it.
It works.
which is really, really, really cool.
Cliff Duvernois (26:30):
From what I understand, just the fact that you've made it
to this point also carries a lotof credibility with you as well,
because you're actually showing upwith a board that you've defined, you
designed, you developed, you've gottenfeedback from a potentially your target
market to make it like even better.
This is before the angelinvestor even got on board.
Ryan Pelletier (26:50):
Yeah, the fact that we have a working prototype before
having an angel investor on board isincredible because normally you would
need the money to make the prototype.
And it is so hard to prove tosomeone that you have a valid idea.
before having the physical product.
I mean, it's doable.
People do it all the time.
But, it's a lot easier when youcan just pull out the product
(27:10):
and say, hey look, here it is.
Let's build more of these.
It's very powerful.
Cliff Duvernois (27:16):
Now I gotta ask this question here cause
you are on the young side.
Right?
You're still in college.
Did you ever envision in a million yearsthat you would be where you are today?
Ryan Pelletier (27:27):
As egotistical as it might sound, this was my plan.
Um, I, Like I said, sincefourth grade, I have known that
I wanted to be an inventor.
I knew that I'd wantto apply for a patent.
My goal was before 23.
I'm currently 22.
I'm on track, which, it feelsreally good to be able to say that.
I don't mean it to be too egotistical.
(27:48):
But, I'm on track for my goals, whichis a really, really awesome feeling.
And I wouldn't be if itweren't for the school.
Saginaw Valley State Universitytook me to where I wanted to be.
I'm pretty sure if I went to any otherschool, I probably wouldn't be here.
just because We're a smaller school, butwe have these opportunities like a big
school, which gives you that one on onefeel, plus the big school opportunities,
(28:08):
which I think is really special.
And I genuinely don't think I couldhave gotten to this point without
Saginaw Valley State University.
But yeah, since fourth grade, Ihad, I have a binder of ideas, it's
like, it's a three ring binder.
It's probably like four inchesthick now at this point with just
papers on papers of drawings.
My dad always told me, if you have anidea, write it down and sign it, put the
(28:29):
date on it and sign it, So I've alwaysdone that since I was in fourth grade.
Elementary school.
I've been coming up with ideas.
And yeah, this was the plan.
And here I am 22 years old with apatent application and still in college
Cliff Duvernois (28:41):
I think when I was 22, my biggest decision in life is do I want
to have McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch?
Ryan Pelletier (28:47):
Answer's always Taco Bell.
Cliff Duvernois (28:48):
The answer is always Taco Bell.
So if somebody is listening to this andthey want to check out what it is that
you're doing, cause I know you said yougot videos of the board, whatever it is.
What's the best way for them to connectwith you and follow your adventure online?
Ryan Pelletier (29:02):
Yeah, so if you want to see the process unfold in real time, best
way to connect with us is on Instagram.
We're very active on Instagram.
Also Facebook, but Facebook is basicallyjust getting our runoff from Instagram.
So if you want to see the,the true, um, close up action.
It's on Instagram.
We do have a website as well, www.
MorphiteBoards.
(29:22):
com.
Pretty easy to find.
You can also look upCollapsible Longboards.
And we should be one of thetop hits for that as well.
But yeah, those are the two best placesto find us, Instagram and our website.
If you're interested in the boards,we do have a waitlist on our website.
You can sign up.
All you do is drop your email.
I will not be sending out any spam mail.
It'll be one email whenthe boards go live.
Cliff Duvernois (29:41):
Ryan, thank you so much for taking time to talk to us today.
Really appreciate it.
Yeah,
Ryan Pelletier (29:44):
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me, Cliff.
Cliff Duvernois (29:46):
And for audience you can always roll on over to TotalMichigan.
com click on Ryan's interview and getthe links that he mentioned above.
We'll see you next time when we talkto another ordinary Michigander doing
some pretty extraordinary things.
We'll see you then.
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