Goalieband inventor Bob Unger, left, and 1972 Summit Series Soviet netminder Vladislav Tretiak, whose enthusiasm for the product gave Mr. Unger the impetus to go ahead with his goalie training creation.
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As a former hockey goaltender himself, Bob Unger found his meeting nine years ago with legendary 1972 Summit Series netminder Vladislav Tretiak an inspirational moment.
But Mr. Unger wasn't there to ask for an autograph from the former Soviet star. Having brought along the prototype of a unique goalie teaching tool he had devised, it was a chance to get real-world validation.
"He wanted to take my prototype back to Russia with him," Mr. Unger explains. "He … was really excited about it and that's when I kind of went, okay, let's do this."
With that, Goalieband – a strip of recycled plastic with metal clamps to attach to goalposts – was off to the races, in large part due to the confidence that Mr. Unger felt after the Hockey Hall of Famer's enthusiastic endorsement. The product is designed to teach goalies to position themselves properly in the goal crease – the plastic arc gently reminds them when they are backing into the net too much, which gives shooters more net to aim at.
Goalieband inventor Bob Unger, left, and 1972 Summit Series Soviet netminder Vladislav Tretiak, whose enthusiasm for the product gave Mr. Unger the impetus to go ahead with his goalie training creation. (Goalieband)
Mr. Unger, who has coached a minor hockey team in Winnipeg for the past 10 years, used to remind his goaltenders of their positioning by placing his stick on their backs. However, he was forced to rethink that approach after a run-in with an errant puck.
"I got hit one time and I went home and said, 'There's got to be a better way of doing this,' " he says.
In the seven years since he started selling his device – for which he owns the patent throughout North America – Mr. Unger has sold about 600 pieces, which retail for $400 each. He ships them for $50, mostly to clubs and schools. In addition to hockey, the product can also be used for other sports, such as lacrosse, ringette and roller hockey, which all use similarly sized goals.
While running his Goalieband business currently remains a hobby outside of his day job with Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., the 52-year-old is hoping to ramp things up once he retires, and sees it as a source of income down the road.
But to get there, Mr. Unger believes he needs to persuade a current NHL goalie to endorse his product, even though he has testimonials from former netminders, such as Mr. Tretiak, former Team Canada goaltender-turned-NHL-executive Sean Burke, and former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending coach Rick St. Croix. However, he knows that will almost certainly come at a steep price.
"It does come down to that trade-off between the cost of that endorsement, whether it's in cash, whether it's in a royalty stream, whether it's in equity in your company, versus what's the benefit and how can you use that to drive momentum to grow the business," says Joe Healey, a partner with Ernst & Young in Winnipeg and leader of the firm's transaction advisory services panel.
If the cost ends up being a piece of the business, Giving up a share of control in a company can often be a difficult thing for even the most successful entrepreneur, Mr. Healey says. He describes it as a "delicate balancing act" between the future growth of the company and the loss of some control.
"There is no right answer and it comes down to the entrepreneur's risk tolerance and the entrepreneur's belief in their ability to successfully grow the company."
However, there are other things to consider when it comes to getting celebrity endorsement. Merely attaching a name to a product isn't always a great solution; it's how it is done that will yield results, says Krista Jones, senior adviser for information and communications technology at Toronto's research commercialization hub MaRS Discovery District in Toronto.
For example, even if a well-known athlete endorses the product and showcases it on his or her own website, that doesn't do much for Mr. Unger if the athlete's website isn't particularly well known.
Ms. Jones suggests it would be far better if the athlete could endorse the product publicly when accepting an award or talking to the media.
The other issue that Mr. Unger faces is distribution, according to Ms. Jones. Canada is not a big enough market to build a single-product company, so a much bigger reach is required.
There are a couple of routes he could take to counter this. One is by getting on board with known distribution channels, in this case hockey equipment manufacturers, such as Easton or Bauer. To do this he would have to give up margin, paying for the distribution costs in a percentage of sales. Ms. Jones likens it to the Apple distribution model, where the company takes 30 per cent of every smartphone app that is sold through its App Store.
The other method is to make use of consumer-oriented channels, such as Amazon, which allow merchants to set up shop under their umbrella.
"If you start to go direct to the end user, you can start to sell very effectively with creating these partnerships," she says. "The problem for Bob is just how spread out his market is; he's going to have to start getting active on social media channels."
To that end, Mr. Unger's son Jordan helps with giving Goalieband an active social media presence on Twitter.
Because it can be difficult to quantify how many sales each strategy drives, Mr. Healey says, "To be successful you've got to go through multiple concurrent channels. Whether it's using the power of social media, whether it's using a groundswell of support at entry-level teams and hockey schools and the like, and it's supported by celebrity endorsements, all of those are additive to the overall growth of the product."
While Mr. Unger is mulling whether to take the financial risk of paid endorsement with a current NHL goaltender, he will always be grateful for the meeting with Mr. Tretiak that kick-started everything for him.
"He was probably my biggest endorsement; to say hey, this thing is going to take off."
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Paul Attfield