Aldis

The birth of this company came about one night while Vig Sherrill of ALdis was riding home from work. In this conception it was observed that great ideas need real world application. This device in particular is very fascinating but the device lacks a target consumer audience. The interesting aspect about this device is that the user of the device is not the consumer therefore battles to give the product customers have proven to be difficult. The competitive advantage of this device is that is runs from a personal computer whereas its competitors have legacy issues. The device requires little to minimal effort to set up zones in which it monitors traffic flow. The technology behind the device took a total of 4 years to have the user interface working properly. At a typical traffic intersection a loop costs on average $2000 with an associated failure rate of 20-25%. The average intersection has 12 loops therefore the replacement for this device is cheaper than the typical loop. The United States has 350,000 intersections therefore this product sold at $10,000 a unit is not enough to sell. The alternative approach is to acquire data and sell this information to a retailer such as a Wal-Mart and assist in the determination of an optimal location for a new store. To date 12 units have been sold in China and with China’s rapidly growing economy this device can possibly have a large enough market to sell. A quote was left which states “Don’t start a company for money but have a desire to make things better. “ Other noticeable things about the visit to this company is that Vig worked for Mark Medley at CTI Inc, about 20 years ago. At this point is when he realized he was doing something that he wasn’t passionate about therefore he raised $8 million through venture capital. This ultimately drove Vig to follow his passion where he learned to start a business with someone that is as equally passionate. The visit to Aldis was a peculiar from the previous experiences because the immediate need for such a device was not noticeable. The creativity of Vig in creating a product and creating a need for a huge retailer such as Wal-Mart has led me to believe that as an entrepreneur you have to have a savvy business demeanor to survive in the entrepreneur world.