The Beta: Early Testing and Success

First Sales: Testing the Waters

With our collection of Porta-Hangs ready, Josh and I decided it was time to put them out into the world. We needed to know: would climbers actually buy this?

The Crag climbing gym in Franklin had recently opened their new location at Old Hickory and Nolensville. They were hosting a small business night in mid-January 2020, giving local makers a chance to showcase their products. It was the perfect opportunity to test our idea.

Unfortunately, I was scheduled to be at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas that week. Josh, being the great partner he was, offered to host our table on his own.

Kim and Kidder at The Crag were incredibly gracious, giving us a table and supporting our fledgling business. We scrambled to get everything ready in time. I had a banner with our logo printed by a local sign shop, and we put together as many Porta-Hang sets as we could.

The Setup

Back in my garage, still using rudimentary equipment, I poured enough molds for about 10 sets of Porta-Hangs and colorful holds. Each set came with a carry bag, and we even spray-painted our logo on the back of each Porta-Hang for a professional touch.

To let people test the product, we built a portable door frame using Home Depot lumber with a bit of trim at the top. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked. The whole setup screamed, “Two guys working out of a garage,” but it was legit enough to give us a shot.

The First Night

I still remember the call I got from Josh during dinner with a vendor in Las Vegas.

“Hey, we sold six,” he said.

“Six?”

“Yeah, six sets. Twenty-five bucks each.”

I couldn’t believe it. Six people had bought Porta-Hangs in one night! I was stunned. Six might not seem like much, but to me, it was everything. It was proof that someone other than us saw value in what we had built.

That night, a spark lit inside me. I thought, Maybe we actually have something here.