The Concept of Xcitement

Have you ever heard the lines to this ad from Apple, “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

“Crazy enough to think they can change the world.” How many people wake up and dream so big that they think they can literally change the world? A lot do. A lot of people dream, many entrepreneurs do something about it. Nolan Bushnell said, “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer “

A lot of people wrote back about how they were inspired about the Crocs story in the Philippines. Some of them wanted to know the origins of Crocs.

It is an amazing story about being excited about something you truly believe in. Let me share it with you.

Crocs was started by a group of friends who had a common love for fishing. George Boedecker, Scott Seamans, and Lyndon "Duke" Hanson were close friends and boat enthusiasts. They would get together to go boating and fishing. One day, in mid 2002, Scott came across an unusual looking clog that a Canadian company had developed. What excited Scott was the material, called Croslite, which was not rubber or foam but a completely new type of resin that had unusual properties. It was a closed cell that allowed it to be completely waterproof, as well as bacteria and fungus resistant. It also had unique properties that allowed it to mold to a person’s feet the more he uses it. The bonus was that it was extremely lightweight and had circulation nubs that improved circulation and relief against muscle fatigue.

Scott tinkered with the design, and came to the conclusion that it was the ideal boat shoe. He showed it to George and Duke, and the brand was born. The problem was that they didn’t know how to sell it. They started at boat shows. They would literally toss them at people and tell them to try it on. They knew they had something special when several boat shows later, the fire marshal reprimanded them to control the crowds that had gathered in their booth.

In 2003, they brought in Ron Snyder, who a president of electronics manufacturing company. Upon studying the product, Ron came up with a simple slogan, “Think Huge”. He proposed buying the Canadian company that owned the patent and the rights to Croslite and the first shoe designs. He also proposed going national and international, entering all retail segments , far beyond the water enthusiast industry. The problem was that they did not have the cash to do it. They made the rounds of venture capitalists and financial institutions, but they were rejected soundly. They finally were able to raise the funds needed by borrowing from friends and family.

Today, Crocs in the United States has a market value of over one billion dollars. It has manufacturing plants in Asia and Europe, as well as dealers and distributors all over the world. It is considered by industry pundits as the fastest growing footwear line in the world. It has evolved from the basic clog to a lot of new styles and applications.

The company has launched several specific application shoes: CrocsRx, targeted to diabetic patients with poor circulation, or those with back or foot problems. It has tied up with many service industries to develop work shoes specifically designed to relieve fatigue, muscle pain and improve circulation of workers who are standing or walking throughout the day. The most famous example are the Bistro, which are models targeted at Chefs and cooks, the most famous example is Mario Batali. Mario incidentally is a Crocs endorser with his signature orange pair.

Crocs will be launching as many as 100 new lines, including sports lines, designed to help athletes recover faster. It is an amazing and incredible story of allowing yourself to “Think Huge” and getting excited along the way. The thing about excitement, it allows you to live in the crazy moment and believe that you can literally change the world. Dream Big, Think Huge, Act Now! If we don’t, we may never know if we were meant to change the world.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, let’s all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at [email protected], or visit www.stir specialist.blogspot.com.