7 DAYS OF MONDAY
You've got what it takes, but it will take everything you've got
By Jay Taylor
CEO LALO Tactical
jay@lalotactical.com
YOU'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES, BUT IT WILL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT.
The Naval Special Warfare groups adopted a saying many years ago, “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday”. The motto has been associated with them since the inception of the Amphibious Scout and Raider school in Fort Pierce, Florida in 1942.
The Naval Special Warfare groups evolved from the Scouts and Raiders to Naval Combat Units, Operational Swimmers, Underwater Demolition Teams, and then eventually around the Vietnam War, to the SEAL Teams as we know them today.
To make it through BUD/s an individual has to successfully get from evolution to evolution through each phase of training. There is also the infamous “Hell Week,” 5½ days of training where each candidate gets no more than 4 hours of sleep during the entire evolution. Boat crews are formed, and re-formed depending upon who is surviving the program. The people you end up with at the end of the week are those that are truly committed to the program and especially their teammates.
When I think back, I realize since we re-financed LALO in October of 2013, we have been through our own version of “Hell Week.” The struggles have been real. We delivered our first round of athletic product to market 12 months later than we had originally planned. The factory that developed our product moved from Southern China to Vietnam and couldn't take LALO in the transfer. Strangely enough, we were very lucky; the factory burned down just after it opened due to a dispute between the Chinese and Vietnamese governments over fishing rights and thankfully, our product wasn’t in it.
For a while I thought we weren’t ever going to get LALO to market. We had a sourcing partner that was in charge of the personnel on the project, and unfortunately, a developer and product inspector were let go off of the project. These bumps in the road delayed the product launch by a few months. It was one thing after another.
I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. It’s all part of getting a brand to market, and I guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it…
Fast forward to October of 2014, bake in a West Coast port strike and four weeks at customs for a random inspection and it was evident we were burning much needed cash. We finally delivered tactical boots to the market in early November.
We moved from being a Seinfeld episode, a show about nothing, to a struggling startup having its first taste of success. To define “success” in our case means we were actually shipping product. Baby steps. The Amphibian and Intruder boots seemed to be well received and selling at what we believe to be a remarkable rate.
Part of our ever-evolving business plan is to create awareness around our products. After the Shadow launched, the BUD/s athletic product was to follow – the Grinder, BloodBird and Zodiac Recon shoes were all set to arrive in early April.
If Hell Week is 5 and a half days long, we were in day 2 at this point and fairing well with no sleep…
Little did we know that the “awareness” we were creating was actual demand for the shoes. We had some idea people were interested based upon pre-orders for the product, but when it hit the warehouse on April 4th and we were able to start shipping, we realized that we had underestimated that interest. To put it mildly, we got crushed. By April 25th it was all over, we had very little left in inventory. In fact, a few thousand units of shoes oversold and we didn't know what had hit us - a champagne problem that needed a solution.
When we finally had a chance to do a postmortem on the situation we realized that our order entry system wasn't working exactly the way we wanted it to. It wasn't reducing inventory as the orders were being entered, only when the orders shipped. Needless to say we were deep in Day 3 of Hell Week and we were feeling a little beat up.
As I write this, we are a little dinged up, bruised but not broken, and in fact getting stronger by the day. We have an amazing “boat crew”. Everyone is committed to the overall success of LALO. Everyone is solution-oriented and will find a way – putting the whole of the brand before the individual. Each member of our small, but mighty crew has sacrificed for the team and refused to ring the bell. They should be very proud of what they have done so far and of what the future holds. I am incredibly honored to be a part of the crew. You may in fact have had the pleasure of interacting with a one or two of them and we hope those interactions have been memorable in the most positive way.
Without the dedication and hard work of our Vancouver and San Diego crews LALO wouldn’t be the unbreakable team it is.
We tried to run an actual “Hell Week” at LALO, but the Division of Labor and Standards of California shut us down…but I think we have found a crew that refuses to ring the bell, they fight the good fight and understand that it pays to be a winner. LALO wouldn't be where it is without them, and it certainly wouldn’t be anywhere without you. Speaking for all of us – we are very grateful for your support.
Until the next installment of 7 Days of Monday....
V/r,
Jay
About LALO Tactical:
LALO was founded to serve the needs of Special Forces Operators. LALO uses top tier materials to create some of the best and hardest working tactical boots and athletic footwear for those that rise to the toughest occasions. The LALO Shadow, the ultimate Special Forces tactical boot, features a unique patent including a drainage system, a composite forefoot plate, a fast-dry component and the lightest weight materials on the market. The LALO Athletic line is a direct result of briefings received from Special Forces Operators. The need was to build a lightweight, packable, breathable shoe they could cross train and run in – a shoe they could count on, whether training or deployed. LALO’s designs put an emphasis on noise reduction, support and game day performance; gear that hits the mark time after time. Whether your path leads you to a career in the military, competing in an adventure race, cross training, tackling an urban athletic workout, or running a 5K, LALO has the shoe for you. www.lalotactical.com
LALO TACTICAL is a privately held wholly by LALO LLC, a California LLC.
CEO LALO Tactical
jay@lalotactical.com
YOU'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES, BUT IT WILL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT.
The Naval Special Warfare groups adopted a saying many years ago, “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday”. The motto has been associated with them since the inception of the Amphibious Scout and Raider school in Fort Pierce, Florida in 1942.
The Naval Special Warfare groups evolved from the Scouts and Raiders to Naval Combat Units, Operational Swimmers, Underwater Demolition Teams, and then eventually around the Vietnam War, to the SEAL Teams as we know them today.
To make it through BUD/s an individual has to successfully get from evolution to evolution through each phase of training. There is also the infamous “Hell Week,” 5½ days of training where each candidate gets no more than 4 hours of sleep during the entire evolution. Boat crews are formed, and re-formed depending upon who is surviving the program. The people you end up with at the end of the week are those that are truly committed to the program and especially their teammates.
When I think back, I realize since we re-financed LALO in October of 2013, we have been through our own version of “Hell Week.” The struggles have been real. We delivered our first round of athletic product to market 12 months later than we had originally planned. The factory that developed our product moved from Southern China to Vietnam and couldn't take LALO in the transfer. Strangely enough, we were very lucky; the factory burned down just after it opened due to a dispute between the Chinese and Vietnamese governments over fishing rights and thankfully, our product wasn’t in it.
For a while I thought we weren’t ever going to get LALO to market. We had a sourcing partner that was in charge of the personnel on the project, and unfortunately, a developer and product inspector were let go off of the project. These bumps in the road delayed the product launch by a few months. It was one thing after another.
I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. It’s all part of getting a brand to market, and I guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it…
Fast forward to October of 2014, bake in a West Coast port strike and four weeks at customs for a random inspection and it was evident we were burning much needed cash. We finally delivered tactical boots to the market in early November.
We moved from being a Seinfeld episode, a show about nothing, to a struggling startup having its first taste of success. To define “success” in our case means we were actually shipping product. Baby steps. The Amphibian and Intruder boots seemed to be well received and selling at what we believe to be a remarkable rate.
Part of our ever-evolving business plan is to create awareness around our products. After the Shadow launched, the BUD/s athletic product was to follow – the Grinder, BloodBird and Zodiac Recon shoes were all set to arrive in early April.
If Hell Week is 5 and a half days long, we were in day 2 at this point and fairing well with no sleep…
Little did we know that the “awareness” we were creating was actual demand for the shoes. We had some idea people were interested based upon pre-orders for the product, but when it hit the warehouse on April 4th and we were able to start shipping, we realized that we had underestimated that interest. To put it mildly, we got crushed. By April 25th it was all over, we had very little left in inventory. In fact, a few thousand units of shoes oversold and we didn't know what had hit us - a champagne problem that needed a solution.
When we finally had a chance to do a postmortem on the situation we realized that our order entry system wasn't working exactly the way we wanted it to. It wasn't reducing inventory as the orders were being entered, only when the orders shipped. Needless to say we were deep in Day 3 of Hell Week and we were feeling a little beat up.
As I write this, we are a little dinged up, bruised but not broken, and in fact getting stronger by the day. We have an amazing “boat crew”. Everyone is committed to the overall success of LALO. Everyone is solution-oriented and will find a way – putting the whole of the brand before the individual. Each member of our small, but mighty crew has sacrificed for the team and refused to ring the bell. They should be very proud of what they have done so far and of what the future holds. I am incredibly honored to be a part of the crew. You may in fact have had the pleasure of interacting with a one or two of them and we hope those interactions have been memorable in the most positive way.
Without the dedication and hard work of our Vancouver and San Diego crews LALO wouldn’t be the unbreakable team it is.
We tried to run an actual “Hell Week” at LALO, but the Division of Labor and Standards of California shut us down…but I think we have found a crew that refuses to ring the bell, they fight the good fight and understand that it pays to be a winner. LALO wouldn't be where it is without them, and it certainly wouldn’t be anywhere without you. Speaking for all of us – we are very grateful for your support.
Until the next installment of 7 Days of Monday....
V/r,
Jay
About LALO Tactical:
LALO was founded to serve the needs of Special Forces Operators. LALO uses top tier materials to create some of the best and hardest working tactical boots and athletic footwear for those that rise to the toughest occasions. The LALO Shadow, the ultimate Special Forces tactical boot, features a unique patent including a drainage system, a composite forefoot plate, a fast-dry component and the lightest weight materials on the market. The LALO Athletic line is a direct result of briefings received from Special Forces Operators. The need was to build a lightweight, packable, breathable shoe they could cross train and run in – a shoe they could count on, whether training or deployed. LALO’s designs put an emphasis on noise reduction, support and game day performance; gear that hits the mark time after time. Whether your path leads you to a career in the military, competing in an adventure race, cross training, tackling an urban athletic workout, or running a 5K, LALO has the shoe for you. www.lalotactical.com
LALO TACTICAL is a privately held wholly by LALO LLC, a California LLC.