Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Today under the “Our Heroes” we are talking to Tony DuPont, a manufacturing engineer turned highly-successful entrepreneur and founder of Power Cordz. After getting laid off and realizing he was out of work and out of cash, Tony began to spend more of his time designing synthetic control cables and finding his inner-entrepreneur.  Today, when he reflects on his business, he feels alive and well and that 2010 will be a pinnacle year for Power Cordz! Let’s hear more about what Tony has to say…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

TD: I was working for a company that had 1200 employees when I started. When I was laid off there was less than 200. The company built surface preparation tools which were used to make (computer) memory chips. At the time I was let go I was the lead manufacturing engineer.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you want to be an entrepreneur & why?

TD: I have always felt I would do something like this when I was growing up. So… I guess I was born with the desire be a entrepreneur– I just needed to be pushed into taking the plunge. I was laid off and out of a paying job. I was out of work and out of money but I had been working in the evenings for years on transmission and synthetic control cable designs. I kind of became a now-or-never moment.   I decided to go all-in. I was going to do it no matter what.

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail?  How did you prepare yourself for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

TD: I put together a business plan and raised $22,500 from friends and family. Then… we got lucky. Orders for Power Cordz started coming in. We started production and started selling products.  Distributers from Europe started approaching me and I made my first international sale in 2005. I joined an entrepreneurial support group in Boise called Kickstand and read books but, mostly, I learned as I went. I remember before I started this adventure I heard a tape from Carolyn Myss that talked about taking “the big leap of faith.” Being part native American, when I took the big leap of faith, I did what Carolyn says to do and asked the great sprits (God) to put in my path the right people and opportunities. So far, it seems that my prayers were answered.

DD: What are your top five tips for employees who want to be entrepreneurs but are hung up on something?

TD: 1. Make sure the idea is truly as good as you believe it is. We all have a natural bias that leads us to overly believe in the potential of our own ideas. Feel things out with others– preferably experts in the field you are entering– before you invest too much time or money. 2. Learn to recognize opportunities when they come your way– they happen all the time. 3. Believe in yourself. It is easier to push through and do what is needed when you have faith in yourself. 4. Don’t be in a rush to make a bad deal: not every investor is a good investor.  Move at the correct pace for your new company. You should continually move forward but, it is okay to move slower than investors want if that is what will make your company stronger. 5. Be honest with yourself and your investors. Starting a new business carries high risks and chances are high that you will lose everything. Prepare everyone and yourself for the risks and try to remain realistic.

DD: How are you now? Are you still in same business, and how do you feel?

TD: Business is good. I feel 2010 will be a pinnacle year for us. I feel alive and I feel what we are doing we will be successful. I am not as scared anymore as we plow forward. We are learning to act and react to maximize our personal and business successes. After five years in business our Power Cordz™ synthetic brake and derailleur cables for bicycles are being sold worldwide. Now we are getting ready to launch a second product that I think will really push us to next level. We have a continuously variable transmission we’re calling “Infinity Drive™” that just entered prototyping after being proven in computer models. Overall, my feeling about things is this: It was easy to take the leap. It’s been harder to keep swimming. But, I figure, as long as I am still swimming, I am not going to drown.

DD: That was Tony DuPont, founder of Power Cordz who made it big after deciding to go all in with his business plan and make his dreams come true. Tony says “believe in yourself. It is easier to push through and do what is needed when you have faith in yourself”. I hope that motivates those of you who need that final nudge to put your visions into practice….once you find that inner confidence I think you’ll see that there is no obstacle large enough to curb your goals.

Success to all!!