Making Something From Nothing: Dan Wolff Of TickEase On How To Go From Idea To Launch

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

I wish someone had told me how long it would take to reach my success goals. I started my company 7 years ago and while we are growing every year, my ultimate goal and valuation for my company have not been reached quite yet.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tick Man Dan Wolff.

Dan Wolff, or as he is known in the outdoor circuit, Tick Man Dan, is an avid outdoorsman, pet lover, and a devoted dad from Rockville, MD with a degree in business from Skidmore College. When he moved to the suburbs of Boston, he found the tick population was out of control and the act of preventing and removing them was a struggle with the products available to consumers. To combat this problem, he founded TickEase, Inc. and created an effective dual-purpose tweezer-like tick removal device. TickEase, Inc.’s mission is to provide safe and effective tools for removing and repelling ticks, facilitating tick testing, and educating the public about the prevention of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease. Dan spends a lot of his time speaking to groups at events to educate the public about ticks and proper removal. The TickEase tool, combined with Dan’s knowledge, has become incredibly useful and has become a Prevention Partner of the University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter Resource Center, often contributing to research efforts around the US. More information can be found at www.tickease.com

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I spent the first 13 years of my life living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. before moving to the Boston area with my family. My father worked for the government directing the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and my mother was a Registered Nurse. Back in the 1970s, we did not have cell phones or internet and I spent most of my time playing the drums or hanging around outside with the neighborhood kids. Bugs have always fascinated me, and perhaps I developed a scientific curiosity from my dad who ran huge medical research laboratories dedicated to solving many widespread infectious disease concerns affecting people on a global basis. In 1977, I moved to Wellesley Massachusetts and continued living a happy well-adjusted life. Fast forward to the early 1990s, I became interested in hiking, hunting, and fishing and began spending a lot of time in the woods west of Boston. I had heard about Lyme disease but had never thought too much about it until I started finding ticks on my clothing. In the beginning, they seemed few and far between, but in the mid-1990s, something happened, and there appeared to be an explosion of deer tick numbers in my area. It seemed that every trip into the woods resulted in being literally covered with ticks. After one afternoon with my Golden Retriever Champ, I remember pulling more than 250 ticks off him!! Lyme disease cases were climbing fast as well as other tick-borne illnesses and as a father of 2 boys and 2 dogs, my concern was rapidly increasing.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My late father used to tell me “Don’t let the dummies get you down.” He was raised in a poor section of Newark, NJ in the 40s and 50s and rose to become one of the most influential medical scientists of his time despite being told that he would never amount to anything. This was particularly relevant in my life whether I was overcoming obstacles or starting my own business. The main message I got from this advice was to stay focused, never give up and tune out those who would like to see you fail. Always move forward one step at a time.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

While in middle school, I read Homer’s Odyssey. This story chronicles one man’s journey home after the Trojan War. Faced with tremendous obstacles and danger, the main character pushes forward in the face of adversity and finally, in the end, triumphantly returns home. This story really has had a big impact on my life because it highlights the importance of persistence and even when things are tough; if you stay focused and never give up, you will succeed!

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?

I think people are not able to act on their ideas for a few reasons.

First of all, they may not have the best timing. It would be very difficult to take the steps necessary to bring a good idea to life if one is involved with supporting their family or themselves full time.

Creating a product takes a lot of time and resources. If an individual is lacking one or both of these, the odds of success are very low.

Another reason is mental state and mindset. I truly believe that obsession or passion is a necessary ingredient to being a successful entrepreneur. One needs to live and breathe their idea 24/7 to make it. Lastly, the support of those closest can make or break this process.

If little or no support (or even negative support) exists, success is doomed.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?

The process of researching existing ideas and patents has become much easier with the ability to do internet searches. I came up with the original design for my Tick Removal Device by searching the internet and looking at what currently existed and creating a better “mousetrap” by combining some attributes of the existing items. Once I had developed a prototype from tin foil in my basement, I was able to contact a patent attorney who was a friend and have him research the design and application. I was lucky enough to eventually get a design patent on my product. I would suggest creating and utilizing your network of friends, families, and colleagues to get things done with minimal cost.

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.

There are books on this subject and it is certainly a comprehensive, arduous and complicated process. It took me a long time to get my product designed, manufactured, and marketed to consumers. Here is an outline of my experience:

• Conception. Identify a problem and think of a product that solves it. Visualize and draw a design
• Create a prototype
• Conduct a patent search, and if warranted, apply for your patent
• Identify reputable sourcing agents or direct factory representatives
• Get a production sample and pricing.
• Do not forget to factor in the costs associated with freight, customs, duties, taxes, etc.
• Develop appropriate artwork and graphics for the packaging.
• Create a sales deck that contains all pertinent information and specifications about the item for marketing.
• Create an online store where customers can buy directly.
• List the item on Amazon.
• Begin contacting distributors and wholesalers and send samples and your sales deck.
• Never give up!

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?

1. I wish someone had told me how long it would take to reach my success goals. I started my company 7 years ago and while we are growing every year, my ultimate goal and valuation for my company have not been reached quite yet.
2. I wish someone told me that I would experience crazy events that would greatly impact my company. It’s hard to expect the unexpected. The pandemic and the political state of the US have made things a bit difficult. In 2020, I lost a customer with 1100 stores due to COVID. Oh, and let’s not forget a war that will complicate things on many levels.
3. I wish someone had told me to be careful of predatory groups targeting new entrepreneurs and inventors. I have engaged with groups that claim to help develop and/or market my items.

Unfortunately, many of them will take advantage and charge large fees and not deliver what they say.

4. I wish someone would have told me to have backup options for manufacturing. My products are currently being made in China. Recently imposed tariffs have risen from 4% to 29%. This is on top of increased freight and production costs.

5. I wish someone had told me not to try to do everything by myself.

Oftentimes, entrepreneurs bootstrap and handle all aspects of the business. There comes a point where this is just not feasible anymore. It is important to identify those areas of the business that can be handled by the CEO, and those areas that can be handled better by experts in that field. Let the team focus on the areas they know best and let the CEO do what he or she does best.

Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?

The first thing I would suggest is that they look for someone they can trust and who would be willing to be a mentor. Preferably, someone who has successfully been down this road.

Stay away from those groups who claim to provide everything an inventor needs. There are many groups and resources for the beginner. I used a group called SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) from the SBA. They will give you access to great mentors at no charge. In addition, there are many networking groups and local assistance centers that provide help for new inventors. The local Chamber of Commerce can help as well.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

If money is not a concern, these consultants may be a good idea.

Some may even help for future payments.

However, many of these consultants have developed a reputation for taking advantage of or stealing the IP of the client.

I would suggest finding a trusted mentor with experience as a first choice.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

I bootstrapped my company and laid it all on the line. However, I still own 100% equity. The inventor needs to evaluate what scenario works best for their situation. My goal is to retain as much equity as possible so that when I sell the company I will get the best return possible.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Absolutely! My products are designed to help people reduce the risk of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease. Tremendous suffering has occurred globally as a result of tick bites. My mission is to provide education, resources, and products to bring awareness and keep people and their companion animals safe.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I would like to see a movement that focuses on providing our children with the right tools to live happy, healthy, and productive lives. Perhaps the education in schools could be directed at real-life skills in our modern society. How to run a household, manage money, raise their own families, and be accepting, but not influence other people’s lives. Everyone has their own beliefs. Live and let live!

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to sit down with Elon Musk. Here is a man that stands up for what he believes, has created a company that is truly helping the world, and uses his vast resources to help those in need.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.