“Why you should always ask a child for their opinion to get honest and candid feedback” With Airhook founder, Craig Rabin
Always ask a child for their opinion. Let’s face it, if you have a bad product and ask a family member for feedback, more often then not they will say it’s great. It’s not a lie — it’s love. Instead, ask a child who doesn’t know any better. You’ll enjoy the honest and candid feedback!
I had the pleasure to get up close and personal with Airhook founder, Craig Rabin.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
From an early age I spent his time dreaming up inventions. These are now a source of inspiration as I make the sketches from my childhood a reality, thanks to 3D printing. My entrepreneurial spirit and passion started early and led me to start my first business when I was 16 years old. Since then, the I’ve moved from Chicago and have gone on to create eleven companies. It was during one of these business endeavors that I developed a love for traveling and started thinking about how I could improve the experience for others. I was no stranger to air travel, racking up more than 150,000 miles in the last few years, and was able to identify the basic human need for more space and convenience when flying. Thus, The Airhook was born in 2015 and my invention career begun! My team and I have brought a few other products to life too, including a second version of The Airhook scheduled for release this Spring (April/March)!
Can you share your story of Grit and Success? First can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?
Well… I didn’t start eleven companies because all the previous ones were winners! It was about chasing the dream of becoming my own boss. Admittedly, when I was young the idea of being a lucrative CEO was in play too.
Fast forward some 16 years later to when we were inventing The Airhook, our hard times were faced because we didn’t know what we were doing! I know that sounds strange, but for a first-time inventor, it came with A LOT of new experiences…
- First patent process
- First international business relations
- First import license and cargo transport
- First fulfillment center opening
Just to name a few! We screwed up and spent thousands along the way. There were times I didn’t know if this career was for me.
Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Others! It has always been a staple of mine to surround myself with those who can both celebrate the goods times, but also pick you up in the down times. This can be from business advice to just a simple laugh, teamwork makes the dream work!
So how did Grit lead to your eventual success? How did Grit turn things around?
Very similar to when I was a kid, I focused on the overall dream. I’d become what I had always wanted to be — an inventor. Yes, there were some negative money moves and a few weeks of eating Ramen Noodle! But the dream was there and it was the motivation I needed.
The team I turned things around by never giving up or losing hope in our solution for air travel. PLUS, always be honest with the customer. When we experienced delays or setbacks that influenced delivery, we let our customers know right away and included them in the creative process when we could.
So, how are things going today? :-)
Things are great! We’ve been going strong since shipping our first Airhook in 2016 and have reached every state in the U.S. and 72 countries around the world! The Airhook has been featured in over 100 publications and was the first product in history to win “Steve Harvey’s Funderdome” on ABC in June 2017. More recently, my entrepreneurial story and The Airhook were featured on American Dreams on HSN.
Will such great worldwide feedback we decided to go back to the design table! We always wanted to create a more versatile product that had the ability to be used in-and-out of an airplane. In May 2018 we launched The Airhook 2.0 on Kickstarter, which works is the car now too, and our 15K campaign goal was reached in 32 hours! The new version of The Airhook is scheduled for release this March and is crazy cool :D
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Before launching Kickstarter and introducing the world to our travel product, I had little faith strangers would buy it! When I told folks in-person they were often enamored, but I figured it was the way I told the story of its creation. So, I went out and had hundreds of notecard-sized handouts made that I gave to EVERYONE after I told The Airhook’s story. It basically was a summary of what I said and asked for their upcoming (this started ~4 months before launch) Kickstarter contribution.
It got to a point where it was a running a joke with my friends and they would ask strangers “hey, how often do you travel?” just loud enough so I could hear it — knowing I’d run over! And I did every time, giving the recipient my little handout card when finished. No doubt my inner circle has heard the elevator pitch a couple hundred times!
We launched and were funded on Kickstarter in a few days… I simply couldn’t believe it! It was a perfect learning lesson of never doubting yourself… but always having a good plan B too ;D
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We own the patent on using your inflight tray table as an anchor. After 3 years of work, we were issued our non-provisional utility patent for our creation. It gives us precedence in our industry, but also an ongoing mission to utilize our patent for the best travel convenience possible. Stay tuned!
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Funny question. Not sure I know what the phrase “burn out” really means just yet.
When I was in my 20’s and running one of my ventures I was working day and night. And I mean ALL day and night. I had an uncle-in-law that ran a gigantic printing business who had his own private jet and that whole deal. I only met him once, but when I did, I asked how he found work/life balance with something so overwhelming. His answer, “You’re young, what do you need sleep for? Bet your competition isn’t sleeping. Worry about the clock says when you’re older.”.
I guess it stuck with me. Ask me again in a few years!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Everyone around me has been a huge help! It’s hard to point out just one person through all these years of trying to be an entrepreneur. I’m grateful for others, their help, and their love. I live by the motto that it will always be harder to ask for help then it will ever be to give it.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As part of our goal to influence travel convenience, we donate a percentage of every sale to cancer research in memory of my mother, who lost her battle with cancer in January 2016.
Unfortunately, everyone seems to have a family member, friend, or colleague that has been affected by cancer. So, we made a team decision to donate a percentage of the proceeds from every Airhook sale to cancer research. We’ve done this from the sale of the very first Airhook and have been blessed to have raised thousands in donations over the last few years.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why?
Here are 5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company:
Friends make difficult colleagues
After so many companies after all these years, some have involved friends as either bosses or colleagues. It’s tricky. It’s hard to tell someone you care about their ideas don’t have merit… and yes, it’s hard to hear it too! We were so young and chasing a dream we didn’t think through it and it led to much much larger divides at time of turmoil. It brought added opinions and friendship alliances in the mix, doesn’t make for the best chill weekend.
Always ask a child for their opinion
Let’s face it, if you have a bad product and ask a family member for feedback, more often then not they will say it’s great. It’s not a lie — it’s love. Instead, ask a child who doesn’t know any better. You’ll enjoy the honest and candid feedback!
Students have the highest motivation-to-dollar conversion
The youth in my opinion is the most motivated of all employees because they have the most to gain. It’s no secret that graduating and finding your dream job are less likely then ever, but it takes years to even find what one wants to do! Graduating students, from College or High School [for those jumping into the workforce] have more to prove, more to gain, and actually don’t waste money like we adults do! Give em’ a chance.
Always have a plan B and C
Throughout my journey (and even this story) I’ve mentioned how often I’ve utilized my backup plan. They are key! The strange thing is that early on I always thought that meant, “ok I need a plan if I fail on my main plan?!? well guess what I won’t fail — so I don’t need one”. I was wrong! Not having backup plans, yes plural, for your key strategies gives you no options when things really do go awry and leads to overall failure. Crazy, right.
You must give back to get back
If your only goal is a paycheck, being an inventor might not be the right fit for you. Not that it’s not profitable, but your focus needs to be on innovation. The money will come with the right solution to a problem everyone has.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start 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’ve had the honor of speaking at a handful of schools around Washington about inventing and following one’s dreams. One thing I always leave the students with is what a college professor called The Notecard Challenge.
Once every day (or every week to start) write on a notecard one of the following:
- A good invention
- A good business idea
- How you’d make an existing invention or business better
And then throw it in a shoebox! At the of the year, if you can wait that long, go through it all! The neat thing is that having so many ideas literally at your fingertips, is that it give’s you a perspective of what you like/dislike and think is good/bad. From there, whittle down your ideas until you have a handful of keeps and see if it’s something you want to pursue. You’ll be amazed at what you came up with.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
The easier ways are Facebook (@TheAirhook) [https://www.facebook.com/TheAirhook/] and Twitter(@TheAirhook) [https://twitter.com/theairhook].
We’ve also made a conscious effort to be on Instagram more in 2019! Follow our story and launch of version 2.0 @TheAirhookFlys! [https://www.instagram.com/theairhookflys/]
