Original Promotional Product was too Pricey
As mentioned in my Founder Video on the home page, Fodeez® Reusable Adhesive Frames derived from a personal need. Yes, I was highly disappointed that my new refrigerator couldn't hold magnets, which prevented me from displaying my kids' artwork, photos and chore charts.
The real idea, though, was sparked by high school students just as Facebook and Instagram were starting to grow. At that time, my business (Fodeo) sold promotional items to corporations, non-profits, pro teams, etc. Our product was called a Fodeo - and the concept was made obsolete when iPhones hit the market.
Back in 2010, a promotional distributor that was working with Honda called our office. Honda wanted 25,000 promotional gifts to be handed out to graduating high school students at Disneyland during their Grad Night Festivities. Honda's price point was $3. I didn't have anything I could sell at that price, which meant we would again miss out on a $75,000 sale.
I called my husband and told him I wouldn't be home for dinner. Then I called friends that had high school-age students and asked if they could stop by my conference room that night for pizza and soda. For 2 hours, I picked their brains.
What could I make that they would want?
On my whiteboard, I made a list of what was important to young people. Then we brain stormed what could be created to fill a need they all seemed to have .... decorate the outside of their laptop computers with photos.
I hadn't realized that Facebook and Instagram were mostly about photos. While the students were happy to share their photos online, they wanted a simple, cost effective way to personalize their school laptops with photos of the people and pets that mattered to them.
That evening started a search for the perfect materials to create something we believed would have a high demand. At first, I looked at some type of a cling material ... my laptop is the backbone of my business. The thought of messy adhesive attached to the top of my laptop didn't thrill me in the least.
But after several months of research, I realized the cling idea wasn't feasible and that a light adhesive would be our best option. I like to joke that if there's a time when you can't sleep, call me and I'll tell you what I've learned about adhesives. It really is that boring and that detailed.
Our first prototypes had a 5x7 image area with a 1.5" border for lots of marketing space. Watch this space for more of our company history blogs to be released in the future.
