Mike Watts Lost $1.4M Which Lead Him to Work with Daymond John

In 2005, Mike Watts made his official escape from corporate America when he resigned from a very comfortable position in Public Relations with a large utility company to pursue a great product launch that would eventually make him a millionaire.

Already entrenched in 5 years of a side-hustling business with his wife and young children by his side as a weekend pitchman at garden shows and managing multiple mall kiosk locations, Mike knew a great product when he found it and went all-in to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Mike and family worked full-time to develop, package, brand, manufacture and market an amazing aftermarket Grass Trimmer Head they named the PivoTrim and grew that brand into the #1 selling product line in its category. By 2012 and with full market penetration and a plateau in growth, the Watts crew sold their enterprise for over $6 Million.

Since the successful first exit, Mike has founded two additional startups around products name RootAnchor and The LoveHandle, both of which have quickly grown to millions in sales and over 30 full-time employees. Mike’s passion today is to tell the story of his entrepreneurial journey in hopes of inspiring future generations of enterprising pioneers.

Even in some of the darkest entrepreneurial moments you can find opportunity. The important thing is to not focus on the negative for too long! To learn how to stay focused on the opportunities, read THIS BLOG POST!

Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode:

Michelle introduces Mike Watts.
Mike shares a brief introduction to who he is.
The biggest NO that Mike and his company ever heard came from Walmart. He shares what happened and how he overcame this NO.
Hearing NO from Walmart led to one of Mike’s biggest wins, which came from a pitchfest at Home Depot.
After launching their product at Home Depot, Mike and his team created a secondary product that they went back to and were able to launch at Walmart, so everyone was happy.
Losing Walmart meant that Mike lost $1.4M in revenue. His advice is to not put all of your eggs in one basket with one major customer like he did.
When the PivotTrim was just beginning to get into stores another entrepreneur came forward claiming that it was infringing on his patents.
Mike went through 6 months of sitting in limbo to see how the court would rule the patents. With the help of his father he was able to keep his head focused on the positive through the entire wait. Mike shares the end result and the full story in this episode.
“The biggest risk in life is not taking a risk.” ~ Mike Watts
Mike advises that you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
One of Mike’s other companies is called Love Handle, a handle grip for the back of your phone. Mike tried to get onto Shark Tank twice with this product and was passed over both times.
After being turned down, Mike noticed a purchase from “The Shark Group,” Daymond John’s company.
Mike reached out to the company, spoke to a woman there, built a relationship with her and kept sending free samples. Building this relationship was one of the best things that happened to Mike. Mike shares the full details in this episode!
When Love Handle first started, one of the biggest orders they received had to be turned down because of the industry that wanted to work with him. Mike shares the industry and how he handled it.
A company is not just about money. A company is about delivering value, according to Mike, and I 100% agree.
Mike shares what he would tell his younger self.