When you launch a new product into the world you have mixed emotions.  You have confidence in your vision, you are excited to show the industry what you have built, but it’s matched with a nagging doubt – will they really like it?  Even though we built SignPilot with the guidance of some of the best minds in the Sign Industry and the reviews from beta testing were great, you always have healthy skepticism in your mind.  Recently I hit the road to Nashville , The Music City, to launch SignPilot and get one-on-one with our customers and put SignPilot to the test.

Nashville was a great success for SignPilot.  The sign industry loved the idea of a full service, end-to—end site survey solution.  I got excited every time I heard, ”So, What is SignPilot?”  Here was my elevator pitch to that question:  SignPilot is a site survey management solution.  Spike has been in your toolkit for ten years.  In that time one of the biggest lessons that we have learned from the sign industry is how much you do not like doing site surveys.  For sign shops, site surveys are hard to manage, there is not a consistent process, results are inconsistent, information is missed, and you spend hours compiling reports.  We knew with our experience we can solve that problem, so we did.  Would you like a demo?”  That’s all I did for 6-hours each day for two days and I could not have been happier.  It’s a joy to see a problem, fix it and know you are helping people.  Over those two days, we sold a record number of SignPilot subscriptions.

Why the title of “Road Rash” in this post?  Being on the road is always an adventure, anything can happen and when it does you have to roll with it and take the cuts and scrapes it gives you.  You deal with it and move on.  This trip was no exception.  Unloading the booth, it was obvious that somehow water had gotten into the booth case.  The only water damage….to 250 freshly printed SignPilot brochures.  “Lucky, but not lucky.” I thought to myself.  “Maybe I can save them.  Fast forward to a General Manager in a hotel room, peeling apart wet brochures and drying them with a hair dryer, flattening them with an iron.  I was able to save just enough for the 2-day show.  Success!  “I’m good! Relax.  You deserve some ice cream.”  So, I did.

Day 1 of the show:  Ready to rock!  Demos are ready.  Displays are ready.  Freshly ironed brochures are ready.  Wait…."What’s wrong with the monitor?  Was it like that yesterday? “ It is clear that all is not well with the monitor.  The top left corner is black and the lower half has fuzzy lines running across it.  Do I buy another monitor?  It’s a 2-day show.  Not worth the time and effort.  It will arrive the last half of day 2 of the show.  It looks weird, but it works.  Let it ride – maybe no one notices.

The show kicks off.  It’s busy at the booth.  No one brings up the weird looking monitor and people love SignPilot.  Lots of interest in SignPilot and most importantly sign shops are buying subscriptions.  It’s a good day.  I deserve ice cream, so I get ice cream. After dinner of course.

Day 2 of the show:

My pants are feeling a little tight.  Perhaps it’s the ice cream.  A few folks notice the broken screen, but it doesn’t seem to bother their interest in SignPilot.  A bunch of folks come by after their visit on the first day and come by with other sign shops to talk about SignPilot.  It’s non-stop demos and most importantly shops are buying subscriptions to SignPilot.  It’s a record day for SignPilot sales!  I deserve more ice cream.  So, after the show hours are done, I get ice cream.

As the show wrapped up, I couldn’t help but reflect on the whirlwind of emotions and events over the past few days. From soggy brochures, a broken monitor to record-breaking sales and the validation of a product we poured our hearts into.  Launching a new product ion the road is never just about the sales or the sleek demos—it's about the stories you collect along the way, the challenges you overcome, and the small victories that taste even sweeter because of the road rash you earned. And yes, maybe a little bit in the ice cream too. Here’s to the next adventure on the road, whatever it may bring.