Together, entrepreneurs John Nottingham and John Spirk can tell what products you need
"John Nottingham and John Spirk still share an office, just as they did when they launched their industrial design firm out of a tiny carriage house in 1972. Today, they and the 70 employees of Nottingham–Spirk Design Associates operate out of a 57,000–square–foot renovated church in Cleveland where there's more than enough space for separate workrooms. But the two like working side by side.
“We've grown every year for the past 35 years,” says Nottingham. “By solving problems together,” Spirk chimes in, “and coming up with things that are better than what's already out there.”
The two–heads–are–better approach has helped Nottingham and Spirk build their business into one of the country's leading product invention and development groups. Together the two men hold 465 commercialized patents. And their ideas have also spawned a dozen Ohio–based start–up and spin–off companies. A new line of innovative yard and garden tools the pair conceived for GroWorks, a spin–off company they established in 2005, hits stores this spring.
GroWorks embodies Nottingham's and Spirk's entrepreneurial philosophy to a tee: find a need, invent products, test them with consumers, and then take them to the public. In this case, the pair recognized an increasing interest — especially among baby boomers — in gardening. They designed tools that addressed this demographic's desire for easy–to–use, ergonomically designed products, such as a water–powered outdoor broom. The line debuted at the 2006 National Hardware Show and was very well received.
“Instead of trying to convince an established company to take an interest, we're launching this ourselves,” Nottingham explains. “But our intention is not to keep GroWorks forever. Once it's successful, we'll offer it to a larger organization. This is what we call the ‘ship before we flip’ model.”
To provide seed capital for the development of their concepts, as well as ideas from outside, Nottingham and Spirk helped start Consumer Innovation Partners — a $20 million private equity investment firm — in 2002. But the old college chums, graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Art, still make time for their first entrepreneurial effort.
They find their inspiration on the shelves of major retail outlets. “We're trying to figure out what consumers will want two years down the road,” explains Spirk. “So we look for what's not there,” Nottingham adds.
Notable products born at Nottingham–Spirk Design Associates include the Crest SpinBrush, an inexpensive battery–powered toothbrush purchased by Procter & Gamble; and the bright red, plastic Dirt Devil, a vacuum with onboard tools that helped Royal Appliance go from just under $5 million in annual revenues to $428 million. But as the stakes get higher, the duo is still doing things their way.
As Spirk says, “It's still about John and me, sitting around having fun together.”
— Laura Taxel
