There’s an expression that families who adventure together, grow together. But what about families who venture together? Recently, my family and I embarked on a business venture together. Our goals: build something special, be brave, and go with the flow.
It all started one day when my younger daughter came in from the backyard with a scrape on her knee. She had a minor cut and needed a bandage. When I went to get a band-aid, she refused to wear it. She insisted “they hurt to take off” and she doesn’t want one. At that moment, two things became clear to me. One, there is a need for a children’s bandage that isn’t scary to peel off. And two, tough my daughter is not. I decided I would investigate the first point with my mechanical engineering hat on and leave the second point to be handled by the harsh realities of life. Ultimately, I came up with the idea of putting a temporary tattoo under one side of the bandage, where water can be used to transfer the tattoo while simultaneously softening the adhesive. This would make the bandage removal exciting instead of scary, and hopefully also less painful.
We decided as a family to give it a go. We formed a company, Antix LLC, out of our hometown of Clayton, CA, and filed patent applications for our invention. We called our product Brandage brand adhesive bandage and started ordering material and equipment. I was going to design, engineer and manufacture. My wife was going to promote and market. My younger daughter was going to manage our social media and test prototypes with her sixth-grade classmates. My older daughter, a freshman in high school, was going to be sweet and supportive but otherwise useless. We believed in the invention and felt good about our roles.
It’s been quite a journey since then. We’re now getting ready to sterilize and sell product, while building a company and defining a brand. The lessons learned so far are less about business – we still know very little about business. But when we made that decision as a family, when we chose the road less travelled, we experienced firsthand the power of choice and the freedom it affords. My girls understand now that choice can be found in almost anything, whether it’s choosing your attitude or choosing your friends, and so long as you’re willing to put action behind it, you have the power to drive your story and frame your experience.
Alas the story of our venture is still being written. But in the end, we choose not to define this venture by its successes or its sacrifices, whatever they may be. This is the venture where we came together, bet on each other, and learned how to live.
For more information on Antix LLC or Brandage brand adhesive bandages, please visit: www.antixbandages.com
Steven Friedman lives in Clayton Ca with his lovely wife Allison, and two beautiful daughters Charlie Rae and Silvi. He also has two cats and one dog. He doesn’t really like the cats or the dog. As a result, his wife had a Hawaiian shirt made with their faces on it. He wears it almost every day. Below is Steven in a prototype meeting at the kitchen table. You can see the dog on his shirt giving side eye.
