Since English is not my native language, I often ask AI to polish my texts, but this time I want you to see that this is me, so I didn’t.
Last time, in 2009, I did everything myself. All research, all designs, all manufacturing development, created the demand, all marketing, all sales, all negotiating, all planning, all hiring. This led to a 300% growth during four consecutive years, then my “rocket exploded”. I guided a well-established German customer, with 25 years in business, all the way to launch. They were supposed to make my business 10x bigger, but the same day their new catalog, with only my assortment, was scheduled to be printed in enormous volume, they discovered that they were pregnant, and canceled the whole project. I had adjusted everything to be ready to handle this enormous growth, which made my company go bankrupt. I play with open cards so all my suppliers, but one, told me not to worry since I would be back on my feet in months. That last one filed for my bankruptcy. This time I don’t want to do everything myself.
Elon Musk is a “never give up” kind of guy, and I’m a “never give up, but if you have given up, still don’t give up, adjust your objectives and increase your effort” kind of guy.
I made sure none of my good suppliers came to a loss. I bought all the machinery through my American company and moved everything, including myself, to the Czech Republic. We survived, I kept my biggest US customer (still got him), but I lost momentum, and I did lose my wife, and my Swedish farm.
I took on a “side hustle” by becoming one of the world’s most successful equine hoof rehabilitators. I debunked “coffin bone rotation” and learned to rehabilitate most hoof conditions (www.EquineHooves.com), and I developed SlowFeeding 2.0 Feeding-Freedom, and here I am.
I have 5 new product designs in the pipeline. Two are in small volume production in the Czech Republic, one is in real-life prototype testing but needs a rotation molder for efficient scaling, one is tested but needs a design modification to be optimized, and one is on the drawing board. I also want to move the production for my existing US customer to the USA.
There was no SlowFeeding market when I started in 2008, but today the whole horse world knows about it, and SlowFeeding 2.0 is far superior to everything else on the market. I expect the growth to be both faster and bigger. I believe the main issue will be to scale production fast enough to keep up with an increasing international demand and to leave the competition behind.
I can see a couple of possible scenarios for the SlowFeeding 2.0 project, but I believe a joint venture with someone like Tractor Supply Company would be the best, even though not create the largest market penetration since they are “only” domestic and the international market is enormous (20 million horses being fed hay). One of my designs is already sold through 451 small North American retailers.
I’m also trying to wake up an Irish rotation molder that is very international and would be fantastic for SlowFeeding internationally BUT even though my project would be very profitable for both TSC and JFC-Agri, and both have connected with me on LinkedIn (4 managers from TSC and 2 from JFC), none of them seems to be interested in discussing business, but I believe its a “domino”, when one piece falls into place all the others will follow.
Why relocate to the USA?
I’m no stranger to the USA. I’ve got a high school diploma from Eastern High School, Lansing, Michigan, dated 1978. Since then, I’ve spent approximately 5 years in the US, managed my own Nevada corporation for 8 years, done 4 continental lecturing tours, and been to 27 states.
Since I want to reach as many horse owners as possible to help as many horses as possible to a better life, I need to be close to a big market, and the biggest and easiest market is the US market. The European market is hopeless. It’s so shattered and complicated.
The reason Texas is at the top of my list is a matter of climate: business, political, and weather.
What I want to do.
I want to create the perfect complement to High-Tech factories.
An artisanal factory producing equine hay feeders that:
- Cures EGUS (Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome), something 60% of all domestic horses suffer from due to traditional feeding routines.
- Creates free time for modern horse owners by revolutionizing the feeding routines for their horses through removing all needs for multiple daily feedings, shortening the time each feeding takes, and removing all fixed feeding schedules that today often collide with other social activities.
- Creates meaningful low-tech manufacturing jobs for No-tech “Family Managers” that want a professional life that works together with managing their families. Each worker will be a part of the whole manufacturing process, from spreading and checking the raw material, 140 feet long stripe cutting done walking, cutting pieces at a 9-foot-wide cutting table, to sewing the whole product. This creates both variation and a feeling of owning the whole process, instead of pushing a button, waiting for the machine to go boom on a detail you don’t even know what it’s supposed to do. Creating a complete SlowFeeding Optimal is something to be proud of. When friends come bragging about the new fantastic hay feeder they love so much, they can say “I’m making them” with pride in their voice. That is what creates local status.
If Tractor Supply were to sell one unit/week/store of the SlowFeeding Optimal, the factory would need 100+ employees in production working 5-hour shifts (8 AM-1 PM or 1 PM-6 PM).
My “Feeding-Freedom” project is more than business to me. It’s a calling, a chance to do something good for horses, for horse owners, and for society.
It is important to me that SlowFeeding finds the traction it deserves, and for the horse’s sake I want SlowFeeding to evolve even after I’m gone. This means that I don’t want to start a business that depends too much on me. I want to be a part of the project, not necessarily be the project.
If you haven’t asked your favorite AI about my personality type, INFJ, please do. Grok said that it is the only one worse than Elon’s.