November 22, 2004
Silent Technology CEO Encourages Students to Invent Their Future
by Niti Dalal
“If you have an idea, you can make it happen,” asserted Erik McMillan, the founder and chief executive officer of Silent Technology LLC and a 2003 graduate of management information systems at McCombs.
Upon graduation, McMillan took his MIS class project and created The Silent TimerTM, a tool that can be used when taking standardized tests such as the SAT and GRE. Over the past year, he has seen sales increase by more than 600 percent. Now McMillan is working on contracts with Barnes & Noble, Border Books, Kaplan, The Princeton Review and other test preparation companies around the country and world.
Famous inventions of the past, McMillan said, have been a result of two main phenomena: as a solution to an emerging problem or as a pure accident. The Silent TimerTM was a combination of the two. As an undergraduate, McMillan decided to take the GMAT and LSAT. Upon enrolling in Kaplan Test Prep, instructors told the students to buy a timer that did not beep. McMillan quickly ran into a problem.
“Nowhere was there a silent timer,” he said. “I needed this timer, and there was nothing to use!”
McMillan visited Wal-Mart, Target, RadioShack, Circuit City and other stores without luck. He finally re-visited RadioShack, where employees suggested that he buy a timer and cut the sound mechanism. After discussing the situation with his friends, McMillan discovered that teachers at The Princeton Review, a test preparatory company, actually devoted class time to help students deactivate the sounds on their timers.
“I thought to myself, ‘What if I buy these timers from RadioShack, cut the wires and re-sell them to test takers for a profit?’” McMillan said. While he dismissed the idea for a moment, he eventually came back to it and realized its business value. What if he were to sell timers designed specifically for standardized tests?
Once McMillan decided that the timer would be a smart business investment, a number of questions and obstacles arose for the young entrepreneur. McMillan discussed the challenges he faced in creating his invention at the VIP Distinguished Speaker Series on Nov. 11.
First, McMillan knew that he would have to find a manufacturer for the timers. Realizing that his limited capital would require a relatively cheap manufacturer, McMillan’s thoughts immediately went to China. So how was he supposed to find a Chinese manufacturer without leaving the states?
“I Googled it!” McMillan said.
Through e-mail and instant messenger, McMillan finally signed a non-disclosure agreement with a manufacturer in China. This, however, just led to a number of other challenges.
McMillan quickly realized that he was going to need a lot of money to finance his business. Determined to be successful, he maxed out his credit cards to pay off his college loans and car bills and used cash for production.
He was still $50,000 short. Drawing upon the skills he learned at McCombs, McMillan created a business plan and raised the rest of the money from angel investors.
His next challenge was to patent the new product. This time, McMillan turned to the Yellow Pages to find a lawyer.
“When you come up with a new idea, get a provisional patent, which only costs $80 and gives you one year to file a real application. When you fill out the application, you want to make it as broad as possible.
“The first time you get your patent back, if you did a good job, it will be rejected. Counterintuitive, right? The first time, it should get rejected because it should be broad. From there, you can start narrowing the patent down until you get it approved. This way, you will cover all your bases,” he said.
As he continued with the production process, McMillan realized the importance of continually re-evaluating business plans. Originally, he planned to sell his timers directly to Kaplan and Princeton, but the companies wanted him to test the success of the product in the markets first.
After going through a number of prototypes, McMillan came close to creating the final version of the product. Searching for a vendor, he finally received a go-ahead from the Barnes & Noble on the edge of campus to sell the timers as a trial at the store. McMillan and a couple of associates spent the next few days making packaging materials for the timers. In two days, they were able to produce 15 boxes.
“We gave the 15 timers to Barnes & Noble, and they called soon afterwards to tell us they had sold out and that they wanted more,” McMillan said. Thinking about the time it took to create just 15 packages, McMillan responded, “‘Well, you’re going to have to wait a couple of days.’”
When looking back at the hurdles he overcame, McMillan realized the importance of what he calls the number one rule: Never give up no matter what.
On advice to students:
“Go slow and work at a steady pace. I was lucky that the first batch of timers was smaller than it was supposed to be. It actually probably saved my company. I was able to notice a few defects in the timers and fixed the problems.”
“Surround yourself with people smarter than you are. Get advice and bounce your ideas off of others.”
“Always believe in yourself. Nine out of 10 things don’t work. But that means one thing will eventually work. Think Donald Trump. Although he was down $9.6 billion at one point, he is back on top now.”
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