With GhostBlind, Not Seeing is Believing
Chet Burdette and Kevin Pottmeyer's "invisible blind" may revolutionize the hunting industry
Innovation comes in many forms. There are those who work in labs, creating compounds that didn’t exist before. Others build machines to perform tasks that were once done by hand. And still others, like Chet Burdette, co-founder of GhostBlind, use materials already at hand to invent revolutionary new devices. Burdette, a Vietnam Special Forces veteran and a lifelong hunting enthusiast, wanted a lightweight hunting blind that would ease transport, set-up and dismantling. Finding nothing fitting on the market, he built one himself.
With the help of his business partner and long-time friend, Kevin Pottmeyer, Burdette put together a prototype blind, using flexible reflective material on one side of four hinged-panels, and camouflage fabric on the other. When open, the mirrors on the blind reflect the natural environment and conceal the waiting hunter. The blind can be folded up at a moments’ notice, protecting the reflective material, and, at approximately twenty pounds, as easily carried as a light backpack.
Initially, Burdette and Kevin Pottmeyer did not intend to take their invention, which they dubbed “GhostBlind,” to market. For Burdette, the work put into the prototype represented a lifetime spent outdoors, both in the military and as a sportsman. And for Pottmeyer, who runs a successful small financial services consulting company and also assists a relative in his own burgeoning small business, the blind was an enthusiast’s hobby. While they were both eager to share it with friends and fellow hunters, it was two years after Burdette first conceived of the invention, with a hand mirror as inspiration, that he and Pottmeyer decided to bring the product to market.
“In September of 2008, Kevin suggested that we try making a business out of our prototype blind,” says Burdette. “At the time, we had a four-panel blind that was about a foot tall. Kevin’s grandson could fit behind it! So we started putting together larger versions of the blind and making contacts with members of the industry.”
GhostBlind’s industry debut came in early 2009 when Burdette and Pottmeyer attended the Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo in Columbus, Ohio. Of all of the products on display at the show, which was attended by close to 20,000 people, GhostBlind took home the award for “most innovative and most exciting product.”
“That was an important turning point for us,” Burdette explains. “We were able to show off our product to consumers, as well as representatives of major companies in the industry. Shortly after the expo we were able to finalize an agreement with RealTree to use their trademarked fabric on the back of the blind, which was key.”
Shortly thereafter, in April 2009, Mike Jacoby, Southeastern Ohio Port Authority Executive Director, whose office was then located in the same Marietta, Ohio building as GhostBlind, suggested to TechGROWTH Ohio that their business assistance could benefit a few early-stage companies with offices a few floors up from his. The TechGROWTH team took a look at what GhostBlind had to offer and recognized the company’s potential.
TechGROWTH offered Burdette and Pottmeyer business advisory services to help them with the ins and outs of building a small business from the imagining stage all the way through pre-seed funding.
Soon after such advisory services began, GhostBlind was able to secure TechGROWTH Ohio grants to cover marketing costs and intellectual property protection.
The natural next step, as GhostBlind began to grow and receive increased industry attention, was securing pre-seed investment and a manufacturer, but the Ghost Blind team, says Burdette, exercised caution.
“We knew that we had a great product on our hands, and envisioned it taking two to three years to get to market. When we began to receive help from TechGROWTH, we realized that our timeline could be much shorter, getting manufacturing going in under a year,” Burdette says. “It was important for us to be certain we were making the right moves, and TechGROWTH helped give us that confidence.”
Equipped with the information and reassurance they needed to precede, Burdette and Pottmeyer presented to the TechGROWTH Ohio pre-seed committee, securing an initial investment. Production began in August 2009 at Micro Machine Works, Inc. in Barlow, Ohio. The team at Micro Machine Works also proved helpful to GhostBlind, with engineers willing to make several adjustments to refine the blind into the product that will eventually go to market. In anticipation of the upcoming hunting season, GhostBlind is producing blinds in two sizes: the “Predator” model at 22 pounds, and the “Phantom” at just 12 pounds.
The possibilities for GhostBlind are not limited to the hunting industry. Recently, a team located at Fort Benning, Georgia, requested a small shipment of blinds for combat condition testing by a Sniper division.
Given Burdette’s background in the armed forces, the company is particularly excited to be exploring potential military applications and actively looking at ways to bulletproof the GhostBlind. Through TechGROWTH Ohio, talks will soon begin with a southeast Ohio-based start-up licensed to market a bulletproofing substance lighter and more flexible than Kevlar. Such technology may eventually be manufactured onto GhostBlind products that will be marketed to the military.
Other uses for the GhostBlind include wildlife photography and animal breeding and research, but for the moment Burdette and Pottmeyer are happy to continue supplying the hunting community that helped to inspire their product. Burdette believes the company is set to make a splash in the industry. “Our initial manufacturing order is for two-hundred and fifty blinds, which we’ll sell through direct sale. But with our new television commercial, industry magazine advertising, and person-to-person buzz, we’re confident demand will be big.”
That confidence is thanks, in part, to the work of the TechGROWTH Ohio staff in helping to shepherd GhostBlind from the imagination stage all the way through to pre-seed investment and manufacturing. Building on Burdette and Pottmeyer’s natural business acumen, TechGROWTH was able to assist in enhancing their entrepreneurial capacity with very positive result.
“We wanted to make something that our neighbors and friends could use in their everyday lives," Burdette says. "That TechGROWTH Ohio has helped take that invention to the next level, made our vision into something that can be enjoyed far beyond this region, is wonderful. We’re so glad they walked into our office that day in April.”