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S6, Ep 26: Scott Wilday of Lid Rig
Episode 268th March 2024 • The Articulate Fly • The Articulate Fly
00:00:00 00:43:45

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Embark on a magnetic journey with host Marvin Cash as he welcomes Scott Wilday of Lid Rig to The Articulate Fly. Scott reels us in with the origin story of Lid Rig, sparked by a lakeside epiphany and a penchant for Coors Light. Discover how a bachelor party and a magnetic golf ball marker led to the innovation of Lid Rig's flagship product, the magnetic nipper, and how Scott's transition from healthcare tech to tangible fishing tools is changing the angling game.

As they delve into the challenges of startup life and the thrill of product development, Scott unveils the unique features of Lid Rig's nippers, from their opposing magnets to the integrated bottle opener and hook sharpener. He also gives us a sneak peek into the exciting world of Lid Rig's expanding universe, including the slap bracelet-inspired Mag Band, the versatile Stash Tray and the innovative modular fly boxes that are taking the fishing community by storm.

Listeners will be hooked by Scott's candid reflections on building a brand, the power of community and the magnetic philosophy that binds the Lid Rig product suite. With a tease of the upcoming Lid Rig 3.0 and an invitation to join the brand's vibrant social media following, this episode is a treasure trove for anglers eager to streamline their gear and embrace the magnetic revolution.

So, ready your fly vests and open your minds to the possibilities of a less-is-more approach. Follow the magnetic pull to Lid Rig's social media and website and, as always, tight lines!

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Helpful Episode Chapters

0:00:00 Introduction

0:02:09 Scott's Fishing Journey

0:06:30 The Genesis of Lid Rig

0:09:04 Scott's Inventor Background

0:11:12 Scott's Unique Nipper Design

0:25:50 Lid Rig's Growing Community

0:27:21 Design Philosophy at Lid Rig

0:35:15 Future Vision for Lid Rig

0:40:52 Generosity in the Fly Fishing Community

Transcripts

Speaker:

Intro: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly.

Speaker:

Intro: On this episode, I'm joined by Scott Wilday of LidRig.

Speaker:

Intro: Scott shares his LidRig story, a deep affinity for Coors Light,

Speaker:

Intro: and some cool new products.

Speaker:

Intro: I think you're really going to enjoy this one. But before we get to the interview,

Speaker:

Intro: just a couple of housekeeping items.

Speaker:

Intro: If you like the podcast, please tell a friend, and please subscribe and leave

Speaker:

Intro: us a rating review in the podcatcher of your choice. It really helps us out.

Speaker:

Intro: And don't forget to check out our Patreon community. It's a great way to support

Speaker:

Intro: the show and our partners.

Speaker:

Intro: We have everything from discounts on tying materials and guide trips to small group classes.

Speaker:

Intro: And a quick public service announcement. If you'll be in East Tennessee this

Speaker:

Intro: weekend on March 9th, I want to give you a heads up about the Tailwater Roundup.

Speaker:

Intro: It's a cleanup event on the South Holston and the Watauga from from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Speaker:

Intro: If you want to help on the South Holston, meet at the Bluff City Boat Ramp.

Speaker:

Intro: And if you want to help on the Watauga, meet at the Ingalls and Elizabethton.

Speaker:

Intro: There will be an after-cleanup celebration at the Watauga River Lodge.

Speaker:

Intro: If you have any questions, reach out to at Flying Soho on Instagram.

Speaker:

Intro: And now, a shout-out to this episode's sponsor. This episode's brought to you

Speaker:

Intro: by our friends at Artisan Angler.

Speaker:

Intro: If you're looking for a better way to organize your flies, tippet,

Speaker:

Intro: and tools, you should check out the Flytrap at artisananglerllc.com.

Speaker:

Intro: I've dropped a link in the show notes. They sell direct through Amazon,

Speaker:

Intro: so you get prime shipping and free returns.

Speaker:

Intro: It doesn't get any easier than that. Make your time on the water more productive

Speaker:

Intro: and check out the Flytrap today.

Speaker:

Intro: Now, on to our interview.

Speaker:

Marvin: Well, Scott, welcome to the Articulate Fly.

Speaker:

Scott: Hey, thanks for having me, Marvin.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, I've been looking forward to it, and I appreciate your flexibility on

Speaker:

Marvin: the reschedule. I think you understand

Speaker:

Marvin: sometimes they're just kid logistic issues you have to deal with.

Speaker:

Scott: Hey, anything for you, Marvin, you know?

Speaker:

Marvin: I appreciate that. So we have a tradition on the Articulate Fly.

Speaker:

Marvin: We like to ask all of our guests to share their earliest fishing memory.

Speaker:

Scott: Earliest fishing memory well uh

Speaker:

Scott: you know son i i mean i grew up on a

Speaker:

Scott: lake out here i live in denver uh littleton

Speaker:

Scott: but um so i grew up fishing for

Speaker:

Scott: bass pike catfish that kind of thing um and

Speaker:

Scott: i'm the oldest i've got two brothers so we

Speaker:

Scott: were out there every just about every

Speaker:

Scott: day in the summer and uh there was

Speaker:

Scott: this bass we called it we called it the one-eyed bass

Speaker:

Scott: and i'm pretty sure i we've

Speaker:

Scott: caught between me and my brother we probably caught this thing at

Speaker:

Scott: least 100 times every summer and uh

Speaker:

Scott: it just lived under this bridge and uh

Speaker:

Scott: yeah it just had the one eye and and that's

Speaker:

Scott: just how we spent our summers so and you

Speaker:

Scott: know that was coming from an early age and didn't really

Speaker:

Scott: get into fly fishing until later in life um i've probably been heavy until probably

Speaker:

Scott: six or seven years now so um but yes i'll i'll do it all i'm an equal opportunity

Speaker:

Scott: uh angler so been fishing is is okay in my book yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: Well there you go so what was the impetus for you to come to the dark side of fly fishing.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. So, you know, man, where to start?

Speaker:

Scott: You know, my background, I guess, is, you know, sales and I started a health care tech company and,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, it's just a grind and health care tech is not very fun.

Speaker:

Scott: I'll put it that way and and it's

Speaker:

Scott: software so it's it's not a tangible physical

Speaker:

Scott: product but um you know learned a lot after you know selling that it was just

Speaker:

Scott: thinking you know what do I want to do next what can I be passionate about and

Speaker:

Scott: um that was about the time my uh my brother had been and just dragging me along, sly fishing.

Speaker:

Scott: I actually hated sly fishing starting out.

Speaker:

Scott: And I just didn't get it. Mainly because I stunk at it.

Speaker:

Scott: So, you know, getting stuck and tangled and it just, yeah, it didn't resonate with me.

Speaker:

Scott: But I equate it to golf, right? It just takes one good fish,

Speaker:

Scott: one good golf shot, then you're a golfer.

Speaker:

Scott: It's your life, right? So it was a shame. Same for me, one big brown trout.

Speaker:

Scott: And uh the rest is history.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah well i would say i never had the golf shot so i never never got,

Speaker:

Marvin: don't save yourself save some money yeah so uh my my junior clubs are in the

Speaker:

Marvin: garage and i probably haven't touched a golf club in 35 years so yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Good for you yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah so so you you got serious curious about fly fishing six or so years ago?

Speaker:

Marvin: Are there some kind of fly fishing mentors that kind of stick out in your mind?

Speaker:

Marvin: And, you know, if so, what did they teach you?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, so mainly my brother, who he's the true angler in the family, I would say.

Speaker:

Scott: He had the most passion for it, and he just kind of got one of those contagious

Speaker:

Scott: personalities and rubbed off on me.

Speaker:

Scott: But, you know, through him, I learned pretty much everything I needed to know

Speaker:

Scott: and the basics, you know, as far as knots and depths and that kind of thing.

Speaker:

Scott: And then, you know, littering, it's been a whirlwind, but fun.

Speaker:

Scott: But I've been traveling all over the place, fishing, you know,

Speaker:

Scott: down in Belize and Mexico, Louisiana, up north.

Speaker:

Scott: So a little bit of everything. And so it's an interesting question,

Speaker:

Scott: but everywhere fish is different. Everybody fish is different.

Speaker:

Scott: And I think that's kind of reflected in what I'm trying to do with LidRig and the products.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's a long answer for simple questions. I apologize.

Speaker:

Marvin: No, no, no, it's all good. And I mean, talking about LidRig,

Speaker:

Marvin: I mean, tell us a little bit about, you know, the story behind kind of the genesis of the company.

Speaker:

Scott: You want the real one? Yeah, I'll take the real one and the fake one.

Speaker:

Marvin: You can do it all.

Speaker:

Scott: Well, speaking of golf, we were at my youngest brother's bachelor party.

Speaker:

Scott: We did it up in the mountains. It was like a weekend deal.

Speaker:

Scott: It was a little gift. He got us golf ball markers.

Speaker:

Scott: It's a magnetic clip you wear on your hat. It was customized and all that.

Speaker:

Scott: Um next day we went fishing and as

Speaker:

Scott: i mentioned i'm horrible at fishing so i was

Speaker:

Scott: stuck in the tree couldn't reach my brand new expensive nippers uh as i'm dangling

Speaker:

Scott: out of the tree so i ended up using my golf ball marker to uh get my fly back

Speaker:

Scott: so then you throw six cores lights in there and uh,

Speaker:

Scott: And I've got a company with multiple products.

Speaker:

Marvin: So it was a drunk fishing, climbing experience, is what you're saying.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. Yeah. I owe a lot to Coors Light, I think.

Speaker:

Marvin: Oh, well, yeah. I was going to say you owe a lot to some IPA,

Speaker:

Marvin: but we'll just stick with the Coors Light.

Speaker:

Scott: I'm not a big IPA guy. Don't judge

Speaker:

Scott: me. But, you know, and if I'm being honest, I'm more of a scotch guy.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, I was going to say. Yeah, my recollection was you were drinking bourbon in Edison.

Speaker:

Scott: It was a good memory.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: I'm sure I was totally coherent, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: 100%. Yeah, good. And so you've got kind of the bachelor party genesis,

Speaker:

Marvin: but, you know, how much did your kind of prior professional non-fishing life

Speaker:

Marvin: kind of feed into the LIDREG idea? Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Oh man. So yeah, I've always kind of had the inventor's bug, I guess you could say.

Speaker:

Scott: So I should, I remember back to like third grade invention convention,

Speaker:

Scott: uh, creating these things, swarps, I call them.

Speaker:

Scott: It's like sweats that turn into shorts.

Speaker:

Scott: Um, you know, I made these, these gloves for surfers being in Colorado makes sense. Right.

Speaker:

Scott: But it was like webbing in between your fingers.

Speaker:

Scott: Fingers as a glove so you could paddle better and

Speaker:

Scott: you know later on in life I just

Speaker:

Scott: kind of carried on to the healthcare tech

Speaker:

Scott: side I've been involved with startup companies and then

Speaker:

Scott: broke off did my own and um just

Speaker:

Scott: kind of making the process better between and

Speaker:

Scott: the communication better between physicians and patients

Speaker:

Scott: to so it's kind of 3D body parts that Docs

Speaker:

Scott: could interact with and explain what the heck's going on and uh so yeah i i

Speaker:

Scott: just it's in my blood i guess to uh kind of see a problem and try to come up

Speaker:

Scott: with a solution but one thing to have an idea a whole nother beast to uh,

Speaker:

Scott: make it a reality and and bring it bring it to market so yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: 100 and so but you know why did Did you not just go start another tech company

Speaker:

Marvin: after you sold the last one?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, so tech is, I think I wanted to take a stab at something tangible,

Speaker:

Scott: like a physical product.

Speaker:

Scott: So in the tech game, that gets lost, right?

Speaker:

Scott: So you're selling, in the healthcare tech situation, I was selling to hospital

Speaker:

Scott: systems. And, you know, it was a long sales cycle.

Speaker:

Scott: Once you sell it, you got to come in and implement it.

Speaker:

Scott: You know, there was just a lot more to it.

Speaker:

Scott: And I don't know,

Speaker:

Scott: I think just on a personal level, it was, you know, what can I,

Speaker:

Scott: and at the time I was going through some pretty heavy stuff on a personal level as well.

Speaker:

Scott: So, you know, I think I wanted the cell grind itself.

Speaker:

Scott: I was kind of over that and I'm just looking for something I could really enjoy

Speaker:

Scott: doing and be passionate about.

Speaker:

Scott: So, yeah, fly fishing fit the bill.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, there you go. And so, you know, your magnetic nippers are your flagship

Speaker:

Marvin: product. you know, what opportunity did you see kind of in Nippers and kind

Speaker:

Marvin: of what was the problem that kind of your entrepreneur and vendor eyes saw that needed to be solved?

Speaker:

Scott: So I probably have a unique take on fly fishing, just being newer to the sport,

Speaker:

Scott: if you want to call it a sport.

Speaker:

Scott: But, you know, I just didn't understand why guys were carrying so much gear.

Speaker:

Scott: And that really stuck out to me. and

Speaker:

Scott: then uh you know as i progressed and nippers

Speaker:

Scott: kind of grow with your fishing game it seems

Speaker:

Scott: like right you start out with the the fingernail clippers

Speaker:

Scott: and and you know shoot i've

Speaker:

Scott: seen some lid rig knockoffs being sold

Speaker:

Scott: for for like 200 to 400

Speaker:

Scott: bucks so um that that

Speaker:

Scott: was jaw-dropping to me um that people

Speaker:

Scott: would spend that amount of money on such a

Speaker:

Scott: small simple tool so when i

Speaker:

Scott: kind of dug in on it from a

Speaker:

Scott: business perspective you know there

Speaker:

Scott: was only a handful of players and and um

Speaker:

Scott: yeah i just felt like i could

Speaker:

Scott: i could make a play and went out

Speaker:

Scott: and made some prototypes to uh to experiment with

Speaker:

Scott: so and i think i had what was

Speaker:

Scott: it 50 prototypes made and the

Speaker:

Scott: first two shops i walked into bottom all so at at that point i kind of figured

Speaker:

Scott: uh i might be on to something here and and those were horrible i mean they were

Speaker:

Scott: they had springs and ball bearings and uh i mean I mean,

Speaker:

Scott: they were ugly and I mean, it was pretty rough.

Speaker:

Scott: But the fact that I could sell my prototypes told me what I needed to know.

Speaker:

Scott: And, um, you know, from, from that version to what it is today is,

Speaker:

Scott: is basically a whole new product and in a good way.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. And I guess you got a little bit of a design refresh relatively recently, right? Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. Um, so lid rigs probably three years, maybe three and a half years now, uh, I've been at it.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's grown relatively quickly. Um, and that's just how I tend to work is,

Speaker:

Scott: is quick, but, uh, with intention.

Speaker:

Scott: So the lid rig itself, um, you know, out now is version 2.0.

Speaker:

Scott: Uh, in reality, It's probably like version 27, you know, with all the modifications that I made.

Speaker:

Scott: And I'm pretty pumped. I just signed off on the LidRig 3.0 design,

Speaker:

Scott: which I think is going to be the end-all be-all as far as nippers go.

Speaker:

Scott: I'm pretty excited about it.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, the one ring to rule them all?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, hopefully. That's the idea. Yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: So, you know, for folks that haven't had a chance to kind of put their hands

Speaker:

Marvin: on a set or to see you at a show or see them in a shop, you know,

Speaker:

Marvin: let folks know kind of what makes your nipper design unique.

Speaker:

Scott: Sure. So the most prominent feature is the fact that it's got opposing magnets

Speaker:

Scott: on either side of the nipper. nipper. So there's no springs in the middle.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's the magnets, the reverse polarity that that keeps them open and provides that spring action.

Speaker:

Scott: And took that and just kind of built on it, created it.

Speaker:

Scott: So starting out, my initial thought was just to have the nippers

Speaker:

Scott: on the hat so created a clip that

Speaker:

Scott: goes on the the brim or bill of your hat or lid

Speaker:

Scott: i should say and um yeah it's

Speaker:

Scott: kind of the golf ball marker version uh

Speaker:

Scott: for fly fishing so easy access but now uh we've added in like a bottle opener

Speaker:

Scott: a hook sharpener eyelet poker you can't actually wear the lanyard or wear the

Speaker:

Scott: nippers on a lanyard if you if you want um so it's just kind of a,

Speaker:

Scott: a good all-access tool so depending on how you fish and where you are and they'll

Speaker:

Scott: uh get the job done for you yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: It's neat i mean i uh i like the sharpener and everybody needs a bottle opener right.

Speaker:

Scott: That's you know that's what i'm saying although although.

Speaker:

Marvin: My recollection is Coors Light bottles or twist tops, so you wouldn't need the

Speaker:

Marvin: bottle opener, but I know for the IPAs, you would.

Speaker:

Scott: No glass on the rivers, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, exactly. So, you know, you were talking about kind of a little bit earlier

Speaker:

Marvin: about kind of the challenges of the startup.

Speaker:

Marvin: You know, what were some of the biggest challenges and surprises as you were

Speaker:

Marvin: working to bring the nippers to market?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, the biggest surprise was the fact that people liked the idea.

Speaker:

Scott: You know, and everybody's got an opinion.

Speaker:

Scott: So, you know, there's a few people that said this is the dumbest idea I've ever

Speaker:

Scott: heard. No fly fisherman's going to buy this.

Speaker:

Scott: And to me, I'm the wrong guy to say that to.

Speaker:

Scott: So challenge accepted. but yeah challenges

Speaker:

Scott: now that it's more established so

Speaker:

Scott: I guess out of the gate I was

Speaker:

Scott: thinking I could license the product which I've done

Speaker:

Scott: and the companies

Speaker:

Scott: I worked with they started getting emails from folks

Speaker:

Scott: saying hey screw you guys you're stealing Blitter Egg's idea

Speaker:

Scott: and you know

Speaker:

Scott: it's like no we're all in the same team here but to.

Speaker:

Scott: Me that indicated that i might be

Speaker:

Scott: i might have a brand um that

Speaker:

Scott: i can build on with uh obviously people

Speaker:

Scott: wild enough to go out of their way and send emails

Speaker:

Scott: like that so um you know

Speaker:

Scott: then i met with another large company and because

Speaker:

Scott: i was just one product we couldn't really do

Speaker:

Scott: much so you know

Speaker:

Scott: coming out with uh product

Speaker:

Scott: number two was it's kind

Speaker:

Scott: of a flyer to be honest and and today that's

Speaker:

Scott: it's one of the most successful products that

Speaker:

Scott: i've launched um and it's it's simple

Speaker:

Scott: but effective and um but

Speaker:

Scott: getting getting out into the market it

Speaker:

Scott: um you know i'm pretty heavy on the

Speaker:

Scott: social media space but getting

Speaker:

Scott: into shops and whatnot um it's harder

Speaker:

Scott: than than you would think so you

Speaker:

Scott: know and a lot of that's because guys are out fishing and guiding and you know

Speaker:

Scott: you gotta and i was new to the retail game so figuring out you know sales cycles

Speaker:

Scott: and and all that so um yeah but now i've got shoot i don't know probably.

Speaker:

Scott: 20 or so different products all with the magnetic vein and that's a hurdle in itself because,

Speaker:

Scott: you know anything coming in revenue-wise is going to new products new innovations

Speaker:

Scott: and so it's just trying to it's a delicate balancing act you know as far as

Speaker:

Scott: scaling bringing bringing new stuff out and uh trying to grow so.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah interesting and does anything kind of stand out in your mind in terms of

Speaker:

Marvin: like the differences with lid rig and like your your healthcare tech startup.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah well actually what stood out to me i was listening to some of your um last podcast,

Speaker:

Scott: would be uh waiter guys i don't know if we should drop names or not but yeah the grunman's guys,

Speaker:

Scott: there you go um and and i

Speaker:

Scott: thought that was pretty interesting their their approach to getting into shops

Speaker:

Scott: and whatnot i mean there's direct competition right where there's a there's

Speaker:

Scott: what two other main players so that a fly shop could sell so yeah they're.

Speaker:

Scott: They're directly competing so from a literate standpoint um i just do it a little

Speaker:

Scott: different i guess right like i don't have i i can walk in and and they can sell

Speaker:

Scott: my products pretty much without any issues, right?

Speaker:

Scott: And even if they do sell some other companies or similar products,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, side-by-side, they'll end up going with GlidRig.

Speaker:

Scott: So I just thought that was pretty interesting. Their approach is kind of slow

Speaker:

Scott: rolling to get into shops where I'm more of a shotgun approach, I guess.

Speaker:

Scott: And, you know, I can walk in and walk out with a check to

Speaker:

Scott: a fly shop so um yeah it's and a lot of it i'm i'm learning as i go too so then

Speaker:

Scott: shoot now i've got distributors overseas and we're in my japan canada europe

Speaker:

Scott: um just signed south africa,

Speaker:

Scott: so you know just trying to to keep up at this point yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: It's interesting though i mean it's It's been a while since I've like really

Speaker:

Marvin: kind of drilled into kind of the nipper space, but I would think you kind of

Speaker:

Marvin: sit at a really nice kind of price point and feature benefit point to kind of

Speaker:

Marvin: the spectrum of nippers that are in the market, right?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, on purpose too, because there are, and that's another big hurdle I've come up against,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, by and large, the space is friendly and everybody enjoys.

Speaker:

Scott: It's long and seems trustworthy, but I've had some larger companies come in

Speaker:

Scott: and knock off some stuff.

Speaker:

Scott: I've only been at it three and a half years, so people are watching what I'm

Speaker:

Scott: doing, which I guess is a good thing.

Speaker:

Scott: Uh, is something you, you gotta be cognizant of and, you know,

Speaker:

Scott: you can spend a bunch of money on a patent and all this.

Speaker:

Scott: And, uh, you know, I've had interesting legal conversations.

Speaker:

Scott: I'll put it that way, but, um, yeah, I digress.

Speaker:

Scott: I, sorry, I got sidetracked. What was the, the question?

Speaker:

Marvin: Really the price points. I mean, and I think the patent thing is an interesting

Speaker:

Marvin: thing too. I mean, because it's like, you know, it's a patent plus the money to go sue somebody.

Speaker:

Marvin: So it's kind of a different game. But, you know, my recollection is,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, I would say, I don't know, the, let's just say the air quote high

Speaker:

Marvin: end of the nipper market is like 200 plus, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. And then I don't really think of, you know, and then I,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, you're at 75 and then, you know, everything else to me is,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, and I'm not trying to offend anybody who's got some stellar or nipper

Speaker:

Marvin: that I haven't seen because I don't purport to see them all.

Speaker:

Marvin: But, you know, the rest of it's sort of that kind of utilitarian stuff that's,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, with zingers, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: And at a different price point. So, yeah, it's an interesting thing about being kind of copied.

Speaker:

Marvin: Like, I mean, you know, back to kind of talking about the Grundon's guys,

Speaker:

Marvin: like, you notice how this year now everybody's got to, like,

Speaker:

Marvin: tweak their suspension system on their waders?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: Right?

Speaker:

Scott: Exactly.

Speaker:

Marvin: It's the exact same thing. And, you know, you know this, right,

Speaker:

Marvin: from being in the tech company background and making stuff, you know,

Speaker:

Marvin: not everything is patentable.

Speaker:

Marvin: So that's an interesting thing, too. And, you know, the only way you win is

Speaker:

Marvin: you got to outrun people and also be nicer, right?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, exactly. Or you can try and outpay them.

Speaker:

Scott: But, you know, as a startup, that's hard to do when you're going up against the big guys.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: But yeah, I mean, but that's to me, and part of where the idea came from,

Speaker:

Scott: I guess, is, you know, I watched a guy in a river with expensive nippers that doled out on him, right?

Speaker:

Scott: So they were pretty much useless as he's standing in the middle of the river in May. Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Air quotes have replacement blades but they're

Speaker:

Scott: going to charge you for them so that didn't make sense to me

Speaker:

Scott: um at all so you

Speaker:

Scott: know and so they get you twice and you

Speaker:

Scott: know it just wasn't doing my job so um you

Speaker:

Scott: know 75 bucks i i

Speaker:

Scott: get is it's not the cheapest but um

Speaker:

Scott: you know the lid rig is is

Speaker:

Scott: a multi-tool and it does

Speaker:

Scott: a lot so um you know

Speaker:

Scott: that helps and it does not have replacement blades so

Speaker:

Scott: you can just sharpen them and uh kind of

Speaker:

Scott: like a knife right with with the uh the clip

Speaker:

Scott: itself so you know long lasting

Speaker:

Scott: it's not the prettiest but it's a

Speaker:

Scott: tool it's made to be used it doesn't have have the pretty

Speaker:

Scott: trout patterns on it or anything like that but

Speaker:

Scott: uh and i think that resonates with with

Speaker:

Scott: people so and i i

Speaker:

Scott: don't know from an outsider's perspective still consider

Speaker:

Scott: myself kind of an outsider but um you

Speaker:

Scott: know it seems like the industry is changing a little

Speaker:

Scott: bit too um you know getting

Speaker:

Scott: it's getting younger right and and more accessible

Speaker:

Scott: so um people have.

Speaker:

Scott: Different tastes different needs and and like i said earlier everybody fish

Speaker:

Scott: is different so i want to make tools that uh work for how you fish and and that's

Speaker:

Scott: the fun part for me i you know i just make stuff and guys like you tell me how they use it.

Speaker:

Scott: So, and usually post about it on Instagram, which is fun.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. And my use case is, you know, unless you lose your hat,

Speaker:

Marvin: you're not going to lose your nippers.

Speaker:

Marvin: Cause I mean, I would, I would be seriously crying if I had lost a pair of $200 nippers in the river.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. Well, and actually, cause, uh, so I was down in, uh, fishing at the X

Speaker:

Scott: flats and there was a doctor down there fishing as well.

Speaker:

Scott: Uh, so, you know, gave him the lid rig to use. And that was,

Speaker:

Scott: it was just kind of a negative Nancy maybe.

Speaker:

Scott: And, uh, he's like, well, you know, what if I lose my hat?

Speaker:

Scott: And I'm like, well, that'd be impressive. So, of course, he ends up losing his

Speaker:

Scott: hat, sinks to the bottom, but they were able to get his hat back.

Speaker:

Scott: So they stuck the metal rod down to get his hat back via the lid rig and magnetic connection.

Speaker:

Scott: So, you know, there's two ways to look at it, I guess.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, well, it's also easier to find your hat on the bottom of a river than

Speaker:

Marvin: it is to find a pair of nippers.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, that's true.

Speaker:

Marvin: So, you know, do you, you know, at this point, Scott, have you kind of,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, you've got multiple products and we'll talk about the rest of them

Speaker:

Marvin: in a minute, but do you kind of have an overarching design philosophy at LidRig?

Speaker:

Scott: Yes well so i guess the i like magnets and that's kind of been.

Speaker:

Scott: Um my mo so to

Speaker:

Scott: speak with any new product that i'm

Speaker:

Scott: coming out with but um more so

Speaker:

Scott: um use cases so you

Speaker:

Scott: know i've got a i've built a pretty substantial i'd say

Speaker:

Scott: over 100 professional anglers

Speaker:

Scott: that i'm in contact with anglers and tires

Speaker:

Scott: i'm in contact with almost daily

Speaker:

Scott: and uh you know

Speaker:

Scott: i i'm i'm good at knowing what i don't know and uh listening to what people

Speaker:

Scott: need and and and want and if i can solve that problem with magnets i'll do it

Speaker:

Scott: and so like i live on a lake down here in Denver.

Speaker:

Scott: So, you know, I've got all my bass stuff that I'm fishing with.

Speaker:

Scott: I just got back from the X Flats fishing down there with the salt flies.

Speaker:

Scott: And then I'll be up in the mountains, you know, fishing for trout.

Speaker:

Scott: So to me, it's just, I can have 20 different fly boxes or I can have one that's

Speaker:

Scott: interchangeable magnetically.

Speaker:

Scott: And so, you know, less is more.

Speaker:

Scott: I guess in a nutshell and, and I accomplished that with magnets.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. Which is, uh, as we've joked is awesome. If you don't have a pacemaker.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, exactly.

Speaker:

Marvin: So you, you want to kind of walk, uh, our listeners through,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, some of the other products that are in the lid rig universe.

Speaker:

Scott: Sure. Um,

Speaker:

Scott: I think the most interesting one, or funny, I'll say, but you remember the slap bracelets?

Speaker:

Scott: I think I showed it to you at the show, the toy show.

Speaker:

Scott: Picture that, but it's like a magnetic watch.

Speaker:

Scott: So I made it originally to slap around a boat frame, but now I've seen guys using it.

Speaker:

Scott: They'll stick it to the side of their car and all your rides up

Speaker:

Scott: for you i saw a guy he lost a streamer

Speaker:

Scott: uh tied on the mag band

Speaker:

Scott: threw it out got a streamer back so you know it's just a lot of different cool

Speaker:

Scott: creative ways um that that that's used and a lot of the tires seem to like it

Speaker:

Scott: they'll They'll wrap it around their, basically their vice.

Speaker:

Scott: And then, shoot, what else?

Speaker:

Scott: Just came out with the Stash Tray. So, which is a magnetic plate, hat clip.

Speaker:

Scott: It'll also have a linear detachment.

Speaker:

Scott: Just launched those a couple weeks ago. Seem to be pretty popular.

Speaker:

Scott: Another one's called the Flywheel. It's just a heavy-duty magnet, 56-pound.

Speaker:

Scott: Pull force, literally it'll hold a shotgun if you need it to,

Speaker:

Scott: but you can put that on your waders, your straps, it'll hold forceps, flies,

Speaker:

Scott: actually works with some of our other products as well. So, yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Everything kind of works together in the Wittrig universe.

Speaker:

Scott: I won't make something if it can't be used with something else, if that makes sense.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, got it. How big is the stash box? I assume it fits on the brim of your hat, right?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, it's pretty small. Think of it as it's similar in size to the existing clip.

Speaker:

Scott: A little bit bigger and uh with the magnets inside of it so your i mean the magnets on the existing,

Speaker:

Scott: lid rig are super strong but uh yeah with this mag tray um i mean you could

Speaker:

Scott: take a branch to the face and and that literate's not going anywhere so um and

Speaker:

Scott: if you're not using it for For, to hold your wood rig,

Speaker:

Scott: I typically use it to hold real small flies if I'm trout fishing.

Speaker:

Scott: So it'll hold, shoot up, you know, 10, 15, probably even 20,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, smaller flies.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. All kinds of good stuff for like Cheeseman and 11 mile,

Speaker:

Marvin: right? All midges and stuff like that.

Speaker:

Scott: There you go. Yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: Look at you.

Speaker:

Scott: Oh yeah.

Speaker:

Marvin: So I also saw, I think it was on Instagram that I guess you,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, you mentioned this a little bit earlier, But I guess the modular Flybox

Speaker:

Marvin: is a relatively new release for you, too, because I saw the video on your Instagram page.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. So I'm super pumped on them.

Speaker:

Scott: And it's just a new concept. So how do I describe it?

Speaker:

Scott: So instead of a foam, typical foam insert, I have these magnetic rubber pads,

Speaker:

Scott: stronger than anything else on the market.

Speaker:

Scott: That's a guarantee. um and then so you can actually just throw your flies right

Speaker:

Scott: in there and they'll stick,

Speaker:

Scott: which is what i'll do or we also

Speaker:

Scott: have these um foam insert with

Speaker:

Scott: a metal bottom that stick to it so you can just swap them

Speaker:

Scott: in and out of uh out of boxes so and then we also have what's called a mag dad

Speaker:

Scott: so it's just that same magnetic rubber material but you can stick that you know

Speaker:

Scott: to the the side of your boat um if your time flies basically your vice wherever you need it dashboard.

Speaker:

Scott: And uh yeah so you can just pull pull

Speaker:

Scott: that set out put it right next to you where you

Speaker:

Scott: actually need it so you're not digging through 20 different boxes trying to

Speaker:

Scott: to find the next fly so just a little more efficient and like i said you can

Speaker:

Scott: everything works together so you can also wear Wear those inserts,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, on the flywheel or the mag band if you need to.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's, it's cool. I'm, I'm excited for it.

Speaker:

Scott: And, uh, yeah, a lot of the shops have been picking them up.

Speaker:

Scott: So I'm thinking you'll, uh, start to see them in the market a little bit more here.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. And is the box, I mean, I know the one on the Instagram feed was relatively

Speaker:

Marvin: large. Does the box come in multiple sizes? Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Yes we have a small medium and large um type box so like the streamer streamer size box down to,

Speaker:

Scott: uh you know as a smaller day day

Speaker:

Scott: box so we and then we have not quite the streamer size box but it's a little

Speaker:

Scott: bit thinner we call it the mag book and i freaking love these things i mean

Speaker:

Scott: And they're waterproof,

Speaker:

Scott: indestructible, super versatile.

Speaker:

Scott: And that's been my go-to is the MagBook.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's got the see-through top, thick plastic, and the magnetic concept as well.

Speaker:

Marvin: Got it. Yeah. So it's kind of like a magnetic Oompa box, right?

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah. There you go.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah. Yeah. So that's super cool. Cool. And so, you know, as you kind of look

Speaker:

Marvin: in your perpetual motion entrepreneur startup eye, you know,

Speaker:

Marvin: what's your vision for LidRig in the next five years?

Speaker:

Scott: So you know who knows at this rate i'm going day by day but you know i think um,

Speaker:

Scott: i've got the the product suite kind of where where it needs to be um so now

Speaker:

Scott: it's more expansion mode so getting into more shock uh different parts of the world and yeah,

Speaker:

Scott: kind of stabilizing on the business side and kind of take it from there.

Speaker:

Scott: You know, I've been approached by a few people about acquisition and stuff like that. So yeah,

Speaker:

Scott: You know, who knows, but it's cool to see the, the started as one product and,

Speaker:

Scott: and I feel like now it's a company, you know, a brand.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's just cool to see that grow. And so I think, I think I can make it larger

Speaker:

Scott: and, and, uh, yeah, who knows five years is a long time for a startup.

Speaker:

Marvin: Up so yeah i could scale it back to three if that helps there you go i mean.

Speaker:

Scott: I'll talk to anybody put it that way but right now i'm having fun growing.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah i mean it's interesting because you can clearly see the community because

Speaker:

Marvin: you know if you go uh to your website into your store i mean you have you can

Speaker:

Marvin: tell there's a lot of community because you have an unusually,

Speaker:

Marvin: large number of kind of apparel type things right hats shirts and that doesn't

Speaker:

Marvin: happen you know There are two choices, and I know you wouldn't make one of them,

Speaker:

Marvin: which is to make a lot of shit and not sell it.

Speaker:

Marvin: Or you have an active community that wants to wear your hats and hoodies and

Speaker:

Marvin: stuff and let people spread the word for you.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, that's what littering is. And I think that's what I'm most proud of,

Speaker:

Scott: actually, is the community surrounding it.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's kind of by the people for the people. and and

Speaker:

Scott: like i said i'm i'm not joking when i'm when

Speaker:

Scott: i say i'm not a i'm not an ex-guide and

Speaker:

Scott: i'm horrible at fishing so um you know

Speaker:

Scott: i but i i learn from people right i

Speaker:

Scott: don't tie flies but i appreciate the heck out of it

Speaker:

Scott: so um but the the community

Speaker:

Scott: is just phenomenal so you know

Speaker:

Scott: and going one of these like fly fishing shows it's amazing

Speaker:

Scott: guys will come up and you know

Speaker:

Scott: professional tires they'll just post up start tying flies and

Speaker:

Scott: you know i've got people coming into

Speaker:

Scott: the booth just to hang out and they'll people will

Speaker:

Scott: walk up wearing a lid rig and they'll sell to people staying in there and i

Speaker:

Scott: just kind of sit back and you know drink a beer so it's uh and luckily it's

Speaker:

Scott: It's kind of one of those products where once you use it or touch it and feel

Speaker:

Scott: it, it kind of solves itself.

Speaker:

Scott: So, and you can tell by my rambling, that's exactly what I need.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, but I mean, it's cool, right? I mean, particularly like you're lucky because

Speaker:

Marvin: I think that, you know, where you are in the Denver area is probably like the

Speaker:

Marvin: highest concentration of fishiness in the country, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: Right, for Trout, you know, in terms of shops and, you know,

Speaker:

Marvin: resource and guides and people.

Speaker:

Marvin: But, you know, to be able to, for example, like, I mean, you were mobbed in

Speaker:

Marvin: Edison. I walked past your table a bunch, right?

Speaker:

Marvin: That's got to be super cool, right? Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, it's humbling, for sure.

Speaker:

Scott: You know, and you're right. I mean, Denver or Colorado is kind of Mecca, I guess you could say.

Speaker:

Scott: But again, it's me being green to the industry.

Speaker:

Scott: And, you know, shoot, I've walked into some pretty big shops.

Speaker:

Scott: Just like Fly Fish Food is a good example. I walked in there with an earlier

Speaker:

Scott: version of the Lidrig, you know, not knowing who Cheetor was and all that and

Speaker:

Scott: how big they were and influential.

Speaker:

Scott: But, you know, they brought in Lidrig, right?

Speaker:

Scott: And they're willing to help and kind of provide feedback and help me grow.

Speaker:

Scott: And so just, yeah, it's humbling, man.

Speaker:

Scott: And I've made some tremendous friends through this process.

Speaker:

Scott: And, uh, now it's cool to see other people connect.

Speaker:

Scott: Like I wasn't down in the, the Texas show, but there was a bunch of,

Speaker:

Scott: uh, you know, people wearing the lid rig and pictures and shirts and whatnot.

Speaker:

Scott: And, uh, you know, I'm sitting at home with my six-year-old looking to myself

Speaker:

Scott: like, Hey, that's pretty cool.

Speaker:

Scott: I wish I was there, but, um, yeah, just getting it out there,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, making stuff people, people like and, and, uh, hopefully I can keep the train rolling here.

Speaker:

Marvin: I mean, I think, you know, we, we have a very, very special community in fly

Speaker:

Marvin: fishing in terms of, you know, openness and generosity.

Speaker:

Marvin: And, um, you know, I always, you know, say that I think the,

Speaker:

Marvin: you know, fly anglers are some of the most generous people you'll ever meet.

Speaker:

Scott: I would very much agree with that. Yeah.

Speaker:

Scott: Until, from a company perspective, I'm much more cautious now versus,

Speaker:

Scott: you know, when I was getting up and off the ground.

Speaker:

Scott: But, you know, I know people are paying attention now just by products that they'll come out with.

Speaker:

Scott: And but, you know, that's life. It's competition.

Speaker:

Scott: It's a capitalist country. So competition is good.

Speaker:

Scott: And, you know, in very few communities outside of fly fishing could a single

Speaker:

Scott: dad with an idea, you know, get it literate to where it is today.

Speaker:

Scott: And if the only reason I, it is where it is, is based on that community and people helping out.

Speaker:

Scott: So it's, I'm very thankful for the whole experience.

Speaker:

Marvin: It's very, very neat. Pete, before I let you go this evening,

Speaker:

Marvin: is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners?

Speaker:

Scott: No, just keep an eye out for 3.0. Pretty, pretty pumped on it.

Speaker:

Scott: Probably in the next couple of months here.

Speaker:

Scott: So, and I should, you know, speaking of community, give us a follow on Instagram.

Speaker:

Scott: It's just me. I just repost everybody else's cool fishing trips and whatnot.

Speaker:

Marvin: Not so but it's a fun follow and.

Speaker:

Scott: Uh and and you'll learn how to uh pick up a new couple new tricks on how to use lead rig gear.

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah there you go and so you know you if you want to let folks know like the

Speaker:

Marvin: best place obviously you're on instagram that's your your social media flavor

Speaker:

Marvin: of ice cream but you want to let folks know website uh instagram handle and

Speaker:

Marvin: all that kind of good stuff.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah just lead rig leadrig.com pretty pretty simple.

Speaker:

Marvin: That is pretty simple uh well listen Listen, Scott, I appreciate you spending

Speaker:

Marvin: some time with me this evening.

Speaker:

Scott: Yeah, thank you, Marvin. We'll have to get out and fish, eh?

Speaker:

Marvin: Yeah, absolutely. I'll be in your neck of the woods this summer for sure.

Speaker:

Scott: All right. Bring that lid, Rick.

Speaker:

Marvin: I'll do it. Take care.

Speaker:

Scott: Cheers.

Speaker:

Intro: Well, folks, I hope you enjoyed that as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.

Speaker:

Intro: Again, if you like the podcast, please tell a friend and please subscribe and

Speaker:

Intro: leave us a rating and review in the podcatcher of your choice.

Speaker:

Intro: And don't forget to check out the fly trap from our friends at Artisan Angler.

Speaker:

Intro: Tight lines, everybody.

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