Today we’d like to introduce you to Craig Rettew.
Hi Craig, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have an Electrical Engineering degree from UCF, and in my senior year, I had two opportunities for internships, one with a company called FLIR Systems and the other with Disney. FLIR Systems set up an interview first and was quick with an offer, so I took it because it paid twice what I was making at my current job as a pool boy.
I was very excited to have a real job and made it my mission to absorb everything I could from the senior-level engineers. FLIR was unique in that they pretty much let me work on any project I wanted. They would often hand me projects and just say, “Go!” I loved it, and they eventually hired me full-time when I graduated in 2008, right when the financial crisis was happening. I got lucky.
I met some really great people there and eventually got involved in a 3D printer project on nights and weekends. Three other guys and I ran a successful Kickstarter campaign that gave me enough runway to leave FLIR for a couple of months. I did that for a while and simultaneously started an engineering design services company called Zepto Industries. I threw some money at Google Ads and got a few clients while building out the 3D printer and fulfilling Kickstarter orders. It helped me stay afloat, and my wife was busy building her business as a wedding photographer.
We were newly married with just a dog at the time, so we decided we could take some risks. I eventually left the 3D printer company and tried to figure out what was next. I had clients here and there but nothing consistent. My wife and I decided to lease a studio place for her growing photography business. We knew she wasn’t going to be in there full-time so we decided to turn into a studio rental space for other photographers. The business was called Studio Adorn. It became a popular spot for local photographers but Sivan eventually got so busy that she needed it full time. After about 5 years and a lot of lessons learned, we stopped the rental business..
Then I started a company with my brother-in-law called WePlenish. We designed and manufactured an Internet of Things product that would reorder coffee pods through Amazon. It was a huge lesson for me, but it took me to places I never thought I’d be mentally and physically, like Vietnam, where we manufactured thousands of our products. I did that for about four years until the money ran out.
After that, I tried my hand at making YouTube videos, which turned out to be very hard to stay consistent with. It was fun, but I couldn’t convince myself to keep going when I now had a family to support. I decided to put all my energy and focus into my design business, and I’ve been doing that with some consistency for the past five years.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not smooth but everything was solveable. Stressful at times because I didn’t know what I was going to do next or whether I’d make enough money to survive. I never had the feeling like I was going to lose it all and be face down in gutter somewhere. I’ll take more risk when I know I have enough money in the bank to catch me for 6 months. I’m not one to drain all of my accounts to chase a dream. I take calculated risks. Having a supportive wife is huge too. We make a good team and can get through any challenge like when we struggle to have kids or when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We got through it all.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I have 15+ years of experience to design, test, and produce any electrical design. I work close with clients on their requirements and brain-storm together to take a viable design from proof-of-concept to production. I also work with you at any stage of development from idea or working prototype that needs refinement. I have developed products that include WiFi, Bluetooth, sensors of all kinds, battery management, rechargeable batteries, buttons, LEDs, power management, and much more.
My website says “Solving Problems with Electricity” because that’s what I figured out I do best, solving problems. I feel that my life has meaning when I can solve a problem using the skillset that I’ve developed.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think the biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving a good job that had stability, benefits, good pay, and health insurance. Going into business for yourself, you have to figure out all of these things and they’re expensive. Don’t get me started on healthcare in the US. As I mentioned before, I’m not one to drain my entire life savings chasing a dream. That sounds like the “sexy” thing to do and tell the story to bright-eyed and bushy tailed college grads at a commencement speech but I’d rather be rich and anonymous. I take calculated risks and don’t make many decisions based on emotion or ego. The numbers have to make sense and I need to know I have a safety net in the bank.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zeptoindustries.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MacCraiger
