They Accidentally Created a Million-Dollar Product!

Summary

Living The Red Life Podcast: "They Accidentally Created a Million-Dollar Product!"

Host: Rudy Mawer
Guests: Mike and Keith
Release Date: April 18, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "They Accidentally Created a Million-Dollar Product!", Rudy Mawer, known as “The King Of Ads” and the host of Living The Red Life, welcomes entrepreneurs Mike and Keith to discuss their remarkable journey in the home maintenance industry. The conversation delves into their accidental invention, the challenges they faced, and the strategies that propelled their product into big-box stores nationwide.

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Product Innovation: From Accident to Industry Disruption

Mike and Keith's venture began in 2010 with a focus on developing environmentally friendly coatings for various applications, including concrete and home maintenance products.

Rudy Mawer [00:55]:
"You guys are obviously doing a lot of great things. You're innovating, you've got this new, exciting product coming out."

Keith recounts the serendipitous discovery that led to their breakthrough:

Keith [05:14]:
"The oil did not even penetrate. So we were like, oh well, we have a concrete sealer now." [05:14]

This accidental success involved applying a new type of coating to a 40-year-old shingle, which demonstrated unprecedented durability by preventing granule loss even after two months of exposure.

Mike [03:00]:
"It's catching on...we started making coatings in general for concrete, for most anything that you will have at your home for home maintenance products." [01:45]

The product, a concrete and roof sealer, offers an environmentally friendly alternative to solvent epoxies, providing high performance without the associated environmental issues.

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Entrepreneurial Journey: From Humble Beginnings to Big-Box Success

Mike and Keith's partnership dates back to their teenage years, with a shared passion for construction and coatings.

Keith [04:24]:
"We just, we kind of bonded our experience...not only being best friends, but then business partners." [04:24]

Their entrepreneurial journey wasn't without hurdles. Initially, their innovative idea was met with skepticism, but persistence and demonstrable results led to gradual acceptance in the market.

Mike [06:37]:
"It was tough to begin with. When we started doing it, no one really heard of that idea and thought it was kind of crazy." [06:37]

Their participation in the International Builder's Show in Las Vegas in 2019 marked a significant turning point, generating substantial buzz and facilitating their entry into major retail chains.

Mike [07:18]:
"We showcased it in Vegas in 2019...introduced that into the big box stores and, and it's just kind of exploded since then." [07:18]

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Overcoming Challenges: Persistence and Innovation

The path to success was fraught with daily struggles and the need for relentless effort. Mike and Keith emphasize the importance of balancing highs and lows, maintaining belief in their vision, and learning from mistakes.

Keith [09:54]:
"It happens every day. You know, you have to...work harder." [09:54]

They highlight the significance of setting daily, attainable goals to build momentum and achieve long-term success.

Mike [12:25]:
"You just have to believe in what you're doing. Believe in yourself and believe in what you're doing. And you're going to make mistakes along the way. Just learn from that mistake. Keep going." [12:25]

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Leadership and Partnership: Division of Roles

The synergy between Mike and Keith is pivotal to their success. They have effectively divided responsibilities to capitalize on their strengths without overlapping.

Keith [11:16]:
"He handles the inside stuff and I handle the operation." [11:16]

Both prioritize maintaining control over their production processes, ensuring that everything remains "completely made in the USA in-house."

Keith [11:53]:
"We don't outsource a lot of stuff. Like we still put the stickers on all the bottles, package everything. We do everything ourselves." [11:53]

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Advice for Entrepreneurs: Focus on Small Wins and Realistic Goals

Mike and Keith offer valuable insights for budding entrepreneurs, stressing the importance of belief in oneself, setting realistic daily goals, and maintaining simplicity in business strategies.

Mike [12:40]:
"Keep it simple and keep always, always have a goal to reach at the end of the day." [12:40]

Keith [13:02]:
"So just a realistic goals...daily realistic. Achievable." [13:02]

They advocate for building momentum through small, achievable tasks that collectively lead to significant achievements.

Rudy Mawer [13:15]:
"I think with goals, people get so focused on the big ones and they don't do the small ones. And I'm always teaching, it's the small, everyday things that add up." [13:15]

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Future Vision: Expanding and Empowering Contractors

Looking ahead, Mike and Keith aim to diversify their product line and collaborate with individual contractors to provide more opportunities within the roofing and construction sectors. Their vision includes enabling contractors to offer additional services and generate more revenue streams.

Mike [08:40]:
"Instead of being a provider for home, for the big box suppliers, we expanded the product line trying to work with individual contractors." [08:40]

Keith emphasizes the dual benefit of their product—cost savings for homeowners and increased income opportunities for contractors.

Keith [09:00]:
"They can make money...You can actually help people with this product. It saves people a lot of money." [09:00]

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Connecting with VitalCoat

For homeowners interested in extending the life of their roofs without the immediate need for replacement, VitalCoat offers an accessible solution.

Mike [13:30]:
"It's absolutely time to replace it." [13:30]

Keith [13:57]:
"Look us up on our website or our Facebook or Instagram account. You can see the different product lines, you can find the product that fits what you need." [13:57]

Their products are available through various online platforms, ensuring easy access for consumers seeking durable and cost-effective home maintenance solutions.

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Conclusion

Rudy Mawer wraps up the episode by praising Mike and Keith's entrepreneurial spirit and their successful partnership. He highlights the key takeaways on business growth and the importance of perseverance in the entrepreneurial journey.

Rudy Mawer [14:26]:
"Awesome duo story here. Great partnership. Obviously getting amazing products going in big box retail. Hopefully took a few lessons not only on the business side, but also the entrepreneurial journey side." [14:26]

Rudy encourages listeners to continue striving for success and to adopt the lessons shared by Mike and Keith in their own ventures.

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Discover more about VitalCoat:
Visit vitalcoat.com for detailed information on their innovative products and to explore how they can help protect and beautify your home.

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Living The Red Life continues to inspire entrepreneurs to build unshakable business foundations and scale their brands to new heights. Stay tuned for more insightful episodes with Rudy Mawer, your guide to living the red life.

Transcript

[Rudy Moore]

What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Living the Red Life. Joining me today is Mike and Keith. We're going to chat about how they've taken their product nationwide. They're in big box stores, Home Depot brands that you probably shop at, and they're always innovating. And I love this story, how they've constantly innovated. They've got this new product that is probably going to disrupt the industry. So, yeah, and we're going to talk a lot about the entrepreneur journey, too. My name is Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, Take the red pill. Join me in wonderland and change your life. Guys, welcome to the show.

[Mike]

All right, thank you. Thank you.

[Rudy Moore]

So. So let's talk about it. You know, you guys are obviously doing a lot of great things. You're innovating, you've got this new, exciting product coming out. Do you want to just tell everyone a bit about how you got here and what you're up to?

[Keith]

Sure. So we obviously we started, like we said, with a different technology, and I wouldn't say that it failed a ton of hurdles to jump and everything works out for a reason. Right. So we stumbled across a different type of coating and eventually started putting it on shingles.

[Rudy Moore]

Well, and let's just go big picture if someone's listening, because you're not the typical maybe supplement business that we might interview. Right. So do you want to explain big picture what your company does and the products do?

[Mike]

Oh, well, the big picture is, is that once we organized to do this, we started making a coatings in general for concrete, for most anything that you will have at your home for home maintenance products.

[Rudy Moore]

Yep.

[Mike]

The idea was to produce a product that was environmentally friendly, easy to use, but performed at the highest level possible for the least amount of money without having to hire a professional. Yeah, the typical diy, which is what I've always been my entire life. So that falls right into our niche right there. So we, we created a very unique product that, that we feel performs close to the solvent epoxies without going into the solvent.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Issues that you bring along with that. And so the homeowner, especially people in areas that are, have to deal with the air quality standards. This is a perfect, perfect solution.

[Rudy Moore]

And so you took that product. Obviously, you know, the latest one is, you know, really something you're. You're kind of Gung ho on. And you think it's going to change the industry, you know, take off it.

[Mike]

Actually we actually started it on it in 2010.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

It was, it was a, a process to get to there. We noticed that we could use this to preserve shingles.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And started it and got it in onto market in 2013.

[Rudy Moore]

And it's a massive industry. Right.

[Keith]

Six billion a year. Crazy new tech. So.

[Rudy Moore]

Billion.

[Mike]

It's catching on.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

A lot of people are joining in on this. On this and it's good for everybody actually. But yeah.

[Rudy Moore]

So this, this is going to extend roof life for how many, how many years?

[Mike]

It depends. It depends on the shape of your route to begin with. But you can, you could count on a good five year expansion for people that need it or just don't have the money to, to replace the roof. They can come in and, and extend it, do maintenance on it. Helps protect it along the way so you can, it keeps your roof looking prettier. So.

[Rudy Moore]

And tell us a little about the entrepreneur journey to get there. Right. Because I had the, you know, started in 2010.

[Mike]

Right. Than that now, long before that as partners or best friends. We've been scrambling since he was 15, I was 19. So the partnership always runs smooth as you could probably imagine. But that's when it started. And we've worked in the construction industries. He worked in wood preservation. I worked in heavy civil and, and work with coatings and concrete my whole 30 year career. Just about.

[Keith]

We just, we kind of just bonded our experience. You know, I mean not only being best friends, but then business partners.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

You just kind of pivoted from our own company.

[Rudy Moore]

And what was the moment you had this big idea. Like was there one moment you remember the dealer. Yeah.

[Mike]

When, when the other failed and, and we had to clean up and what we produced was an incredibly beautiful podium on our floor that would not come up.

[Keith]

It was, it was, it was the wildest thing. You know, the, the solution that we put into our other product leaked on the floor.

[Rudy Moore]

Okay.

[Keith]

And the car was pulled into the garage. The oil leaked on the concrete. The next day went and wiped the concrete clean. The oil did not even penetrate. So we were like, oh well, we have a concrete sealer now. There you go. That started from there and then we.

[Mike]

Went straight to some manufacturers, toll manufacturer and worked out the chemistry and, and they were impressed.

[Keith]

Yeah. So he would, he would call me and say I got, I have this wild idea and I guess I'm kind of the loose wheel between the two of Us. And I would just put it on anything and everything just to see if it would stick.

[Rudy Moore]

Okay.

[Keith]

So, you know, no chemistry background for me, but yeah, yeah. You know, I was just kind of a trial and error guy.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Keith]

And I put it on a. I had an old 40 year old shingle outside of my barn and I coated half of it and I just left it there for like two months and I didn't even tell him. And I came back to it and I just scratched on it with a knife. You know, you touch one side, the granules would come off and when those come off, that's when your roof starts failing.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Keith]

The side that I sealed, I couldn't get the. That was ripping my fingernail off trying to get them off. And this is on a 40 year old shingle.

[Rudy Moore]

Wow.

[Keith]

So here we are.

[Rudy Moore]

It's like the accidental success, right.

[Keith]

Started.

[Mike]

Started working to perfect that and, and make it a viable product.

[Keith]

And we didn't see there wasn't one then.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah. Well, let's talk about that journey because I mean, entrepreneurship, you know, it's sometimes you fall into the next big idea, right. And then. But then there's a big gap to making it reality and selling it. But how's that journey been?

[Mike]

It was tough to begin with. When we started doing it, no one really heard of that idea and thought it was kind of crazy. But we kept pushing it, kept doing it, showing the results. People started seeing the benefits of it. It started picking up, picking up. And we eventually showcased it in Vegas in 2019, I believe at the International Builder show. Created a lot of buzz and subsequently we'd already been able to ship through big box stores prior to that, but then introduced that into the big box stores and, and it's just kind of exploded since then, so.

[Rudy Moore]

And how was it getting going with the big box stores? Like was that when you finally got on there, were you like, this is a big moment for us and, and.

[Mike]

Yeah, that was a big moment for us because it's a lot of exposure and a lot of people would love to have that. And yeah, it's a great, it's a great tool.

[Rudy Moore]

So if someone's listening, they have a product and they've, they're selling online direct to consumer. And you know, that's most of the audience, most of the entrepreneurs, they just best, they maybe get it on Amazon, right. They sell on the website. Get it on Amazon, right. Products. How did, how do you go about like, you know, even just the mindset of looking differently, looking like, hey, I can do wholesale, I can do big box stores. Right. What would you advise someone looking at that expansion?

[Mike]

Well, I mean, just try to. For us, that was the. Really the only place that we thought a concrete sealer should be.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Or roof sealer as a. Is at a hardware stores. And that's where we targeted at the time. Amazon really wasn't.

[Keith]

They weren't a construction.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

And so we just persisted on it and. And eventually met all the requirements for that they needed. So we were able to get in.

[Rudy Moore]

So. Great. And, and what's next for you guys? Long term? Next few years? Five years, 10 years. What's the vision?

[Mike]

Well, we're. Instead of being a provider for home, for the big box suppliers, we expanded the product line trying to work with individual contractors, develop you to give opportunities for other roofers, contractors to bring so.

[Keith]

They can make money.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And add it to their portfolio. It's a great way for them to add money to their.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. Easy upsell, Right. Yeah, yeah.

[Keith]

You can actually help people with, you know, this product. It. It saves people a lot of money.

[Rudy Moore]

Well, Rooze on cheap roofs are not cheap.

[Keith]

Shingles are not cheap. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know, the crazy thing is we probably didn't mention just. You can put this down, get your five years, depending on what the shape of your prop your roof is, and then you can do it again. So you just kind of keep going.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

It's absolutely time to replace it.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

So.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. Or you sell the house. Yeah.

[Keith]

Or you sell the house.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. Love it. So let's talk about the entrepreneur journey. Outside of that, I always like to ask people on this podcast, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. So was there a time where you had a big failure or you doubted yourselves or you struggled that you remember and now you look back on.

[Keith]

I think it happens every day. You know, you have to. If, if, if you're not getting it done, then you just have to work harder.

[Rudy Moore]

Yes.

[Keith]

So you have to be able to balance the highs and the lows.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Keith]

You know, for me, that's kind of the way I see it. You know, we scream at each other twice a week, but, you know, we always get it done.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Keith]

But, yeah, it's. It's been rough. You know, we started early.

[Mike]

That's. Yeah. As friends right out of high school. No idea what we're going to do. Well, now what. And we just started scrambling for anything.

[Rudy Moore]

Hustling. Yeah.

[Mike]

We did whatever.

[Keith]

We hung wallpaper for years.

[Mike]

Lots of things.

[Keith]

I mean, just did anything to make money.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

That's kind of how it's always been. I guess it's probably struggling along the way, but it was just life really, and so we didn't let it trouble us.

[Keith]

Well, people say that the only ship that doesn't sail is a partnership.

[Rudy Moore]

Right.

[Keith]

But I think when you have a good buddy that you're doing, you've been doing it with forever and you have an understanding like, you know, I'll have a bad, have a kids, so I'll have a rough day and not get any sleep one day. He's able to kind of pick up the slack. So, you know, if you have a partner, it's good to have somebody in business that can, you know, pick you up when you're, you're, you're.

[Rudy Moore]

Well, I was going to ask that. How's the leadership dynamics with two of you?

[Keith]

So you both have to be leaders.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Keith]

So he kind of handles the, the inside stuff and I handle the operation.

[Mike]

Operations and manufacture inside of everything. Everything else. And we don't cross the line.

[Rudy Moore]

So you guys divide and conquer.

[Keith]

Yeah, I mean, he does his thing, I do my thing. We. And you know, sometimes that switches, you know, if he's on vacation or something. But you know, when you're just getting going. In the beginning there were no vacations.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Keith]

But your vacation was making product. You know, we put, we don't outsource a lot of stuff. Like we still put the stickers on all the bottles, package everything. We do everything ourselves. It's, it's, it's completely made in the usa in house business. And that's kind of what we want.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. And that's rare these days. Right. So. So last couple of questions I always like to ask people. You know, you've been doing business a long time, right. You've had ups and downs. You've got this product. Someone starting out. What tips would you give them?

[Mike]

You just have to believe in what you're doing.

[Rudy Moore]

Believe in yourself.

[Mike]

Believe in yourself and believe in what you're doing. And you're going to make mistakes along the way. Just learn from that mistake. Keep going. I know it sounds so typical, but it's the truth. It's. Keep it simple and keep. Always, always have a goal to reach at the end of the day. Every day, try to come up with something that you can complete.

[Rudy Moore]

So, Mike, breaking it down, Daily goals. Yeah, that's that.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Keith]

Attainable goals.

[Mike]

Daily goals are important. If you try to set a goal too far Ahead with not having the steps in between it, you get lost.

[Keith]

So just a realistic goals.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Realistic, yeah.

[Keith]

Daily realistic. Achievable.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. I think, I think with goals, people get so focused on the big ones and they don't do the small ones. And I'm always teaching, it's the small, everyday things that equ. To pick one. Yeah.

[Keith]

Well, they get in their head, they're like, I'm going to be a millionaire. Yeah, well, there's a little bit you got to do. You got to lose some sleep before you get to that point.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah. Love that.

[Mike]

My whole life, when I've ever done anything, always tackle the smaller things first to get a few wins.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike]

It makes you get the momentum going.

[Rudy Moore]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Small things add up all the time. Whether it's, you know, athletes, they train three, four hours a day, right? Just train, train, train for one moment in a match or, you know, 100 meter sprint and Olympics every four years. Good. Last question. People, you know, maybe they have a roof and, and they know how much roofs cost and they don't want to replace anytime soon. How do they find the product and learn more about the company?

[Keith]

Go ahead.

[Mike]

The best way to learn about the product and the company is to, you know, look us up on our website or our Facebook or Instagram account. You can, you see the different product lines, you can find the product that fits what you need. And we have a good portfolio there to handle many different things that you have at your at your house for protection, for beautification, for all the way from the roof to your sidewalk and driveway.

[Rudy Moore]

Love it. That'[e-mail] vitalcoat.com Guys, that's the wrap. Awesome duo story here. Great partnership. Obviously getting amazing products going in big box retail. Hopefully took a few lessons not only on the business side, but also the entrepreneurial journey side. That's what this podcast is all about. As always, keep working hard and living the red life. I'll see you guys soon.