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POWER-POLE
Powerful Idea
By Carol Cortright
Published: June / July 2008

Summertime in Florida—and the fishing is excellent! Tarpon, snook, redfish…go for it!

There’s rarely a bad day on the water for two guys who turned their passion for fishing into a successful business. Inventor John Oliverio, President of JL Marine Systems, Inc., and Robert Shamblin, Director of Marketing and Operations for Power-Pole™ Shallow Water Anchor, have been reeling in the big ones with the help of John’s business partner and mentor, Len Mriscin.

JL Marine Systems, Inc., located in Tampa, focuses on the innovative Power-Pole shallow water anchor, accessories and related products. With a staff of 15, half in sales and management and the other half in production, the company turns out about one thousand anchors monthly.

“Tampa is a great place to have a manufacturing business,” says John. “It’s centrally located for shipping…” Robert chimes in, “…and it’s especially good for us because Florida has more boats than any other state.”

The Power of a Great Idea

Longtime friends, John studied computer engineering and mechanical engineering while Robert took a marketing track. They always had one common interest: fishing. It was just a matter of time before their career paths converged with John’s Eureka! moment: developing a shallow water anchor that would keep one’s boat firmly held in that sweet spot where all the fish hang out without scaring them away or tearing up the sea bed using a conventional anchor.

Ten years ago, while angling around Sarasota’s Long Bar, known for abundant redfish and snook, John started thinking. “What intrigued me…was that I wanted to be at an EXACT position (because) the fish are at exact positions. With a regular anchor, your boat can’t get too close, and you’re swinging back and forth…I spent more time trying to get the boat’s location just right when I wanted to be fishing.”

Regular anchors also rely on weight and traction to dig under the mud and grasses, which can kill the grass, pulling out a chunk of the seabed when it’s hauled back up. “If you ruin the grass, it creates a dead area that takes a long time to grow back,” John explains. “Power-Pole uses hydraulics to push a ¾” composite spike into the seabed, doing minimal damage and offering maximum control to lock in your position.”

They started bouncing the idea off other fishermen. Robert says, “Back in the day, it was so hard to explain the concept of (an anchoring product) that bolted to the back of a boat.” John adds, “The ones who fished a lot ‘got it’ and that kept us going.”

In 1999, John developed a working prototype, secured a patent and sold the first Power-Pole in 2000. The patent was approved in just eight months, an unusually short time, but they made the patent “really broad—anything that bolts to the back of a boat.”

The Power-Pole isn’t cheap—the device starts at around $1245. John admits thinking that its cost would never fly in the beginning. But they knew they had a winner on their hands and the support from others underscored their determination. They introduced the new invention to a group of friends “who were a couple notches above us in the fishing community” and about to embark on a new tournament, the IFA Redfish Tour.

John and Robert took the Power-Pole to Greg and Brian Watts, twin kingpins of the pro fishing tourney circuit. First, they approached Brian Watts, “…who scoffed at the idea…,” says Robert. “…so we showed it to his brother Greg, who bought one,” John interjects. “A week later, Brian bought his.”

Soon, all their friends wanted one. Within a month, more boats were sporting Power-Poles. The tournament guys traveled around the state attending events, all the fans showed up to see them, and that’s how Power-Pole got its first real exposure.

The Power of a Great Mentor

Back in the late 90s, Robert was getting burned out in his previous business, selling hot tubs. He knew he needed to look for a new challenge: “I was trying to figure out where to go from here.” Serendipity stepped in: About a year before Robert left that line of work, he and John were putting in a hot tub at a gorgeous waterfront home in Tierra Verde.

John recalls that day when they were “‘oohing and ahhing’ over this place.” The homeowner had a big boat on a lift which certainly didn’t go unnoticed by these hot tub installers. With admiration, John asked him for advice—“How can a guy like me get to this place in life?” A friendship developed, bonds were forged over fishing trips, and eventually Len Mriscin became a silent partner in John’s budding business endeavor.

“He’s got a lot of experience and a strong business management background,” John says. It also didn’t hurt that “Len, being a fisherman, recognized the potential of my idea.” He goes on to explain, “Here’s why he was so critical to our success: he was a 50/50 owner in the company and he fulfilled the role of the best mentor because he gave us support and confidence, illustrated by his lack of questioning. He allowed us to grow and not get slowed down if there was a difference of opinions. It’s easy to overlook these fundamentals that got us through the learning curve.”

Now with his job well done, Len is setting a course for retirement. “Our short-term goals are taking different paths,” John says, a bit wistfully. However, he mentions that he’s buying out Len’s share in the company, thereby helping to make his friend and mentor’s next phase a little more comfortable.

The Power of Hard Work

John remembers the early days when “Bob assembled every Power-Pole himself.”

“It was just John and me for the first three years,” Robert elaborates. “John has always, since the beginning, stressed complete customer satisfaction and customer service. It shows in the customer feedback we get. The fact that our customers are pleased with their treatment is a big deal.”

“I’m amazed when I look back at the way we used to do things and how it’s done now,” John says. “Everyone here has a passion for their jobs. Everybody has stepped up to fill all the roles Bob and I used to fill single-handedly. My tasks now are new product development, engineering…and field testing.” They both smile. “Field testing” is industry-speak for going out on a boat to review their product. If the fish happen to be biting, well…they might have a rod and reel handy too.

Robert designs product packaging, brochures, the web site, catalogs, truck and boat wraps, apparel, team uniforms—and he organizes the fishing teams for various events. “I was in marketing for a long time—a different kind of marketing. But now it’s a lot more of what I enjoy.”

The Power of a Great Team

“We’ve tried a lot of different sources (for attracting employees), but some of the best have been referred by people we know. There seems to be more accountability that way,” John says. Even though it’s a small business, there’s no outsourcing at JL Marine.

Robert explains, “Our pace is pretty steep, so John is great about keeping us one step ahead with technology. We are constantly streamlining our approaches, from the website to purchasing and shipping.” Thanks to John’s penchant for implementing the best computer resources for their needs, the company stays on task. “Everybody is linked to the same database, so we can click to see the status of every aspect of the business,” Robert says. “Our computer system is proactive. It sends out e-mail reminders if things are late or behind. It also automatically e-mails customers, allowing purchases to be tracked and sending shipping notices. We use technology to keep in touch with our dealers across the country, too. We keep up with technology so our volume moves smoothly.”

As for marketing, word of mouth works best as does networking within the fishing community. “We hung our hats on tournaments,” John says. “It was grass roots. The more people you know, the better off you’ll be.” “Once you get that,” Robert adds, “then you back it up with TV and magazine ads to reinforce the message. We also get exposure from TV fishing show hosts who use our products.” (The king of all TV fishing show hosts, Roland Martin, pitches the genius of the Power-Pole.) John mentions one important factor in this age of the Internet: “All of our advertising drives people to our website. From there, they can locate a dealer in their area.” (Over 910 locations across the country!)

The Power of Success

Both men agree that success means different things to different people. “I feel successful to a point, but I’m eager to take it to the next level,” says Robert. “There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

John is always coming up with new ideas, but “Power-Pole keeps me pretty busy—there’s still room to grow within this product.” As an inventor with one patent under his belt so far, John says, “Anyone with an idea, whether it’s simple or complicated—the fear of rejection is always there. There is such gratification to see your idea being accepted over and over. A lot of inventors get a small taste--it’s really elusive and hard to acquire. But when you get it, it’s an amazing thing.”

Success within the sport fishing community aside, the shallow water anchor is also used by groups including Tampa Bay Watch, the SCCF (Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation) and the CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) in their ongoing marine restoration projects.

JL Marine’s support of environmental causes will soon go one step further. A new product—100% biodegradable hydraulic fluid that can be used in all hydraulic boat parts—debuts in July at ICAST, the world’s largest sport fishing trade show, in Las Vegas. By 2009, every Power-Pole will be equipped with biohydraulic fluid.

Robert explains its importance: “Boats can have as many as five different types of hydraulics in play and just one drop of the current petroleum-based oil can be devastating in pristine fishing areas.” They know that incorporating earth-friendly ingredients is a winning move, one that is good for their personal love of the outdoors as well.

Robert goes back to pondering the notion of success: “It’s not so much monetary for us—our vision is bigger than where we’re currently at.”
Similarly, John talks of securing their position in the industry, then waxes philosophic. “There’s a small window of opportunity to be the only and the best; when we’re no longer the only, we still want to be the best.”

As entrepreneurs carving out a niche of their own, is it easy to switch gears and turn off the business brain? Robert answers with a smile: “Fishing is the business, so being out fishing and thinking about the business is not necessarily a bad thing.”

John adds, “If this job wasn’t enjoyable, you’d probably need to switch gears.” His friend sums it up: “It’s fun. A lot of people never get the opportunity to be a part of something like this.”

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