Launching a Product That Sticks: Insights and Tactics for Entrepreneurs Competing in Saturated Markets

Today, we talk with Bruce Borenstein, a visionary leader in audio technology whose journey demonstrates the power of innovation and perseverance. Known for his pioneering work with AfterShokz (now Shokz), Bruce helped introduce bone conduction technology to the consumer market, driving the company to an impressive $200 million in annual revenue and securing an 80% market share. Now at the helm of Conduction Labs, Bruce is setting new standards with cutting-edge technologies like bone conduction and directional audio and redefining how we experience sound.

Bruce reveals how his leading brand at Conduction Labs, OpnSound, is impacting the market through products that provide an enjoyable open-ear listening experience, and share invaluable lessons for entrepreneurs and innovators entering a very competitive market. Whether you're launching a product or competing against industry giants, Bruce’s journey will inspire and educate you.

In today’s episode of the Harvest Growth Podcast, we’ll cover the following:

●      Ideas for effectively launching products that resonate with target users.

●      How personalized customer support can transform brand loyalty and sales.

●      Strategies for competing with industry giants in a competitive market.

●      And so much more!


Ready for an unforgettable music or listening experience? Visit www.opnsound.com to explore OpnSound’s cutting-edge audio products and use “harvestgrowth10” to get 10% off.

To be a guest on our next podcast, contact us today!

Do you have a brand that you’d like to launch or grow? Do you want help from a partner that has successfully launched hundreds of brands totaling over $2 billion in revenues? Visit HarvestGrowth.com and set up a free consultation with us today!

Transcript

Jon LaClare [00:00:00]:
Today's guest brought a new technology to market in 2011 in a business that is now approaching $200 million in annual revenue. He exited that company a few years ago, and now he's back with a new and improved technology and shares advice both on growing a new technology and how to compete against a giant competitor. That same original company that he helped launch and that now has more than an 80% market share. He's in a unique place. Ray has had both experiences. It's a fascinating discussion and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.


Jon LaClare [00:00:49]:
Welcome back to the show. I'm really excited to be speaking with Bruce Borenstein today. He is the CEO and founder of Conduction Labs, which by their website is known by OPN Sound. That's their brand. OpnSound.com is the website. It's a unique headset technology that he really brought to market originally. Some of you may be familiar with bone conduction technology.

Jon LaClare [00:01:17]:
We'll talk about that among other technologies. But this is a new herb brand that he's brought to market with some really cool innovations as well. We'll talk about that. So go to sort of the history of the technology, what he's done since then, and innovations that are coming into the future. But first of all, I want to welcome Bruce to the show.

Bruce Borenstein [00:01:33]:
Hey, Jon, thanks so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Jon LaClare [00:01:37]:
So you'll do a much better job than I did talking about the technology. I kept it kind of high level. But can you talk about the technology you use in your OPN Sound products?

Bruce Borenstein [00:01:46]:
Sure, sure. So we use two technologies. We have the bone conduction, which you mentioned, and we have directional audio. What bone conduction does is bone conduction creates vibration, which is what sound is, vibration. And has special transducers, speakers that are in the headset that go up against your cheekbone and they vibrate. And the louder you want to listen, the more they vibrate.

Jon LaClare [00:02:14]:
And.

Bruce Borenstein [00:02:14]:
And that allows you to create the sound that you actually hear, bypassing your ear canal. Directional audio, which is also air conduction, which is. Everybody, I'm sure, is familiar with the speakers that you have in your house. Other headphones that you might be listening to, they all utilize air conduction. The difference here in OPN ear is that these air conduction transducers, speakers, are special, and it directs the sound to your ear, so you hear it, but nobody else hears it. And there are pluses and minuses for both. For example, bone conduction. For example, we have a swimming headset in Hawaiian.

Bruce Borenstein [00:02:55]:
Number of swimming headsets out there, those have to be bone conduction. Because you could not do air conduction underwater, it wouldn't transmit the sound to your ear when your head goes under the water. Bone conduction doesn't have to do that because it's going through your cheekbone. So it's perfect for that type of an environment. Air conduction, on the other hand, from an audio standpoint, is a better audio experience. And because there's no vibration, many customers find it to be a little more comfortable because the louder you turn up bone conduction, the more vibration you get. Some people, it kind of feels a little bit like somebody's tickling your cheek, and some people don't like that. But still, applications for both.

Bruce Borenstein [00:03:42]:
Directional audio is the newer technology. Back when I started aftershocks in 2011, we were the first, oh, well, OPN air using bone conduction in the market back then, and there was no directional audio. So it was. If you wanted OPN air, you had to buy bone conduction. And we really changed that by doing the first air conduction products when we started our company back in 2020. So I think there's, you know, there's room for both. Obviously, we have both in our lineup, depending on the application, and it's a great way for consumers to listen, particularly if you do any outdoor activity. You're a cyclist, you're Walker runner, because it allows you to be aware of what's going on in your environment for your personal safety.

Bruce Borenstein [00:04:44]:
When you're wearing your AirPods or other AirBuds in your ear, you are closed off from everything else that's going on in the world. Sometimes that's good. Maybe when you're sitting at home in your easy chair. Yes. But if you're outside, I think people would rather feel safe by being able to hear their environment. There's a health component, one of the things that you'll notice if you're an earbud user. You take those earbuds out and we all have it. You got a little bit of air wax on there.

Bruce Borenstein [00:05:09]:
It's kind of nasty. And you put it back in its case or wherever you store it, and there the air wax sits, unless you're, you know, cleaning it all the time, which some people do. But when you put it back in your ear, you run the risk of introducing bacteria, which then introduces air infections and not a. Not a good situation. And then the last. And what has become the main reason why people are buying OPN Air and you're seeing more OPN Air product in the market today is the comfort factor. And because you don't have to put anything in or over your ear, you kind of almost forget that you're wearing them. Like the headset you're wearing, John, which is a communication headset, which obviously you're using on this podcast.

Bruce Borenstein [00:05:53]:
A lot of people, myself included, use it on Zoom calls. It's great for that. And if you do a lot of Zoom Calls or a lot of podcasts, the ability to wear it all day without getting earbud fatigue, or if you're wearing the big cans that you see people have with the big boom microphone, gets a little sweaty under there. It's pretty uncomfortable. But something like this with OPN Air, like I say, you almost forget that you're wearing it and, and it performs very well. Yeah.

Jon LaClare [00:06:21]:
And I couldn't agree more. And you know, I've loved wearing this. Like you said, for Zoom Calls, for podcasts, as we're actually using this, both of us are using the device to record this podcast today so our audience can sort of hear the quality that comes out of these devices. It's really phenomenal. The comfort. A couple of things for me, I'll just reiterate what you've said. For me, it comes down to comfort and safety. You know, I originally have been using for years aftershocks, now known as shocks, bone conduction, before you and I met.

Jon LaClare [00:06:50]:
And I use it for biking primarily outside, so I can hear traffic around me, et cetera, on road biking, et cetera. And it's been, it's been good. I. I love this. So when we started talking first, I is when I first tried out your directional audio. That's what this is not bone conduction. For me, it's better. I.

Jon LaClare [00:07:06]:
I love it. Like you said, there's room for both. Everyone has their preference for various reasons. This I love, especially at the office all day, as opposed to my earbuds, which, you know, just gets sweaty hot, all that kind of stuff and gunky, whatever. And, you know, this I can wear comfortably. Yeah, right, exactly. Yeah. Phenomenal product for sure.

Jon LaClare [00:07:22]:
And so let's talk rewind a little bit. You mentioned Aftershock. So you founded that company. You invented the original, I believe the technology of bone conduction, really, at least in a consumer market, came from you originally, yeah.

Bruce Borenstein [00:07:34]:
I'd love to take credit for the invention, but I had two Chinese partners with a factory in China where the manufacturing was done. And also the R D, they did all the engineering, they did the manufacturing, built the tooling, did all that stuff. But they needed a way to bring it to market. And my expertise, I've been in the consumer electronics industry. I stop at 30 years because after I say more than that, everybody thinks I'm just an old fart, which maybe I am, I don't know. But the point being is that I had a lot of experience, I had a lot of relationships in the industry globally. And so I was able to bring that company. And what was really challenging but a lot of fun at the same time was that most nobody had heard of OPNehr, nobody knew what it was.

Bruce Borenstein [00:08:23]:
And I will tell you, the first products that we had weren't that great, but you gotta start somewhere. And we were making inroads because people were listening to the message that we were out, you know, spreading about the personal safety aspect of it. That's the way we went. First it was the sports market that we targeted. And in that market, it really resonated because people had been using either, you know, they wear their beats over the years, or they had their AirPods and they realized that they were isolated. And when you're isolated and you're really getting into the music or whatever it is that you're, you know, you're listening to, you really are putting yourself in jeopardy, particularly for people. You know, they're out on the road, cars are coming down, dogs are out barking, you know, chasing you. God forbid a, you know, a criminal is on your tail and you never hear them.

Bruce Borenstein [00:09:25]:
It's not a good situation. So that, that, that really propelled people experiencing OPN air. What's really interesting is the data indicates that Most people own 2.5 headphones. Right now, I don't know what the 0.5 headphone looks like, but it's because people have different listening requirements. So when you're at home and you're sitting in your easy chair, maybe OPN air isn't the way you want to go because at that point you want to immerse yourself in the sound. And so then the cans, the earbuds are definitely a better way to go because the music quality is going to be better. That's the one area, although it's gotten a lot better. But OPN ear listening will never be on par with in ear listening just by the fact that, you know, within ear listening, your Ears are occluded.

Bruce Borenstein [00:10:20]:
You're again, you're the rest of the world. Nothing is happening out there. You're just into what you're listening to. And obviously with OPN air, that would not be the case. However, in a home environment, we found this to be true because we've gotten some testimonials from people, people that are either working outdoors, like construction workers, women working, you know, cooking in the kitchen or whatever. And particularly if you have kids running around the house, you need to know what's going on. Right. Because they can get themselves into some serious trouble if you can't hear what's happening.

Bruce Borenstein [00:10:59]:
And it makes a big difference, not only for your personal safety, but for their personal safety. Like the construction workers. Same situation could be something going on the construction site, one of your coworkers yells something out to you, you're listening through your AirPods, you don't hear it. Nothing could save your life. I mean, it could become that dramatic. So clearly there's a place for OPN air. If you a part of that 2.5 of folks, one of those 2.5 should be an OPN ear headset for those types of situations.

Jon LaClare [00:11:34]:
Yeah, agreed. And I think I have the answer to the 0.5. Right. It's all of us that have an AirPod. None of us have kept both of them. Right. You end up losing them. You've got one AirPod, you're right or your left or whatever.

Jon LaClare [00:11:46]:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And so you helped build Aftershocks now Shocks, and that's become a nine figure business. I think they're over $100 million in revenue, which is fantast. Fantastic. Yeah. But well on your way. And I want to ask the question, so you've got this now you built it originally, right. And now they're a competitor of yours, right? Sure, exactly.

Jon LaClare [00:12:46]:
Yeah, good point, good point. But now you compete with them, right, or against them, and they've got, I think you might mention, maybe an 80. Is it like an 85% market share or something like that?

Bruce Borenstein [00:12:58]:
Although as more players come into the space just by osmosis, their market share has to go down because more people are taking some of the business that would have gone to them as originally one of the only players in that space. Now there are many, including myself. So the market has changed. The market has grown and really, in large part it's due to shocks, you know, has a very impressive marketing presence. I mean, it's very difficult to, you know, go on your Facebook or Instagram or, you know, onto your laptop and you're doing Google search without seeing something from shocks pop up. So they are very aggressive and have a huge budget for that, but very effective. But it does raise the awareness to the OPN ear listening experience obviously for them, but also for anybody else who plays in the space. Because I think consumers like to do a little research perhaps ahead of time and be able to say okay, let me go and see what's in the market for OPN ear listening.

Bruce Borenstein [00:14:11]:
Hopefully they stumble across us and look at what we offer. And our MO really is to try to deliver great value to the consumer with a good quality audio experience comparable to a shocks but for significantly less money. So you know, that's how we try to position ourselves in the market. The other thing, excuse me, that is unique to us that nobody else does, including Shox, is we have a lifetime warranty on all of our products. So you can feel confident when you buy it that it should be lasting you for a while. And we're very good about customer service. We really make an effort in large part myself personally get involved and fortunately it's not been an overwhelming barrage of consumers complaining. I have problems with my OPN sound but I try to get involved because I want to know what's going on.

Bruce Borenstein [00:15:11]:
You know, what, what are the issues? What do people experience when they buy a product like this? In many cases it's because. And again, maybe I'm as guilty as anybody. I don't read the instructions. So they don't know maybe how to pair their headset to their computer or to their phone or similar situation where they, you know, forget to take. Like on our truly wireless product, we have little plastic tabs over the contact, over the contacts. And the reason why we do that is while it's shipping to preserve, so you have some battery, when you take it right out of the package, they forget to take those off. They use up what battery they had to begin with. Then they send me a little note and they say it won't charge anymore.

Bruce Borenstein [00:16:00]:
Well, the first question I asked you take those little blue plastic tip. Oh yeah. Then. And then everything is hunky dory. So.

Jon LaClare [00:16:08]:
Yeah, no, absolutely. So you know, you mentioned a couple of things as we think about competing against the gorilla in the room, right. Or you know, somebody with 80, 85% market share. A couple of the ways you talked about is, you know, lower cost with the same or better quality. And I have to say like the, you know, as I have told you and our audience, you know, I've used Aftershocks or Shox product. Our product for a few years. And you're feel, you know, the look and feel the product is just as good. It's very premium, that the usage is very similar, but like you said, a much lower cost.

Bruce Borenstein [00:16:36]:
That's.

Jon LaClare [00:16:36]:
That's certainly part of it. I think another way you've talked with me about is innovation, right? Staying ahead of the curve, being the smaller player. It's, you know, for now in the market, one way to win out or really gain some market share is by truly innovate. What are some of the innovations that you've helped bring to market? You talked about one being the directional audio. What else is there that you've worked on?

Bruce Borenstein [00:16:58]:
Well, let me. You're. This a great segue for me because I'm the testing out this headset right now. I'm not wearing the one like you're wearing with the boom mic. But this headset's very interesting because it's an air. It's an air conduction mic setup. Right? Air conduction speakers, no vibration. And check this out.

Bruce Borenstein [00:17:18]:
I'm going to take the headset off. I want to show you something here. Can you see that?

Jon LaClare [00:17:29]:
Yeah. Red lights across the top of it or what is the back when you put it on the strap?

Bruce Borenstein [00:17:35]:
And the nice thing about that, because we were talking about safety, right. You're out running at night or walking at night or cycling at night. You want to be seen. Not everybody is wearing a vest as they should. Right. This product allow. We call it dash light. Dash light plus actually allows that individual to be able to have an added layer of safety.

Bruce Borenstein [00:17:58]:
And that layer of safety is not only are you hearing what's happening, but you're being seen. And these LED lights, they're pretty bright. You can see them really. You know, I'd say about a quarter of a mile. So it's. It's very visual. And for that, again, for that application, if you're that person who does a lot of that outdoor activity, right. You want to be seen as well as being able to hear.

Bruce Borenstein [00:18:22]:
Dashlight plus is for you. So this will be out. I should have these in about 30 days. 30, 35 days. Just in time for Christmas.

Jon LaClare [00:18:32]:
Perfect. Perfect. Yeah. I love that technology. That's. That's a great idea. Walking, running, hiking outside, especially in the winter months. Right.

Jon LaClare [00:18:40]:
Where it gets dark here in Colorado.

Bruce Borenstein [00:18:43]:
Yeah.

Jon LaClare [00:18:44]:
It's crazy. That's the bad part about winter, for sure.

Bruce Borenstein [00:18:49]:
I'm in Florida, so I can't speak to that, but okay. I used to live in Syracuse. In fact, that's where aftershocks was started was in Syracuse, which is the snowiest city in America, averaging 110 inches a year. So if you don't ski or snowshoe or cross country ski, it's a long winter. But, but we loved it up there. My kids, my kids are still living up there, so. So we enjoyed. I know you're in the, in Colorado, so you know from which I speak.

Jon LaClare [00:19:20]:
Correct? Correct. Although the interesting thing with Colorado, we get, I think people watch, we get snow during Broncos games. So everyone around the country thinks it snows like crazy here and skiing in the mountains, but in the, the Front Range, the valley right where Denver is right next to it, it's actually a high desert. So we get snow, but it melts. The sun comes out and it's. It's great. But the darkness comes quick. It is certainly the part of the time zone we're in.

Jon LaClare [00:19:43]:
It's like you said, 4:35 o'clock, it's dark. So walking outside, running or whatever at night, I love that idea of the LED lights behind you to keep you safe as cars are approaching or bikers on the road that might be out there. Run other runners, whatever it might be. But just being, being seen. I love that. Without being intrusive. Well, br. Been a lot of fun.

Jon LaClare [00:20:01]:
Is there anything I didn't ask that you think could be helpful for our audience?

Bruce Borenstein [00:20:05]:
No. Gee, I think we covered, certainly we covered the technology part. We covered a little bit of my history and how I've been operating in this space. One thing I'll mention this is a kind of a shameless plug about me. But after I started Aftershocks, I'm an active member in the Consumer Technology association, which is the most people know of ces, which is the biggest every year in Las Vegas, big technology. So CTA is the company that produces the ces. And a couple of years into my tenure at Aftershocks, I won their Entrepreneur of the Year award for coming out with these OPN air headsets. So I'm very proud of that.

Bruce Borenstein [00:20:45]:
It's obviously on my LinkedIn page. But anyway, so I did want to make mention of that. I also want to make mention if I can, because I'm in a very good mood today and I'd like to offer your listeners a 10% discount on the purchase of any OPN sound product. And all they need to do is go to my website, opnsound.com and enter the code harvestgrowth10. I'm going to set that up after we hang up here. And they'll be able to get a 10% discount on top of already very, very good pricing to make it even more attractive, you know, for themselves to give themselves a gift or to give it as a, as a gift over the holidays you can buy more than one. Use the code as often as you like and I'd like to do that for your listeners.

Jon LaClare [00:21:39]:
John Bruce I really appreciate that. Thank you. And I do encourage our audience. Please go check out opnsound.com always. As I always say, if you're driving or can't write it down right now, go to the Show Notes. You can see our podcast@harvestgrowthpodcast.com of course, YouTube and all the podcast platforms by searching Harvest Growth Podcast. Get the Show Notes there. You'll have the discount code and the URL.

Jon LaClare [00:22:04]:
We'll put all that for everybody to remember. And I do want to say for our audience, did you know that you can meet with a member of my team absolutely free for a 30 minute strategy consultation? We've launched and grown hundreds of products since 2007 and learned some of our strategies while growing OxiClean back in the Billy Mays days. We're here to help, so please go to harvestgrowth.com and set up a call if you'd like to discuss further.