'09
Perfect Timing
DeBetta maintains that a down economy may actually be a better time to start a business for a simple reason: “When things are good, people are fearless—they jump into things, they fail to get the knowledge they need, they skip important steps to success.”
Conversely, he continued, people are more cautious in a down economy. “They investigate more. They take more classes. They don’t just dive in and do it. They sleep on it, think on it. They read more, take their time. But, when they act, there is a much better chance they will succeed because they have done it the way it is supposed to be done.”
Mike Coraggio is president of EcoWalls LLC, based at the Rutgers EcoComplex in Bordentown. Although Coraggio has never met DeBetta, he agrees that time and patience can really be money.
“Time is our friend at this point,” says Coraggio. “We are able to take the time to really investigate our target market, find out what’s out there for us. We don’t have our competitors developing things faster than us, and that allows us to really delve into our market.”
EcoWalls is capitalizing on what is perhaps the most interesting trend to emerge from the sluggish economy—“going green can lead to saving green,” says Coraggio, and people are starting to realize it.
EcoWalls offers an innovative vertical planting system that is decorative and serves as a natural air purification system. “We are moving the green footprint onto a building’s internal walls,” he says.
“Because the economy is at a lull, the indirect benefit is that there is a green trend,” Coraggio explains. “People are trying to be more environmentally sensitive—to waste less power and spend less on aesthetics in the workplace. People want to go green, and we are offering an aesthetic, functional, economically feasible option.”
Unlike Coraggio, Rose Marie Iskowitz, of Somerset County, has met DeBetta, and says he is worth every penny she’s paying him to help her get her product to market. Iskowitz had what she thought was a great idea that served an unmet need in the market. With support and advice from DeBetta, she is gearing up to unveil her product at the world’s largest baby product trade show—ABC Kids Expo—in Las Vegas in September.
The Dipe ’N Go is an all-in-one baby changing station that attaches to the inside wall of a minivan or SUV by way of a Velcro strip. “I loathed changing stations in public restrooms and found myself always changing the baby in the back of the hatch of my car,” says Iskowitz. “I wanted to meet the need and came up with the idea for the Dipe ’N Go.”
Like Iskowitz, Coraggio believes his company’s invention is something that potential customers really need. “In a building, you have to decorate—you can paint, hang a picture, or even tile a wall,” he says. “And you need to mitigate poor indoor air quality. EcoWalls is a product that serves both purposes—it looks beautiful and treats the air and rainwater and even offers building insulation. It’s truly a win-win product.”
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