With over 15 years in consumer product distribution experience, and millions of dollars in sales to all major North American retailers, James Chalmers is an incredibly valuable addition to the MAKO Design + Invent staff. This is a new and exciting full-time role at MAKO, one which is instrumental in setting up our clients with unprecedented access to big box retailers across all major product categories.
It is with great pleasure that MAKO Design + Invent welcomes Mr. James Chalmers to the team as Vice President Consumer Product Strategy. This role is new for MAKO and is instrumental in setting the company up for success moving forward. His background in consumer product branding, marketing, sales and strategy is impressive and he has worked with brands locally, across North America and Internationally. Simply put, James understands product distribution and knows what it takes from both the product and people side to be successful selling at retail, wholesale, and professional distribution. From start-ups to large multinationals, his passion and success to date center primarily around new business development and high-growth products. MAKO Design + Invent could not be happier to have such a competent and passionate leader joining the team. James’ decision to join was according to him an opportunity to take his vast experience and “do something that really matters”.
“I am extremely happy to have joined MAKO Design + Invent at such an important time Mako’s 15-year history. With a focus on solidifying itself as the largest full-service, end-to-end firm in Canada, we’re proving that a long-term approach to fostering innovation is the right way to go. Success for us is not measured by how many clients we can run through the development or prototyping phases of our business, it’s how many clients we can turn into invention entrepreneurs. I want our success to be judged by the number of our clients’ products whose success has literally changed lives. How many people have had the fortune of leaving jobs they didn’t like and now managing the success of something they are truly passionate about?” – James Chalmers, Vice President.
Inventors have all sorts of reasons for why they want to develop their ideas into material products. In his first interview after joining MAKO Design + Invent, James said that “MAKO will never be a factory for inventors, simply churning out 1000s of customers each year.” He believes in partnerships and transparency. It isn’t that every idea that comes to MAKO Design + Invent is ready for market. Some have great chances already when they come to MAKO, while others can really benefit from the great experience of being shaped by the product development team. MAKO’s team of professionals can almost always design in further probability of future success during the design process. The transparency comes from being honest that some products do not have much chance of success at all. “I’d rather have our team be honest with an inventor if their idea doesn’t have enough feature benefits to make it stand out, is a copy of something already on the market or just does not have the ability to create enough demand to make the process pay off for the inventor” James said. “Turning down the opportunity to work with an inventor may seem counter intuitive, but I take a long term approach. Most people don’t have the money to waste on developing a product that has little chance of success. If we are honest with potential clients and turn down working on their idea, I feel we set a pretty high standard for ourselves and for our competitors to work towards.”
If you have idea that you would like to discuss with James, feel free to reach out to MAKO Design + Invent and we will set up a call or meeting. Whether it is at the concept phase, you are looking for a prototype, want help with manufacturing, or you need assistance getting the product to market, he looks forward to hearing from you!
About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!
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