Jules Weldon and Stace Pierce, co-founders of OME Gear, break down their journey to manufacturing their dream business.
Alibaba.com is sourcing made simple. It's the easiest way to connect with suppliers, create products, and turn your business dreams into reality.
"My Way" tells the stories of four entrepreneurs who were able to utilize Alibaba.com's capabilities to create, launch and grow their dream businesses.
In this installment, we meet Jules Weldon and Stace Pierce, co-founders of OME Gear. The company's signature product, the Wanderr, is a 5-in-1 recreational lounge chair that folds into a wheeled dolly to help outdoor enthusiasts easily haul their equipment, blankets, toys, tents and coolers wherever they are heading.
Alibaba.com is sourcing made simple. It's the easiest way to connect with suppliers, create products, and turn your business dreams into reality.
"My Way" tells the stories of four entrepreneurs who were able to utilize Alibaba.com's capabilities to create, launch and grow their dream businesses.
In this installment, we meet Jules Weldon and Stace Pierce, co-founders of OME Gear. The company's signature product, the Wanderr, is a 5-in-1 recreational lounge chair that folds into a wheeled dolly to help outdoor enthusiasts easily haul their equipment, blankets, toys, tents and coolers wherever they are heading.
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NewsTranscript
00:00So this is really special because we're on our way back to Bethany Beach where this whole
00:21thing began with my mom and dad.
00:29In 1998, the Wanderers started with my parents.
00:32They were sitting on the boardwalk of Bethany Beach and they watched a mom by herself with
00:37three kids coming off the beach and they were miserable.
00:41They also have six kids and so they knew the struggles of going to the beach with all your
00:46stuff.
00:47And so they ended up going up to the condo and napkin sketching out this lounger that
00:52if you flipped it up it became like a dolly.
00:55My dad got it patented and then it sat on the shelf because they couldn't figure out
00:58how to take it to market.
01:04When Stace and I got together, I thought about my mom and dad's invention and said, what
01:10if I could take this thing to market?
01:12She said, you know, maybe we could do this together.
01:17We wanted to make a product that was all-encompassing of everybody's needs.
01:22OME Gear stands for Oceans, Mountains, Earth.
01:27Our flagship product, the Wanderer, is a multifunctional product.
01:32It's a camping cot, lounger, low beach chair, high camping chair, and a cart that carries
01:39up to 150 pounds of gear.
01:43When creating the Wanderer, we went to an engineering firm in the U.S.
01:48They were supposed to build it for manufacturing and they did not.
01:52And so Jules and I were like, what are we going to do because we needed to get a product
01:56to our customers and we couldn't get in touch with our manufacturers.
01:59So that's when we really hit Alibaba.com and just started doing a lot of research and just
02:05started just trying to meet manufacturers.
02:10I remember the first time I discovered Alibaba.com, I found resources that just literally blew
02:17my mind.
02:19We did a lot of RFQs where they would send us quotes and we connected with manufacturers
02:25who were able to send us over parts and pieces so we could actually see and touch and feel it.
02:32So then in 2010, we transformed it into something that felt more current for the time.
02:41Relationships matter so much to me and many of the manufacturers that we connected with
02:47we're still in touch with.
02:50Alibaba.com literally opens you up to the world of manufacturing.
02:54That's powerful.
02:56A lot of the manufacturers love to have inventors come in and say, here's what I need and they'll
03:02create it.
03:03So Alibaba.com has just been an incredible resource for us in our business.
03:15When Jules and I met, we became a force.
03:18A lot of people call us the dynamic duo.
03:21We are very much stronger together.
03:24I would not have picked this company back up if it weren't for her by my side.
03:30In 2020, Jules looked at me and she said, how much do you believe in this?
03:35And I was like, with all my heart.
03:36And she said, all we have left is our home.
03:40And so we sold our home.
03:42We leveraged it all because of what we believe that it's not about a product, it's about
03:46a mission that we have together.
03:49Alibaba.com made it easier to do it our way.