vodi.me

“Either do something uncommon or do something common, uncommonly well”

avtor Tadej Peric 11. maja, 2023

Series: In Conversation with …Massimiliano (Max) Stefanutti, founder of discoclock.com and brezmeje.si

Sir Richard Branson once said “To launch a business means solving problems. Solving problems means listening”. And after reading this interview you will understand why this quote is relevant in my conversation with Max. Massimiliano, or Max as we all call him is another extraordinary soul and I am happy and proud our paths have crossed two decades ago. Born in Italy, where he operates his business but lives in Slovenia and speaks Slovenian fluently.

It is the year 2010, when Max resigns as a mechanical designer at a scientific lab and lays the foundations of his startup discoclock.com, and after a challenging and learning initial phase the discoclock grows exponentially and becomes a global brand – the disco clocks are being sold all over the world. The business uses old vinyl records to create clocks and other products – making it an example of running a business with a recycled product – and this is a way of solving a problem. Re-use, Re-invent, Re-purpose!

Max is a volcano constantly erupting interesting ideas and in this interview we talk about his growth in business, a newly founded venture which originated by listening to friend’s requests, and an important revelation about his state of mind that describes how he is currently feeling when it comes to business – Max talks about “Decrescita Felice” and explains how he has found peace of mind running a smaller business…instead of constantly pursuing growth, as he says” bigger does not necessarily mean better”.

OLD VINYL BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE FROM THE DUSTBIN OF HISTORY

How did you come up with the idea to use old vinyl records and create products out of it…? And why Disco Clock? 

Well, I can say everything started randomly in 2010: A radio station owner friend of my sister’s experienced basement flooding, which resulted in the ruin of thousands of records. I made the choice to carry the records home so I could figure out how to recycle them.

The first thing that came to my mind was vinyl jewellery, but soon after the first prototypes, I noticed that what was left from the engravings, was a cool clock without clock hands. I then ran to the first department store to find a clock movement, and few moments later the first disco clock was born. Disco derives from the Italian word record.

I still remember when I brought it home and showed it to my friends… the reaction at first hasn’t been exactly enthusiastic! But I already had new models and designs in my mind… so, in a matter of weeks, I developed the first collection…

The first step to testing the market has been giving them to friends as a present, but soon after, also my friends wanted me to create some new models for them or to use as presents…

I had so many requests that I realized this idea could turn into a business.

To make a long story short, I quit my previous job as a mechanical designer for a scientific laboratory and started my own company.

At first, I used to sell the clocks at flea markets in the north-eastern part of Italy, but after a while, I started attending these markets in the Milan area as well, and that’s where a buyer from a big German “flash sale website” saw the clocks and fell in love with them. She proposed I sell the clocks on their website. We had some campaigns together and the success was huge… immediately after I got contacted by similar websites who wanted my clocks… and that’s when I understood the power of the internet…it was the year 2012.

FROM LOCAL FLEA MARKETS TO GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

What are your main distribution channels and is there perhaps a specific country where the product performed best?

After initially attending flea markets, I decided it was time to find some resellers, so I applied for a booth at MACEF in Milan: this was the biggest trade fair for home and giftware in Italy and probably in Europe at that time.

The feedback was great, and many orders were placed. Unfortunately, I was too naive at that time and didn’t know the market well. It turned out that many of the customers who received the orders completely forgot to pay for them. That was the time I understood the importance of asking for advance payments.

Years went by and I continued to attend similar trade fairs in Frankfurt and Paris. I started developing a network of resellers and distributors in Europe, Japan, and Australia… Internet sales were good as well, so I had to hire some people to help me.

That lasted until 2017 when Chinese competitors started copying my products and started offering them to my distributor in Australia… Of course, they were a lot cheaper, and my company was too small to compete… Almost at the same time, my German distributor had a nervous breakdown, so I basically lost simultaneously my second and third biggest markets. That’s when I decided to cut the investment in trade fairs and concentrate my resources on discoclock.com and amazon.

Now we still have few good B2B partners around Europe, but most of the income comes from the website and amazon. Our main markets are Italy and Germany.

DISCO CLOCK UNIQUE DESIGNS

At the beginning, also Ipad cases were designed

Tell us about your product range……..

We currently offer two different collections of clocks, the classic, and the double-decker collection. The classic collection features engraved vinyl clocks, and the double-decker collection adds some luxury to the product as it features gold or silver records on the back.

At the beginning of this business journey, I used to develop a lot of other different products made from recycled vinyl records: jewellery, lamps, phone and iPad cases, and wall panels…being a designer, thinking about and creating new products comes naturally… but all these products needed a lot more work, and gave us a smaller margin… we weren’t competitive enough and after some consideration and business sense, we decided to focus our attention to the disco clocks.

Lately, we also started collaborating with the record industry by creating framed gold and platinum records when singers or bands get their sales certified.

COVID TIMES – ONLINE BUSINESS THRIVES

How did your product sell while various lockdowns were limiting most people around the world?

We design framed gold and platinum records when singers or bands get their sales certified

To be sincere lockdowns helped raise our online sales. Running an online business, we were allowed to keep our operations running… and people at home didn’t have much to do other than watch Netflix and buy things online! So, in terms of sales, 2020 has been an amazing year for us…The worst part during the lockdown was the return of the borders within the EU. My girlfriend and I live in Slovenia, but the company is in Italy (which is only a 20 min drive). So, every day, at least twice a day, we had to spend some time at the border control explaining how and why we were allowed to work and to cross the border.

LISTENING TO FRIENDS – FULFILLING A NEED – AND A NEW BUSINESS IS BORN

You have started as well a new business called “brezmeje.si“…share with us what this business entails…what problem are you solving or rather what need are you fulfilling?

I always tell myself that if I could get one euro for every business idea I have, I would now be a millionaire! Unfortunately, a good idea is just 5% to 10% of the business it takes a lot more to make it a viable business.

Brezmeje.si is an idea that comes from a need for a service. Knowing that I live in Slovenia, but work in Italy, many of my Slovenian friends used to come to me asking; “Look, Max, I would like to order this product from an Italian e-store but shipping to Slovenia is too expensive, or shipment to Slovenia is not an option at all…can I send it to your address in Italy”?

After a while, I told myself.. well, if many friends need this, what about all the Slovenian people I don’t know?

During a weekend I decided a name for the business, registered the domain and developed the website.

Basically when you register on brezmeje.si you receive an email with an Italian address, and instructions on how to use it when you buy something on Italian websites.

Once your order arrives at our place (we are located in Trieste, not far from the former border between Italy and Slovenia ), we send you an email and you can come to pick it up, or we can send it to your Slovenian address via Slovenian post.

Our business receives a fee for the service.

Brezmeje.si works well because some things are cheaper in Italy than in Slovenia, or simply because certain products don’t have a Slovenian distributor. This is just a side business, but thanks to word of mouth, we currently have more than 1500 registered users.

DECRESCITA FELICE – THE SMALLER THE BETTER

Every business comes with many challenges. What part of your business do you find to be the most challenging in your day-to-day operation?

The biggest challenge for me is probably being a “boss” and handling or dealing with people. As I previously said, I have a lot of good ideas, but to develop ideas and make a business out of them you need to be a good boss and be able to manage the people working for you. And with you. You need to understand when it’s time to delegate…

Unfortunately, it is something I never learned well, and this is the reason I am now living a phase of my business life that I call “decrescita felice” or the smaller the better. When I started discoclock.com, I wanted to create a global brand, to have a lot of people working for me, to become a market leader… Well that was ok for the first years in the business, and I even partly succeeded… but at the moment, maybe even because of my mother’s loss, I realized that life is short, and business and money are just a part of it… Running a big business with the intense operation, with many employees (whom you are responsible for) requires dedication, commitment and sacrifices, and one can lose focus on what really matters in life…

So, now, I enjoy running a small company without the hassle of continuous growth… This perhaps sounds philosophical, but I really believe I have found peace of mind working and living in my very own way.

“I am now living a phase of my business life that I call “decrescita felice” or the smaller the better”. Max

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR IDEAS – TAKE RISKS

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs that are trying to launch their business?

Max

You must believe in yourself and your ideas. Take risks and learn to delegate if you want to grow. Try to connect/network with people, many times in life “it’s not what you know, but who you know!”. Last but not least, there is a quote I always keep in my mind: “if you want to succeed in business, either do something uncommon or do something common, uncommonly well”.

www.discoclock.com                       www.brezmeje.si

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Photo: Max’s personal collection