Transcript: PODCAST INTERVIEW: Scott Wilday of Lid Rig

S6, Ep 26: Scott Wilday of Lid Rig

Scott Wilday shares his journey from healthcare to designing fishing products on The Articulate Fly. He discusses challenges, design philosophy, and previews Lid Rig 3.0, highlighting community support.

2024, Marvin S. Cash
The Articulate Fly
http://www.thearticulatefly.com

Marvin Cash from The Articulate Fly interviews Scott Wilday of Lid Rig. Scott shares his background, including growing up fishing for bass and pike. He explains his journey to fly fishing, starting with his brother's influence. Scott talks about his decision to move from the healthcare tech industry to creating tangible products like magnetic nippers. The conversation covers Scott's various Lid Rig products like magnetic nippers, the Mag Band, the Stash Tray, and the modular Flybox. Scott discusses the challenges he faced bringing Lid Rig products to market, including dealing with competition and patent issues. He highlights the unique features of his products, like the opposing magnets on the nippers and the magnetic rubber pads in the Flybox. Scott also shares his design philosophy centered around magnets and user feedback from the fly fishing community. The conversation delves into the growth of Lid Rig and Scott's vision for the company in the next five years. Marvin and Scott touch upon the supportive fly fishing community, the popularity of Lid Rig products among anglers, and Scott's gratitude for the success of his brand. Scott previews the upcoming release of Lid Rig 3.0 and encourages listeners to follow Lid Rig on Instagram and visit their website. The interview ends with plans for future fishing outings and a warm farewell.

Generated Shownotes

Chapters

0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:09 Scott's Fishing Journey
0:06:30 The Genesis of Lid Rig
0:09:04 Scott's Inventor Background
0:11:12 Scott's Unique Nipper Design
0:25:50 Lid Rig's Growing Community
0:27:21 Design Philosophy at Lid Rig
0:35:15 Future Vision for Lid Rig
0:40:52 Generosity in the Fly Fishing Community

Long Summary

Marvin Cash from The Articulate Fly interviews Scott Wilday of LidRig. Scott shares his background, including growing up fishing for bass and pike. He explains his journey to fly fishing, starting with his brother's influence. Scott talks about his decision to move from the healthcare tech industry to creating tangible products like magnetic nippers. The conversation covers Scott's various LidRig products like magnetic nippers, the MagBand, the Stash Tray, and the modular Flybox.

Scott discusses the challenges he faced bringing LidRig products to market, including dealing with competition and patent issues. He highlights the unique features of his products, like the opposing magnets on the nippers and the magnetic rubber pads in the Flybox. Scott also shares his design philosophy centered around magnets and user feedback from the fly fishing community. The conversation delves into the growth of LidRig and Scott's vision for the company in the next five years.

Marvin and Scott touch upon the supportive fly fishing community, the popularity of LidRig products among anglers, and Scott's gratitude for the success of his brand. Scott previews the upcoming release of LidRig 3.0 and encourages listeners to follow LidRig on Instagram and visit their website. The interview ends with plans for future fishing outings and a warm farewell.

Brief Summary

Scott Wilday of LidRig discusses his background and journey into fly fishing with Marvin Cash on The Articulate Fly. Scott shares how he transitioned from the healthcare tech industry to creating tangible products like magnetic nippers, the MagBand, the Stash Tray, and the modular Flybox. He talks about the challenges he faced in bringing these products to market, such as competition and patent issues, highlighting the unique features of his designs. Scott also shares his design philosophy, focused on magnets and user feedback, and discusses his vision for LidRig's future. The interview touches upon the supportive fly fishing community, the success of LidRig products, and a preview of the upcoming LidRig 3.0 release.

Transcript

Introduction

Intro:
[0:04] Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly.
On this episode, I'm joined by Scott Wilday of LidRig.
Scott shares his LidRig story, a deep affinity for Coors Light, and some cool new products.
I think you're really going to enjoy this one. But before we get to the interview, just a couple of housekeeping items.
If you like the podcast, please tell a friend, and please subscribe and leave us a rating review in the podcatcher of your choice. It really helps us out.
And don't forget to check out our Patreon community. It's a great way to support the show and our partners.
We have everything from discounts on tying materials and guide trips to small group classes.

[0:44] And a quick public service announcement. If you'll be in East Tennessee this weekend on March 9th, I want to give you a heads up about the Tailwater Roundup.
It's a cleanup event on the South Holston and the Watauga from from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you want to help on the South Holston, meet at the Bluff City Boat Ramp.
And if you want to help on the Watauga, meet at the Ingalls and Elizabethton.
There will be an after-cleanup celebration at the Watauga River Lodge.
If you have any questions, reach out to at Flying Soho on Instagram.
And now, a shout-out to this episode's sponsor. This episode's brought to you by our friends at Artisan Angler.
If you're looking for a better way to organize your flies, tippet, and tools, you should check out the Flytrap at artisananglerllc.com.
I've dropped a link in the show notes. They sell direct through Amazon, so you get prime shipping and free returns.
It doesn't get any easier than that. Make your time on the water more productive and check out the Flytrap today.
Now, on to our interview.

Marvin:
[1:45] Well, Scott, welcome to the Articulate Fly.

Scott:
[1:49] Hey, thanks for having me, Marvin.

Marvin:
[1:50] Yeah, I've been looking forward to it, and I appreciate your flexibility on the reschedule. I think you understand sometimes they're just kid logistic issues you have to deal with.

Scott:
[2:00] Hey, anything for you, Marvin, you know?

Marvin:
[2:03] I appreciate that. So we have a tradition on the Articulate Fly.

Scott's Fishing Journey

[2:09] We like to ask all of our guests to share their earliest fishing memory.

Scott:
[2:14] Earliest fishing memory well uh you know son i i mean i grew up on a lake out here i live in denver uh littleton but um so i grew up fishing for bass pike catfish that kind of thing um and i'm the oldest i've got two brothers so we were out there every just about every day in the summer and uh there was this bass we called it we called it the one-eyed bass and i'm pretty sure i we've caught between me and my brother we probably caught this thing at least 100 times every summer and uh it just lived under this bridge and uh yeah it just had the one eye and and that's just how we spent our summers so and you know that was coming from an early age and didn't really get into fly fishing until later in life um i've probably been heavy until probably six or seven years now so um but yes i'll i'll do it all i'm an equal opportunity uh angler so been fishing is is okay in my book yeah.

Marvin:
[3:26] Well there you go so what was the impetus for you to come to the dark side of fly fishing.

Scott:
[3:32] Yeah. So, you know, man, where to start?
You know, my background, I guess, is, you know, sales and I started a health care tech company and, you know, it's just a grind and health care tech is not very fun.
I'll put it that way and and it's software so it's it's not a tangible physical product but um you know learned a lot after you know selling that it was just thinking you know what do I want to do next what can I be passionate about and um that was about the time my uh my brother had been and just dragging me along, sly fishing.
I actually hated sly fishing starting out.
And I just didn't get it. Mainly because I stunk at it.
So, you know, getting stuck and tangled and it just, yeah, it didn't resonate with me.
But I equate it to golf, right? It just takes one good fish, one good golf shot, then you're a golfer.
It's your life, right? So it was a shame. Same for me, one big brown trout.
And uh the rest is history.

Marvin:
[4:46] Yeah well i would say i never had the golf shot so i never never got, don't save yourself save some money yeah so uh my my junior clubs are in the garage and i probably haven't touched a golf club in 35 years so yeah.

Scott:
[5:03] Good for you yeah.

Marvin:
[5:04] Yeah so so you you got serious curious about fly fishing six or so years ago?
Are there some kind of fly fishing mentors that kind of stick out in your mind?
And, you know, if so, what did they teach you?

Scott:
[5:18] Yeah, so mainly my brother, who he's the true angler in the family, I would say.
He had the most passion for it, and he just kind of got one of those contagious personalities and rubbed off on me.
But, you know, through him, I learned pretty much everything I needed to know and the basics, you know, as far as knots and depths and that kind of thing.
And then, you know, littering, it's been a whirlwind, but fun.
But I've been traveling all over the place, fishing, you know, down in Belize and Mexico, Louisiana, up north.
So a little bit of everything. And so it's an interesting question, but everywhere fish is different. Everybody fish is different.
And I think that's kind of reflected in what I'm trying to do with LidRig and the products.
So it's a long answer for simple questions. I apologize.

The Genesis of Lid Rig

Marvin:
[6:31] No, no, no, it's all good. And I mean, talking about LidRig, I mean, tell us a little bit about, you know, the story behind kind of the genesis of the company.

Scott:
[6:41] You want the real one? Yeah, I'll take the real one and the fake one.

Marvin:
[6:46] You can do it all.

Scott:
[6:49] Well, speaking of golf, we were at my youngest brother's bachelor party.
We did it up in the mountains. It was like a weekend deal.
It was a little gift. He got us golf ball markers.
It's a magnetic clip you wear on your hat. It was customized and all that.
Um next day we went fishing and as i mentioned i'm horrible at fishing so i was stuck in the tree couldn't reach my brand new expensive nippers uh as i'm dangling out of the tree so i ended up using my golf ball marker to uh get my fly back so then you throw six cores lights in there and uh, And I've got a company with multiple products.

Marvin:
[7:44] So it was a drunk fishing, climbing experience, is what you're saying.

Scott:
[7:48] Yeah. Yeah. I owe a lot to Coors Light, I think.

Marvin:
[7:53] Oh, well, yeah. I was going to say you owe a lot to some IPA, but we'll just stick with the Coors Light.

Scott:
[8:01] I'm not a big IPA guy. Don't judge me. But, you know, and if I'm being honest, I'm more of a scotch guy.

Marvin:
[8:09] Yeah, I was going to say. Yeah, my recollection was you were drinking bourbon in Edison.

Scott:
[8:15] It was a good memory.

Marvin:
[8:16] Yeah.

Scott:
[8:19] I'm sure I was totally coherent, right?

Marvin:
[8:22] 100%. Yeah, good. And so you've got kind of the bachelor party genesis, but, you know, how much did your kind of prior professional non-fishing life kind of feed into the LIDREG idea? Yeah.

Scott:
[8:36] Oh man. So yeah, I've always kind of had the inventor's bug, I guess you could say.
So I should, I remember back to like third grade invention convention, uh, creating these things, swarps, I call them.
It's like sweats that turn into shorts.
Um, you know, I made these, these gloves for surfers being in Colorado makes sense. Right.
But it was like webbing in between your fingers.

Scott's Inventor Background

[9:05] Fingers as a glove so you could paddle better and you know later on in life I just kind of carried on to the healthcare tech side I've been involved with startup companies and then broke off did my own and um just kind of making the process better between and the communication better between physicians and patients to so it's kind of 3D body parts that Docs could interact with and explain what the heck's going on and uh so yeah i i just it's in my blood i guess to uh kind of see a problem and try to come up with a solution but one thing to have an idea a whole nother beast to uh, make it a reality and and bring it bring it to market so yeah.

Marvin:
[9:56] 100 and so but you know why did Did you not just go start another tech company after you sold the last one?

Scott:
[10:03] Yeah, so tech is, I think I wanted to take a stab at something tangible, like a physical product.
So in the tech game, that gets lost, right?
So you're selling, in the healthcare tech situation, I was selling to hospital systems. And, you know, it was a long sales cycle.
Once you sell it, you got to come in and implement it.
You know, there was just a lot more to it.
And I don't know, I think just on a personal level, it was, you know, what can I, and at the time I was going through some pretty heavy stuff on a personal level as well.
So, you know, I think I wanted the cell grind itself.
I was kind of over that and I'm just looking for something I could really enjoy doing and be passionate about.
So, yeah, fly fishing fit the bill.

Scott's Unique Nipper Design

Marvin:
[11:12] Yeah, there you go. And so, you know, your magnetic nippers are your flagship product. you know, what opportunity did you see kind of in Nippers and kind of what was the problem that kind of your entrepreneur and vendor eyes saw that needed to be solved?

Scott:
[11:28] So I probably have a unique take on fly fishing, just being newer to the sport, if you want to call it a sport.
But, you know, I just didn't understand why guys were carrying so much gear.

[11:48] And that really stuck out to me. and then uh you know as i progressed and nippers kind of grow with your fishing game it seems like right you start out with the the fingernail clippers and and you know shoot i've seen some lid rig knockoffs being sold for for like 200 to 400 bucks so um that that was jaw-dropping to me um that people would spend that amount of money on such a small simple tool so when i kind of dug in on it from a business perspective you know there was only a handful of players and and um yeah i just felt like i could i could make a play and went out and made some prototypes to uh to experiment with so and i think i had what was it 50 prototypes made and the first two shops i walked into bottom all so at at that point i kind of figured uh i might be on to something here and and those were horrible i mean they were they had springs and ball bearings and uh i mean I mean, they were ugly and I mean, it was pretty rough.

[13:15] But the fact that I could sell my prototypes told me what I needed to know.

[13:21] And, um, you know, from, from that version to what it is today is, is basically a whole new product and in a good way.

Marvin:
[13:31] Yeah. And I guess you got a little bit of a design refresh relatively recently, right? Yeah.

Scott:
[13:37] Yeah. Um, so lid rigs probably three years, maybe three and a half years now, uh, I've been at it.
So it's grown relatively quickly. Um, and that's just how I tend to work is, is quick, but, uh, with intention.
So the lid rig itself, um, you know, out now is version 2.0.
Uh, in reality, It's probably like version 27, you know, with all the modifications that I made.
And I'm pretty pumped. I just signed off on the LidRig 3.0 design, which I think is going to be the end-all be-all as far as nippers go.
I'm pretty excited about it.

Marvin:
[14:29] Yeah, the one ring to rule them all?

Scott:
[14:32] Yeah, hopefully. That's the idea. Yeah.

Marvin:
[14:35] So, you know, for folks that haven't had a chance to kind of put their hands on a set or to see you at a show or see them in a shop, you know, let folks know kind of what makes your nipper design unique.

Scott:
[14:48] Sure. So the most prominent feature is the fact that it's got opposing magnets on either side of the nipper. nipper. So there's no springs in the middle.
So it's the magnets, the reverse polarity that that keeps them open and provides that spring action.
And took that and just kind of built on it, created it.
So starting out, my initial thought was just to have the nippers on the hat so created a clip that goes on the the brim or bill of your hat or lid i should say and um yeah it's kind of the golf ball marker version uh for fly fishing so easy access but now uh we've added in like a bottle opener a hook sharpener eyelet poker you can't actually wear the lanyard or wear the nippers on a lanyard if you if you want um so it's just kind of a, a good all-access tool so depending on how you fish and where you are and they'll uh get the job done for you yeah.

Marvin:
[16:02] It's neat i mean i uh i like the sharpener and everybody needs a bottle opener right.

Scott:
[16:06] That's you know that's what i'm saying although although.

Marvin:
[16:11] My recollection is Coors Light bottles or twist tops, so you wouldn't need the bottle opener, but I know for the IPAs, you would.

Scott:
[16:19] No glass on the rivers, right?

Marvin:
[16:21] Yeah, exactly. So, you know, you were talking about kind of a little bit earlier about kind of the challenges of the startup.
You know, what were some of the biggest challenges and surprises as you were working to bring the nippers to market?

Scott:
[16:34] Yeah, the biggest surprise was the fact that people liked the idea.
You know, and everybody's got an opinion.
So, you know, there's a few people that said this is the dumbest idea I've ever heard. No fly fisherman's going to buy this.
And to me, I'm the wrong guy to say that to.
So challenge accepted. but yeah challenges now that it's more established so I guess out of the gate I was thinking I could license the product which I've done and the companies I worked with they started getting emails from folks saying hey screw you guys you're stealing Blitter Egg's idea and you know it's like no we're all in the same team here but to.

[17:31] Me that indicated that i might be i might have a brand um that i can build on with uh obviously people wild enough to go out of their way and send emails like that so um you know then i met with another large company and because i was just one product we couldn't really do much so you know coming out with uh product number two was it's kind of a flyer to be honest and and today that's it's one of the most successful products that i've launched um and it's it's simple but effective and um but getting getting out into the market it um you know i'm pretty heavy on the social media space but getting into shops and whatnot um it's harder than than you would think so you know and a lot of that's because guys are out fishing and guiding and you know you gotta and i was new to the retail game so figuring out you know sales cycles and and all that so um yeah but now i've got shoot i don't know probably.

[18:58] 20 or so different products all with the magnetic vein and that's a hurdle in itself because, you know anything coming in revenue-wise is going to new products new innovations and so it's just trying to it's a delicate balancing act you know as far as scaling bringing bringing new stuff out and uh trying to grow so.

Marvin:
[19:24] Yeah interesting and does anything kind of stand out in your mind in terms of like the differences with lid rig and like your your healthcare tech startup.

Scott:
[19:34] Yeah well actually what stood out to me i was listening to some of your um last podcast, would be uh waiter guys i don't know if we should drop names or not but yeah the grunman's guys, there you go um and and i thought that was pretty interesting their their approach to getting into shops and whatnot i mean there's direct competition right where there's a there's what two other main players so that a fly shop could sell so yeah they're.

[20:12] They're directly competing so from a literate standpoint um i just do it a little different i guess right like i don't have i i can walk in and and they can sell my products pretty much without any issues, right?
And even if they do sell some other companies or similar products, you know, side-by-side, they'll end up going with GlidRig.
So I just thought that was pretty interesting. Their approach is kind of slow rolling to get into shops where I'm more of a shotgun approach, I guess.
And, you know, I can walk in and walk out with a check to a fly shop so um yeah it's and a lot of it i'm i'm learning as i go too so then shoot now i've got distributors overseas and we're in my japan canada europe um just signed south africa, so you know just trying to to keep up at this point yeah.

Marvin:
[21:21] It's interesting though i mean it's It's been a while since I've like really kind of drilled into kind of the nipper space, but I would think you kind of sit at a really nice kind of price point and feature benefit point to kind of the spectrum of nippers that are in the market, right?

Scott:
[21:37] Yeah, on purpose too, because there are, and that's another big hurdle I've come up against, you know, by and large, the space is friendly and everybody enjoys.
It's long and seems trustworthy, but I've had some larger companies come in and knock off some stuff.
I've only been at it three and a half years, so people are watching what I'm doing, which I guess is a good thing.
Uh, is something you, you gotta be cognizant of and, you know, you can spend a bunch of money on a patent and all this.
And, uh, you know, I've had interesting legal conversations.
I'll put it that way, but, um, yeah, I digress.
I, sorry, I got sidetracked. What was the, the question?

Marvin:
[22:40] Really the price points. I mean, and I think the patent thing is an interesting thing too. I mean, because it's like, you know, it's a patent plus the money to go sue somebody.
So it's kind of a different game. But, you know, my recollection is, you know, I would say, I don't know, the, let's just say the air quote high end of the nipper market is like 200 plus, right?
Yeah. And then I don't really think of, you know, and then I, you know, you're at 75 and then, you know, everything else to me is, you know, and I'm not trying to offend anybody who's got some stellar or nipper that I haven't seen because I don't purport to see them all.
But, you know, the rest of it's sort of that kind of utilitarian stuff that's, you know, with zingers, right?
And at a different price point. So, yeah, it's an interesting thing about being kind of copied.
Like, I mean, you know, back to kind of talking about the Grundon's guys, like, you notice how this year now everybody's got to, like, tweak their suspension system on their waders?

Scott:
[23:34] Yeah, yeah.

Marvin:
[23:35] Right?

Scott:
[23:35] Exactly.

Marvin:
[23:36] It's the exact same thing. And, you know, you know this, right, from being in the tech company background and making stuff, you know, not everything is patentable.
So that's an interesting thing, too. And, you know, the only way you win is you got to outrun people and also be nicer, right?

Scott:
[23:51] Yeah, exactly. Or you can try and outpay them.
But, you know, as a startup, that's hard to do when you're going up against the big guys.

Marvin:
[24:03] Yeah. Yeah.

Scott:
[24:05] But yeah, I mean, but that's to me, and part of where the idea came from, I guess, is, you know, I watched a guy in a river with expensive nippers that doled out on him, right?
So they were pretty much useless as he's standing in the middle of the river in May. Yeah.

[24:27] Air quotes have replacement blades but they're going to charge you for them so that didn't make sense to me um at all so you know and so they get you twice and you know it just wasn't doing my job so um you know 75 bucks i i get is it's not the cheapest but um you know the lid rig is is a multi-tool and it does a lot so um you know that helps and it does not have replacement blades so you can just sharpen them and uh kind of like a knife right with with the uh the clip itself so you know long lasting it's not the prettiest but it's a tool it's made to be used it doesn't have have the pretty trout patterns on it or anything like that but uh and i think that resonates with with people so and i i don't know from an outsider's perspective still consider myself kind of an outsider but um you know it seems like the industry is changing a little bit too um you know getting it's getting younger right and and more accessible so um people have.

Lid Rig's Growing Community

[25:50] Different tastes different needs and and like i said earlier everybody fish is different so i want to make tools that uh work for how you fish and and that's the fun part for me i you know i just make stuff and guys like you tell me how they use it.
So, and usually post about it on Instagram, which is fun.

Marvin:
[26:14] Yeah. And my use case is, you know, unless you lose your hat, you're not going to lose your nippers.
Cause I mean, I would, I would be seriously crying if I had lost a pair of $200 nippers in the river.

Scott:
[26:26] Yeah. Well, and actually, cause, uh, so I was down in, uh, fishing at the X flats and there was a doctor down there fishing as well.
Uh, so, you know, gave him the lid rig to use. And that was, it was just kind of a negative Nancy maybe.
And, uh, he's like, well, you know, what if I lose my hat?
And I'm like, well, that'd be impressive. So, of course, he ends up losing his hat, sinks to the bottom, but they were able to get his hat back.
So they stuck the metal rod down to get his hat back via the lid rig and magnetic connection.
So, you know, there's two ways to look at it, I guess.

Marvin:
[27:14] Yeah, well, it's also easier to find your hat on the bottom of a river than it is to find a pair of nippers.

Scott:
[27:20] Yeah, that's true.

Design Philosophy at Lid Rig

Marvin:
[27:21] So, you know, do you, you know, at this point, Scott, have you kind of, you know, you've got multiple products and we'll talk about the rest of them in a minute, but do you kind of have an overarching design philosophy at LidRig?

Scott:
[27:34] Yes well so i guess the i like magnets and that's kind of been.

[27:42] Um my mo so to speak with any new product that i'm coming out with but um more so um use cases so you know i've got a i've built a pretty substantial i'd say over 100 professional anglers that i'm in contact with anglers and tires i'm in contact with almost daily and uh you know i i'm i'm good at knowing what i don't know and uh listening to what people need and and and want and if i can solve that problem with magnets i'll do it and so like i live on a lake down here in Denver.
So, you know, I've got all my bass stuff that I'm fishing with.
I just got back from the X Flats fishing down there with the salt flies.
And then I'll be up in the mountains, you know, fishing for trout.
So to me, it's just, I can have 20 different fly boxes or I can have one that's interchangeable magnetically.
And so, you know, less is more.
I guess in a nutshell and, and I accomplished that with magnets.

Marvin:
[29:04] Yeah. Which is, uh, as we've joked is awesome. If you don't have a pacemaker.

Scott:
[29:09] Yeah, exactly.

Marvin:
[29:13] So you, you want to kind of walk, uh, our listeners through, you know, some of the other products that are in the lid rig universe.

Scott:
[29:22] Sure. Um, I think the most interesting one, or funny, I'll say, but you remember the slap bracelets?
I think I showed it to you at the show, the toy show.
Picture that, but it's like a magnetic watch.
So I made it originally to slap around a boat frame, but now I've seen guys using it.
They'll stick it to the side of their car and all your rides up for you i saw a guy he lost a streamer uh tied on the mag band threw it out got a streamer back so you know it's just a lot of different cool creative ways um that that that's used and a lot of the tires seem to like it they'll They'll wrap it around their, basically their vice.
And then, shoot, what else?
Just came out with the Stash Tray. So, which is a magnetic plate, hat clip.
It'll also have a linear detachment.

[30:34] Just launched those a couple weeks ago. Seem to be pretty popular.
Another one's called the Flywheel. It's just a heavy-duty magnet, 56-pound.
Pull force, literally it'll hold a shotgun if you need it to, but you can put that on your waders, your straps, it'll hold forceps, flies, actually works with some of our other products as well. So, yeah.

[31:04] Everything kind of works together in the Wittrig universe.
I won't make something if it can't be used with something else, if that makes sense.

Marvin:
[31:17] Yeah, got it. How big is the stash box? I assume it fits on the brim of your hat, right?

Scott:
[31:24] Yeah, it's pretty small. Think of it as it's similar in size to the existing clip.
A little bit bigger and uh with the magnets inside of it so your i mean the magnets on the existing, lid rig are super strong but uh yeah with this mag tray um i mean you could take a branch to the face and and that literate's not going anywhere so um and if you're not using it for For, to hold your wood rig, I typically use it to hold real small flies if I'm trout fishing.
So it'll hold, shoot up, you know, 10, 15, probably even 20, you know, smaller flies.

Marvin:
[32:15] Yeah. All kinds of good stuff for like Cheeseman and 11 mile, right? All midges and stuff like that.

Scott:
[32:20] There you go. Yeah.

Marvin:
[32:21] Look at you.

Scott:
[32:21] Oh yeah.

Marvin:
[32:23] So I also saw, I think it was on Instagram that I guess you, you know, you mentioned this a little bit earlier, But I guess the modular Flybox is a relatively new release for you, too, because I saw the video on your Instagram page.

Scott:
[32:36] Yeah. So I'm super pumped on them.
And it's just a new concept. So how do I describe it?
So instead of a foam, typical foam insert, I have these magnetic rubber pads, stronger than anything else on the market.
That's a guarantee. um and then so you can actually just throw your flies right in there and they'll stick, which is what i'll do or we also have these um foam insert with a metal bottom that stick to it so you can just swap them in and out of uh out of boxes so and then we also have what's called a mag dad so it's just that same magnetic rubber material but you can stick that you know to the the side of your boat um if your time flies basically your vice wherever you need it dashboard.

[33:36] And uh yeah so you can just pull pull that set out put it right next to you where you actually need it so you're not digging through 20 different boxes trying to to find the next fly so just a little more efficient and like i said you can everything works together so you can also wear Wear those inserts, you know, on the flywheel or the mag band if you need to.
So it's, it's cool. I'm, I'm excited for it.
And, uh, yeah, a lot of the shops have been picking them up.
So I'm thinking you'll, uh, start to see them in the market a little bit more here.

Marvin:
[34:16] Yeah. And is the box, I mean, I know the one on the Instagram feed was relatively large. Does the box come in multiple sizes? Yeah.

Scott:
[34:24] Yes we have a small medium and large um type box so like the streamer streamer size box down to, uh you know as a smaller day day box so we and then we have not quite the streamer size box but it's a little bit thinner we call it the mag book and i freaking love these things i mean And they're waterproof, indestructible, super versatile.
And that's been my go-to is the MagBook.
So it's got the see-through top, thick plastic, and the magnetic concept as well.

Marvin:
[35:10] Got it. Yeah. So it's kind of like a magnetic Oompa box, right?

Scott:
[35:14] Yeah. There you go.

Future Vision for Lid Rig

Marvin:
[35:15] Yeah. Yeah. So that's super cool. Cool. And so, you know, as you kind of look in your perpetual motion entrepreneur startup eye, you know, what's your vision for LidRig in the next five years?

Scott:
[35:32] So you know who knows at this rate i'm going day by day but you know i think um, i've got the the product suite kind of where where it needs to be um so now it's more expansion mode so getting into more shock uh different parts of the world and yeah, kind of stabilizing on the business side and kind of take it from there.
You know, I've been approached by a few people about acquisition and stuff like that. So yeah, You know, who knows, but it's cool to see the, the started as one product and, and I feel like now it's a company, you know, a brand.
So it's just cool to see that grow. And so I think, I think I can make it larger and, and, uh, yeah, who knows five years is a long time for a startup.

Marvin:
[36:44] Up so yeah i could scale it back to three if that helps there you go i mean.

Scott:
[36:51] I'll talk to anybody put it that way but right now i'm having fun growing.

Marvin:
[36:56] Yeah i mean it's interesting because you can clearly see the community because you know if you go uh to your website into your store i mean you have you can tell there's a lot of community because you have an unusually, large number of kind of apparel type things right hats shirts and that doesn't happen you know There are two choices, and I know you wouldn't make one of them, which is to make a lot of shit and not sell it.
Or you have an active community that wants to wear your hats and hoodies and stuff and let people spread the word for you.

Scott:
[37:28] Yeah, that's what littering is. And I think that's what I'm most proud of, actually, is the community surrounding it.
So it's kind of by the people for the people. and and like i said i'm i'm not joking when i'm when i say i'm not a i'm not an ex-guide and i'm horrible at fishing so um you know i but i i learn from people right i don't tie flies but i appreciate the heck out of it so um but the the community is just phenomenal so you know and going one of these like fly fishing shows it's amazing guys will come up and you know professional tires they'll just post up start tying flies and you know i've got people coming into the booth just to hang out and they'll people will walk up wearing a lid rig and they'll sell to people staying in there and i just kind of sit back and you know drink a beer so it's uh and luckily it's It's kind of one of those products where once you use it or touch it and feel it, it kind of solves itself.
So, and you can tell by my rambling, that's exactly what I need.

Marvin:
[38:46] Yeah, but I mean, it's cool, right? I mean, particularly like you're lucky because I think that, you know, where you are in the Denver area is probably like the highest concentration of fishiness in the country, right?
Right, for Trout, you know, in terms of shops and, you know, resource and guides and people.
But, you know, to be able to, for example, like, I mean, you were mobbed in Edison. I walked past your table a bunch, right?
That's got to be super cool, right? Yeah.

Scott:
[39:15] Yeah, it's humbling, for sure.
You know, and you're right. I mean, Denver or Colorado is kind of Mecca, I guess you could say.

[39:27] But again, it's me being green to the industry.
And, you know, shoot, I've walked into some pretty big shops.
Just like Fly Fish Food is a good example. I walked in there with an earlier version of the Lidrig, you know, not knowing who Cheetor was and all that and how big they were and influential.
But, you know, they brought in Lidrig, right?
And they're willing to help and kind of provide feedback and help me grow.
And so just, yeah, it's humbling, man.
And I've made some tremendous friends through this process.
And, uh, now it's cool to see other people connect.
Like I wasn't down in the, the Texas show, but there was a bunch of, uh, you know, people wearing the lid rig and pictures and shirts and whatnot.
And, uh, you know, I'm sitting at home with my six-year-old looking to myself like, Hey, that's pretty cool.
I wish I was there, but, um, yeah, just getting it out there, you know, making stuff people, people like and, and, uh, hopefully I can keep the train rolling here.

Marvin:
[40:46] I mean, I think, you know, we, we have a very, very special community in fly fishing in terms of, you know, openness and generosity.

Generosity in the Fly Fishing Community

[40:53] And, um, you know, I always, you know, say that I think the, you know, fly anglers are some of the most generous people you'll ever meet.

Scott:
[41:01] I would very much agree with that. Yeah.
Until, from a company perspective, I'm much more cautious now versus, you know, when I was getting up and off the ground.
But, you know, I know people are paying attention now just by products that they'll come out with.
And but, you know, that's life. It's competition.
It's a capitalist country. So competition is good.
And, you know, in very few communities outside of fly fishing could a single dad with an idea, you know, get it literate to where it is today.
And if the only reason I, it is where it is, is based on that community and people helping out.
So it's, I'm very thankful for the whole experience.

Marvin:
[42:10] It's very, very neat. Pete, before I let you go this evening, is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners?

Scott:
[42:17] No, just keep an eye out for 3.0. Pretty, pretty pumped on it.
Probably in the next couple of months here.
So, and I should, you know, speaking of community, give us a follow on Instagram.
It's just me. I just repost everybody else's cool fishing trips and whatnot.

Marvin:
[42:40] Not so but it's a fun follow and.

Scott:
[42:43] Uh and and you'll learn how to uh pick up a new couple new tricks on how to use lead rig gear.

Marvin:
[42:49] Yeah there you go and so you know you if you want to let folks know like the best place obviously you're on instagram that's your your social media flavor of ice cream but you want to let folks know website uh instagram handle and all that kind of good stuff.

Scott:
[43:03] Yeah just lead rig leadrig.com pretty pretty simple.

Marvin:
[43:07] That is pretty simple uh well listen Listen, Scott, I appreciate you spending some time with me this evening.

Scott:
[43:13] Yeah, thank you, Marvin. We'll have to get out and fish, eh?

Marvin:
[43:16] Yeah, absolutely. I'll be in your neck of the woods this summer for sure.

Scott:
[43:20] All right. Bring that lid, Rick.

Marvin:
[43:22] I'll do it. Take care.

Scott:
[43:25] Cheers.

Intro:
[43:27] Well, folks, I hope you enjoyed that as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.
Again, if you like the podcast, please tell a friend and please subscribe and leave us a rating and review in the podcatcher of your choice.
And don't forget to check out the fly trap from our friends at Artisan Angler.
Tight lines, everybody.

Marvin CashMarch 19, 2024Comment