Drivers in Central Connecticut have a lot to say about sports, politics, lifestyle and religion.
From “proud parent of an honor student at (school),” to “my poodle is cuter than your baby” messages on bumper stickers, license plate frames and vehicle magnets, a car’s rear can be a crowded place to get a word in edgewise.
MirrorHoodie, a Simsbury startup launched in April, is expanding the mobile advertising space by selling spandex covers that fit securely on a vehicle’s two side mirrors. No matter what direction drivers are heading, they can get the message out that their child’s high school football team rocks.
Paul Carrier has spent every free moment during the past six months and “a few thousand dollars” of his personal savings to develop MirrorHoodie.
The side business — Carrier will keep his day job as a financial executive in New Haven — is a family affair. While he lined up a reliable supplier and worked with his 11-year-old son to design the logo images, his wife Sheila and their 19-year-old daughter came up with the name.
MirrorHoodie targets the K-12 school and higher education markets in Canada and the U.S. as well as nonprofit groups looking to resell the coverings as part of their fundraising efforts. Customers can submit their own images and logos or request a design through the company.
Carrier sports a blue MirrorHoodie cover with a gold Simsbury High School Trojan logo on his car. He used his son’s lacrosse team as the first prototype.
Each order includes a minimum 100 coverings at $8 per pair, which schools and organizations can resell for $20 each, said Carrier.
“It’s a neat way to kick off a fundraising campaign, advertise a business or show support for a sports team,” said Carrier. “The possibilities are endless.”
So are the challenges.
Customers in the school and nonprofit arena seem reluctant to fork over $800 to $1,000 upfront to a new business for a product they can’t return if it doesn’t sell out.
Interest is strong, Carrier says, but so far, he has sold 30 pairs. He anticipates the business will take off in the fall when schools are back in session.
Carrier is confident his strategy, which enables him to keep costs down, inventory out and cash flow positive, will work over time.
Carrier said the differentiator in his mirror coverings — also known as socks or skins — give him an edge over his competitors. He has figured out how to make the outer corner of his cover’s stretchy spandex reflect using a special type of ink. He is in the process of patenting his idea and will incorporate it into his business.
Carrier would like to put collegiate sports teams and pro athletes on the MirrorHoodie. But the college market is incredibly costly and time-consuming to enter.
Depending on the number of school brands Carrier wants to use, he is looking at paying the Collegiate Licensing Company anywhere between $8,000 and $21,000 the first year to use the UCONN logo.
MirrorHoodie is seeking a partner to join the business, said Carrier, who first discovered the coverings during his hour-long commute last year.
“It was the first time I ever saw something like that,” said Carrier.
“I started researching the idea online and found that the covers are real popular in Europe and have become more so following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when soccer fans would use the mirror coverings to support their favorite teams,” he said.
Carrier recently contacted the White House about putting the 2012 presidential candidates on the mirror coverings.
“We just reached out to them, so we hope to hear something soon,” he said. “That would be real exciting for us.”
