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.
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