We’re so pleased to welcome Siemens PLM Solid Edge software to The Henry Ford as a sponsor of OnMaking and Maker Faire Detroit 2014. Crazy Cart creator Ali Kermani will be on hand to share his innovation story. Learn a little bit more about his journey below.
From big wheels to business school, Ali Kermani, Product Designer and Brand Manager, at Razor USA, and former professional skateboarder, has a passion for wheels and having fun that has driven him to achieve great success. Ali recently delivered a keynote speech at Solid Edge University 2014, in which he shared his journey from young high school student and skateboarder working as a “product tester” and member of Team Razor to his most recent accomplishment at the company: Introduction of the Crazy Cart. This past February 2014, one day before Toys R Us presented Razor with their 2013 Vendor of the Year award, the Toy Industry Association awarded the Crazy Cart a much sought after Toy of The Year award (T.O.T.Y.), naming it the 2014 Outdoor Toy of the Year.
Meet Ali Kermani in person at Maker Faire Detroit, on Saturday, July 26th at 1:30 p.m., where he’ll share his inspiring story, a story which will most certainly resonate with makers far and wide.
What better place to celebrate the spirit of a maker than at The Henry Ford. Much like Henry Ford himself, Ali discovered it takes a lot more than having a really cool idea to get a product to market. Passion and creativity are certainly essential, but perhaps even more important is determination. Along the path from design concept to manufacture, the challenges designers encounter are many; ranging from limited capital and human resources, public skepticism about the concept, and lack of existing market demand and distribution channels. Basically, confronting “No” on a regular basis. Ali’s view is that “No” is not necessarily a stop sign, but rather an opportunity to retrench and try again.
Ali’s influence can be found on many products Razor brings to market, though his most notable work has been related to the “Crazy Cart.” After three years of trying to convince Razor to launch the Crazy Cart with no progress, he left Razor in 2007 to begin his education at UCLA Anderson. The Crazy Cart soon became the focus of Ali’s time at Anderson and eventually developed into his Master’s thesis project. By the time he graduated in 2009 Ali had re-engineered his product into a more market ready item, filed his provisional patent application, built a working prototype, and was courting prospective investors. Finding renewed willingness to try the item at Razor, Ali ultimately decided to partner with Razor and in July of 2013, the Razor Crazy Cart launched as an exclusive at Toys R Us.
During his presentation Ali will provide real-life examples of what it took to realize his vision, as well as some fun and innovative insights about how he successfully developed a viral marketing campaign to promote the Crazy Cart, a sneak preview can be seen in the video below:
Join us at Maker Faire Detroit on Saturday, July 26th, meet Ali Kermani, hear the details of his journey and discover three guiding principles that have helped him to become the successful maker he is today. To learn more about how Ali designed the Crazy Cart, head over to the Siemens Solid Edge Booth and check out Siemens PLM Solid Edge software, the 3D CAD program that was used to develop the crazy cart. And while you’re visiting, you just might want to test drive the crazy cart yourself!
