BY RAEANNE MARSH
ENTREPRENEURS & INNOVATORS
Scorpion Repel: Barrier against Access into Homes Scorpion Repel is a revolutionary way to prevent Bark Scorpions from entering any home. The product is applied as a clear coat to a home’s exterior that stops scorpions from being able to climb and then enter the home. Scorpions are known as skilled climbers, and stopping their ability to climb the surface of a home makes entry impossible. The product also deters other insects from entering homes. The biggest challenge in starting and growing the company has been showing consumers how different Scorpion Repel is from the competition, says co-owner Tony Gonzales, explaining that traditional pest control methods offer only two options: seal the home, which is expensive and often ineffective, or spray pesticides around the home, which is also ineffective against the scorpion’s tough exoskeleton. What Scorpion Repel offers is a true physical barrier that’s costeffective, pesticide-free and guaranteed to work. “We are so confident in the product that we have what we call the ‹scorpion challenge,’ where we’ll demonstrate its effectiveness for people by having one of our team members stand on a cinder block coated in Scorpion Repel inside a pool or other structure filled with scorpions. We are the only proven way to keep scorpions out of homes,” says Gonzales, who
shares that the product is personal for himself and co-owner Aaron Gonzales. “Aaron began developing the product after paying pest control professionals thousands of dollars to rid his home of a scorpion infestation, only to have them back in his house months later. Aaron and his family where so frustrated with the situation that he and his wife considered selling their home. I joined the company after my young son was stung three times by a scorpion — he had a horrible reaction to the scorpion venom and nearly died.” The two childhood friends decided to partner up to help each other’s families deal with scorpions. They started initial development of the Scorpion Repel System and Coatings in 2013 and began offering the product to the public in 2018. “Our goal for Scorpion Repel is to grow by working with other pest control companies to allow them to offer our services so they are able to eliminate their customers’ scorpion problem for good,” says Gonzales. The company is currently partnering with traditional pest control companies who will begin offering Scorpion Repel soon through its licensing program. Scorpion Repel scorpionrepel.com
Gather Round: Table Goods for Celebrating Everyday Life
JAN. 2021
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“Move over, unused fine china,” says Gather Round cofounder Amy Lopez. She and now-fiancé Chris Lee designed their affordable ceramic table goods to be microwave- and dishwasher-safe so “you can focus on the important things.” They launched their company in March and sold through their first collection, The Rim Collection, sooner than they’d anticipated. Lopez suggests the pandemic may have influenced their sales because “everyone is at home and focused on creating the space they want to spend a lot of time in.” But their biggest challenge could also be laid to the pandemic: “Our manufacturer is behind, so we will not be able to restock until next year,” Lopez says. Gather Round has a built-in response to that challenge. Its “mix and match” planning allows customers to order plates and bowls from its second style, The Contour Collection, in the same five colors and “continue to build your table setting as life grows with you,” Lopez explains. “We also believe in being transparent with our customers and letting them know the delays we are experiencing and the reasoning behind whatever the issue may be. Luckily, most everyone is understanding.” For Gather Round’s fulfillment partner, Lopez and Lee chose the local company EpiHab, whose mission, says Lopez, is “pretty amazing: ‘To provide meaningful employment for
The Rim Collection
individuals with epilepsy and other challenges by performing valued work for area businesses.’” Their goal for Gather Round was to offer table goods at an affordable price that “celebrates the occasions of everyday life — big and small — and don’t cost a ‘life moment’ price,” says Lopez, who credits some of their success to following advice they’d been given to “surround yourself with people you admire, and don’t be an island.” Following that advice and committing to building community and inviting collaborators and partners “to our table” has allowed them to explore new products and new partnerships. In fact, Lopez notes that advice led them to their next product, which they will launch early this year with product designer Aaron Probyn: silverware. “Without local and non-local partner support,” she says, “we would not have been able to build a brand in a year like this year.” Gather Round gatherround.com
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The “mix and match”-able colors of Gather Round’s Rim and Contour collections are white, beige, black, slate blue — and terra cotta, included specifically as the founders’ nod to their home in Phoenix.
