Mark Aramil is the founder of Bedjet, a company that manufactures a product that helps one adjust the temperature around your bed. Have you ever gone to bed when it is too cold? Bedjet is the solution for that.

The product helps regulate the temperature to make one comfortable all through the night. I made you feel toasted and nice. Furthermore, if you are sleeping next to a person who wants to feel warm yet yearning for a little cold, the Bedjet is ready to do that. Mark Aramil was very creative with his idea.

While attending the Shark Tank show, one of the interviewees said that Mark Aramil was the worst entrepreneur ever to attend the show. But that has never taken the greater part of Mark, and he has managed to push his business to greater heights.

Of course, when we talk about the Shark Tank panel, they didn’t love me at all. Also, some of them didn’t like my product either. One of them insulted my mother, and I felt pain. I guess you did not see that part, and maybe the editor left it out to avoid any issues. But it made me stronger, and I like it when people think I can’t make it.

Lori Greiner went ahead and tweeted, “This is the first time I was ever pissed off by an entrepreneur”. To add to that, she added a negative tag #BadToBeRude. Most of them thought I was selling the device at a high price, $500. At that time, my company was still in pre-seed season. My product was not in the market. We had not gotten positive or negative feedback from clients.

At that point, we were still calculating the production cost. The $500 was just an estimate of where we wanted to start. I believe my product solves climate issues, so why not be expensive? For sure, I didn’t know how to explain some of the questions they asked on Shark Tank. But the main reason was that we had not made any sales. So I pushed my team to make the product prototype to act as a display.

The ridicule gave me the motivation to strive harder. Within a few months, our product was in the market. Surprisingly, the demand was high, and the price did not affect anything. People were willing to buy my product at $500. But we wanted everyone to afford it. Over time, we have tried to reduce the production cost, hence offering the product at $299.

That price is average, and most people can afford it. Strangers are my first customers who always demand more products. We are still working to improve the model. It was simple, but my skilled team has introduced sophisticated settings that modify your room temperature.

The Bedjet comes in two types. We have a single zone system that modifies the temperature of one side. Or you can upgrade to a full dual-zone system to regulate the temperature across all bed corners. Budget heats and cools the whole bed for those who haven’t tried it.

If you purchase the dual-zone, you get all the services required. Otherwise, you might decide to purchase two devices for warmth and coldness.

In 2015, we launched the product. Our marketing strategies were good, and within the year, we earned revenue worth $1 million. I am always an open person, and we wrote a blog about our success. Our products can be found on Amazon and Bedjet.com. We were getting orders online from the rest of the world. I had to develop a plan to ship the product to other countries.

I recall in 2014 when we kickstarted the business, we set up our product in various retail shops. But it didn’t pick up until we took things online. I cherish the power of technology. It has helped many businesses get noticed within a short period f time.

After launching the product, my team proposed that the best place we could increase our customers was through the mattress shops. We collaborated with a mattress firm that was ready to support us. Everyone was excited. We did some events together to popularize our product. The sales were high during the event, but we could not get the same number of customers after that day. What could have been the reason?

I had to act as fast as possible. We held an abrupt discussion, and one of my team members brought out the idea about the Tempur-Pedic company. The company manufactures cooling mattress and upsell them. I didn’t like their marketing strategy, but we linked up. We worked together for some time, but I realized how our technology was much better than theirs.

In 2016, we wanted to end the testing period because it was expensive. So I told my team it was time to set up our brand rather than sell our product through retailers. Since we offered the product directly to our customers, we lowered the price. Retailers are sometimes lazy, and they just want you to use a lot of effort to drive the customers to their shops. When took our products from their shelves. The purchase was amazing. In a single day, we doubled our sales.

In 2013, when the idea sprung in my head, I had a prosperous business. So when it came to funding, I used my income and my savings. I was rushing things so that the little money I had could bring profit quickly. Instead, the business emptied my savings.

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I was an engineer at a spacecraft company that modeled equipment used by NASA. By the way, people should understand that NASA has no relation in manufacturing their spacesuits. They absorb that from other industrial companies. There was a journalist who nicknamed me NASA scientist but am not. I can call myself an ex-engineer who developed a program taken by NASA.

We had smart minds at Hamilton Standard Pesce. One guy named Dr.Flush managed to design the space shuttle toilets. I learned a lot from experienced fellows.

I walked with the Bedjet idea for five years. The worst day came when my mother went for surgery. It was too cold. However, there were electric blankets and mattress pads. I got discouraged by too many wires. In case the electricity is off, everything goes one cold. The idea of Budget came back. Because I am a technical guy, I started working on a Bedjet as an aside project.

On the way, I have understood that as an entrepreneur, you cannot invest every penny you have in innovating something without market validation. Most entrepreneurs are very passionate about what they are doing, and they have a driving force that their product shall work best for them.

As we commenced our journey, we did not have any formula for reaching customers. If someone was interested in the product, we could make a call, send emails, or reach out personally. Our main concentration was on manufacturing rather than marketing. I guess that costed us a little. Local factories and suppliers were of great help.

I guess communication is a great tool. So as time goes by, I have managed to collaborate and have a deep conversation even with companies that don’t speak English. But the best thing is that those individuals at the top are English fellows. So I was making a solid relationship with great companies that have helped my startup.

There was a moment when the demand for Bedjet was higher than the supply. A certain fellow, whom I don’t know, collected my Instagram short video and made a 30 seconds clip. He posted on Facebook, and it got over 45 million views. Sometimes success comes as a bit of luck. I tried to imagine how many millions my competitors have used to promote their products.

Suppose you have a new product and plan to set up a company. It must be legit. The product must be solving problems that your competitors cannot. Being a competitor with companies like Tempur-Pedic and Sleep Number is very tough. But over time, people have diverged for my product, and I appreciate that.

The feedback we get from clients acts as a motivation for the next product. Furthermore, we offer a warranty of 6 months, and we are always ready to rectify the product whenever it fails. I have a service department where clients subject their destroyed objects.

To a younger Mark Aramil, take your time studying and getting the required skills. Then, interact with people in all parts of the world. I have lived in New York, Connecticut, Europe, and even California. Throughout the journey, I have made a strong relationship with people. They later become my selling point. Then getting support from your relatives could be positive.