New website, and a message from Bob
Message from Bob Carver
As you may know, I lost control of the Board of Carver many long years
ago – 1987 to be exact. I became only a figurehead at the company I
founded, and after watching the actions of the Board from up close (more
on this later), I decided enough frustration was enough and I left.
Since then I've watched from afar as a once proud company has gone down.
As the years trolled by and the company's valuation trickled away, I
made it clear that I was always available to help. I repeatedly asserted
that I could stanch the losses in excess of $3,000,000 per year and put
the company on solid footing. I shared my plan, yet the Board wanted
nothing to do with me. I was persona non grata. I was the Evil Founder.
In the meantime, I founded a new company, Sunfire, salted it with two
inventions and a small capital infusion, and off it took.
Sunfire's growth has been strong, with sales revenue nearly doubling
each year. Ditto for earnings. If all goes well, and that's a big if, I
intend to combine Sunfire and Carver approximately 15 months from now,
thus forging a larger and stronger public company. (Sunfire is at this
time privately held.)
Back to Carver. By the end of 1998, Carver had spent all its money and
then some. Carver Corporation reminded me of the 1950's science fiction
movie in which an H-bomb has been dropped on New York. What used to be a
beautiful city was shown with only the wind blowing through a dusty and
empty town, and only the occasional tumbleweed rolling along deserted
streets. No cars, people, or anything. Empty! This was the state of
affairs at Carver when the Board of Directors finally called me. Carver
Corporation literally had a mere seventeen dollars in the bank. They had
managed to develop a negative net worth of over $1,000,000. I visited
Carver and found nobody home. The assembly line had been shut down and
the workers had gone. Carver hadn't been able to pay salaries. There
were empty desks, empty cubicles, blackboards with writing on them, and
no one around. It was as if everyone had just left on a moment's notice.
My Carver was a thriving, bustling place. This was surreal.
I was witnessing the complete and unmanaged collapse of the company,
like an imploding star, into an uninhabited black hole. Carver had no
money, no employees, no plan, no technology, and no manufacturing.
Carver did have roughly $1 million in lawsuits, $1.6 million in unpaid
bills, and a practically nonexistent Dealer network. Through a series of
disastrous sales and marketing tactics, Carver had angered its Dealers,
who had resigned the line in droves. Carver retained a few factory
Representatives in name, but these were ineffective and without action.
The primary lending bank had informed Carver it would seize all
remaining assets unless the outstanding loan balance was immediately
paid in full. I was informed the landlord was in the process of
acquiring a court order allowing him to padlock the building. I knew
Carver didn't have a legal leg to stand on, and the landlord would
indeed prevail and shut the doors. The Board asked me to step in and
save Carver. I jumped at the chance, and put my years of passion and
experience to the task.
Those years have taught me that at a minimum, a Board of Directors owes
a company a capable and competent leader. In my opinion, Carver's Board
failed miserably in this regard by repeatedly appointing leaders with
absolutely no audio industry experience. As incredible as it seems,
after each CEO would in turn fail at the job, he was then given a seat
on the Board of Directors! Ultimately, the Board was almost entirely
comprised of former failed Carver CEOs! Decisions at the very top of the
ladder were being made by men who had failed to pull the company out of
its downward spiral. Unbelievable! All I could do was watch from afar as
decisions made in ignorance and arrogance relentlessly hammered your
company into the ground. Forgive me, for I digress…
To begin, I quickly cut a deal with the bank, paid off the debt, and
effectively became the secured creditor for everything Carver owned.
Every computer. Every table. Every pen and pencil. Indeed, every roller
track, power tool, assembly line, jig, fixture, copy machine, all assets
including the patents, trade marks, and the very name of the company. We
got word that the landlord had received his court order, effective on
the first of the coming month – just days away. My Sunfire employees and
I rented trucks, leased numerous storage sites throughout the area, and
cleared space at Sunfire in preparation for a very hurried move. During
the course of several arduous days and nights, we loaded everything up
and moved it all out. You can believe that Carver again has a responsive
leader, and one who truly cares. I'm back. Carver now has a fighting
chance.
Prior to doing all this, I signed an agreement with the Board of
Directors (see "The Operating Agreement"). Inked just prior to the
Consumer Electronics Show, this agreement galvanized Sunfire's
engineering department. We designed five new products, including two
brand new technologies and one clearly in a class by itself through the
use of existing Sunfire technology. We worked around the clock – from
the crack of dawn to late in the morning – night after night, day after
day, and finished just in time to go to the show. We showcased five new
products sporting the Carver Logo. Our goal was to generate excitement
for the New Carver Corporation, and to sign up 100 new retail Dealers.
It was also our intention to sign up 18 new factory Representatives at
the top level of the new revitalized sales network for Carver products.
As we all know, trust is something that is earned slowly and is
difficult or impossible to regain once lost through an unfaithful act.
When a company is placed in what I call ‘the penalty box' for such a
loss of trust, it often remains there indefinitely. At best, it's very
difficult to get out of this ‘box.' We fully expected the Dealers would
be extremely wary of the Carver brand. We're proud of the trust Sunfire
Dealers have in us, and we knew that they would at least listen. Carver
had lost the trust of its dealers, and in turn lost its way. We had much
work to do.
We asked Dealers to look at the new products and talk with us. To our
great pleasure, the Dealers loved the products. On the basis of the new
products and my personal commitment to the Dealers (most of whom I've
known for many years), their wary attitudes faded significantly. I gave
them a solemn pledge, "Even though Carver used to be bad, it will now be
good." One by one, we managed to sign up 100 Dealers – exactly our goal.
We also signed up an entire factory Representative network. This new
network of Dealers and Representatives is simply waiting for the new
designs to be finished, put into production, and distributed.
We've replaced Carver's dysfunctional infrastructure with the healthy
corporate systems in place at Sunfire. We have an exceptional sales
force, a world-class engineering department, and above all, new
technologies. Sunfire has assumed all the functional and operational
elements for the Company. Everett Audio Repair, an independent repair
shop in Everett, Washington, has assumed responsibility for warranty
service. Things are looking up for Carver. Carver now has Dealers and
factory Representatives who are firmly committed. Carver now has new
technology, and hope to go with it.
It's been a wild ride for all of us. We're packed to the gills with
twenty years worth of Carver stuff sitting around everywhere. It's like
a submarine ready to put out to sea; one can't even walk through the
isles because there are so many stores, provisions and other gear.
Carver was once following a death spiral to its doom, and now it isn't.
We have a chance. That's where we are today.
Sincerely,
Bob Carver
As you may know, I lost control of the Board of Carver many long years
ago – 1987 to be exact. I became only a figurehead at the company I
founded, and after watching the actions of the Board from up close (more
on this later), I decided enough frustration was enough and I left.
Since then I've watched from afar as a once proud company has gone down.
As the years trolled by and the company's valuation trickled away, I
made it clear that I was always available to help. I repeatedly asserted
that I could stanch the losses in excess of $3,000,000 per year and put
the company on solid footing. I shared my plan, yet the Board wanted
nothing to do with me. I was persona non grata. I was the Evil Founder.
In the meantime, I founded a new company, Sunfire, salted it with two
inventions and a small capital infusion, and off it took.
Sunfire's growth has been strong, with sales revenue nearly doubling
each year. Ditto for earnings. If all goes well, and that's a big if, I
intend to combine Sunfire and Carver approximately 15 months from now,
thus forging a larger and stronger public company. (Sunfire is at this
time privately held.)
Back to Carver. By the end of 1998, Carver had spent all its money and
then some. Carver Corporation reminded me of the 1950's science fiction
movie in which an H-bomb has been dropped on New York. What used to be a
beautiful city was shown with only the wind blowing through a dusty and
empty town, and only the occasional tumbleweed rolling along deserted
streets. No cars, people, or anything. Empty! This was the state of
affairs at Carver when the Board of Directors finally called me. Carver
Corporation literally had a mere seventeen dollars in the bank. They had
managed to develop a negative net worth of over $1,000,000. I visited
Carver and found nobody home. The assembly line had been shut down and
the workers had gone. Carver hadn't been able to pay salaries. There
were empty desks, empty cubicles, blackboards with writing on them, and
no one around. It was as if everyone had just left on a moment's notice.
My Carver was a thriving, bustling place. This was surreal.
I was witnessing the complete and unmanaged collapse of the company,
like an imploding star, into an uninhabited black hole. Carver had no
money, no employees, no plan, no technology, and no manufacturing.
Carver did have roughly $1 million in lawsuits, $1.6 million in unpaid
bills, and a practically nonexistent Dealer network. Through a series of
disastrous sales and marketing tactics, Carver had angered its Dealers,
who had resigned the line in droves. Carver retained a few factory
Representatives in name, but these were ineffective and without action.
The primary lending bank had informed Carver it would seize all
remaining assets unless the outstanding loan balance was immediately
paid in full. I was informed the landlord was in the process of
acquiring a court order allowing him to padlock the building. I knew
Carver didn't have a legal leg to stand on, and the landlord would
indeed prevail and shut the doors. The Board asked me to step in and
save Carver. I jumped at the chance, and put my years of passion and
experience to the task.
Those years have taught me that at a minimum, a Board of Directors owes
a company a capable and competent leader. In my opinion, Carver's Board
failed miserably in this regard by repeatedly appointing leaders with
absolutely no audio industry experience. As incredible as it seems,
after each CEO would in turn fail at the job, he was then given a seat
on the Board of Directors! Ultimately, the Board was almost entirely
comprised of former failed Carver CEOs! Decisions at the very top of the
ladder were being made by men who had failed to pull the company out of
its downward spiral. Unbelievable! All I could do was watch from afar as
decisions made in ignorance and arrogance relentlessly hammered your
company into the ground. Forgive me, for I digress…
To begin, I quickly cut a deal with the bank, paid off the debt, and
effectively became the secured creditor for everything Carver owned.
Every computer. Every table. Every pen and pencil. Indeed, every roller
track, power tool, assembly line, jig, fixture, copy machine, all assets
including the patents, trade marks, and the very name of the company. We
got word that the landlord had received his court order, effective on
the first of the coming month – just days away. My Sunfire employees and
I rented trucks, leased numerous storage sites throughout the area, and
cleared space at Sunfire in preparation for a very hurried move. During
the course of several arduous days and nights, we loaded everything up
and moved it all out. You can believe that Carver again has a responsive
leader, and one who truly cares. I'm back. Carver now has a fighting
chance.
Prior to doing all this, I signed an agreement with the Board of
Directors (see "The Operating Agreement"). Inked just prior to the
Consumer Electronics Show, this agreement galvanized Sunfire's
engineering department. We designed five new products, including two
brand new technologies and one clearly in a class by itself through the
use of existing Sunfire technology. We worked around the clock – from
the crack of dawn to late in the morning – night after night, day after
day, and finished just in time to go to the show. We showcased five new
products sporting the Carver Logo. Our goal was to generate excitement
for the New Carver Corporation, and to sign up 100 new retail Dealers.
It was also our intention to sign up 18 new factory Representatives at
the top level of the new revitalized sales network for Carver products.
As we all know, trust is something that is earned slowly and is
difficult or impossible to regain once lost through an unfaithful act.
When a company is placed in what I call ‘the penalty box' for such a
loss of trust, it often remains there indefinitely. At best, it's very
difficult to get out of this ‘box.' We fully expected the Dealers would
be extremely wary of the Carver brand. We're proud of the trust Sunfire
Dealers have in us, and we knew that they would at least listen. Carver
had lost the trust of its dealers, and in turn lost its way. We had much
work to do.
We asked Dealers to look at the new products and talk with us. To our
great pleasure, the Dealers loved the products. On the basis of the new
products and my personal commitment to the Dealers (most of whom I've
known for many years), their wary attitudes faded significantly. I gave
them a solemn pledge, "Even though Carver used to be bad, it will now be
good." One by one, we managed to sign up 100 Dealers – exactly our goal.
We also signed up an entire factory Representative network. This new
network of Dealers and Representatives is simply waiting for the new
designs to be finished, put into production, and distributed.
We've replaced Carver's dysfunctional infrastructure with the healthy
corporate systems in place at Sunfire. We have an exceptional sales
force, a world-class engineering department, and above all, new
technologies. Sunfire has assumed all the functional and operational
elements for the Company. Everett Audio Repair, an independent repair
shop in Everett, Washington, has assumed responsibility for warranty
service. Things are looking up for Carver. Carver now has Dealers and
factory Representatives who are firmly committed. Carver now has new
technology, and hope to go with it.
It's been a wild ride for all of us. We're packed to the gills with
twenty years worth of Carver stuff sitting around everywhere. It's like
a submarine ready to put out to sea; one can't even walk through the
isles because there are so many stores, provisions and other gear.
Carver was once following a death spiral to its doom, and now it isn't.
We have a chance. That's where we are today.
Sincerely,
Bob Carver |
