Vic Firth was dissatisfied with the drumsticks he used to play the timpani for Boston Orchestra. So he started making his own in his basement. He had no big plans or a big check, just an itch to solve a problem. That was his first dot – getting started on something he cared about. But he had no idea what his second dot was going to be, if anything.
While working on his sticks, one day when he heard the varying pitches produced by the sound of sticks falling on the floor, he realized the importance of matching sticks by characteristics like pitch and moisture content. That discovery gave him his product’s tag line “the perfect pair”. The new insight and the tagline became the next dot, leading to a rapid growth.
After many more such dots over the years, today, Vic Firth’s factory turns out about 85,000 sticks a day and has the biggest share of the drumsticks market.
When asked if he was surprised by how successful his company has become, Firth laughs, “Am I surprised? Maybe shocked is a better word!”1
Want to be an entrepreneur? Be a starter first – begin with whatever you have and make adjustments on the go. The next dot appears only if you make a move.
