RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Sub building business

["Hugo Marrero" <hmarrero@hboi.edu>]

Hi guys,

While I have not been posting much lately, I have always kept reading all
the interesting postings in this forum.

Just like many of you, I have been toying with the idea of making private
submersible ownership available to the public in general. And while I have
higher purposes in life, I have never really stopped pondering on how to
make this happen. Since I see some interested in this, I want to share some
of my thoughts to gauge the level of passion & commitment for creating a sub
business.

The existing problem is not the product (e.g. the sub), but rather the
market...it's a catch 22.... In order to manufacture and sell enough subs to
survive, a viable market must exist. In order for that market to exist, the
price of the vehicle must be competitive enough to keep sales coming in. In
order to keep the submersible price competitive you need to keep your costs
as low as possible. And in order to keep the manufacturing costs low you
need a viable market. I am sure all can see the problem.

Also there is the infamous Lemming Effect... since the "Joneses" don't own a
private submarine no one wants to be the first to buy that sub as people
hate uncertainty. Once the "Joneses" brave enough buy their sub then is
easier for the rest to follow.

Since it takes a lot of money to start up, is difficult to prove that there
is a market to investors, and the record shows that most everyone who has
been brave enough to start is either out of busines, have only built
prototypes and have never progressed further or have never even got past the
conceptual planning stage. Therefore is a very risky venture and extremely
hard to get even your beloved rich uncle to lend you $50K to build a
prototype.

Since a sustainable market for private submersibles does not exist .... a
way to create a market for private submersibles from scratch must be
devised. The question is... How in the World do I do that? This is the
question that I have been asking myself for almost 12 years. To find an
answer to this question I have dedicated hundreds of hours collecting data,
analyzing business models, and studying the marketing schemes of industries
that have contended with similar issues successfuly.

>From this, I believe, in my own humble opinion, that I have devised a
concept which may potentially create a market large enough to reduce the
cost of ownership of a private submersible to make it attractive enough to
spark an interest in the general public.

With this I want to add a peronal note. I am interested in this for many
reasons, but the most important reason is because I love  submersibles and I
truly believe that they should be available to the general public. Since
1991 I have had the privilege of making a decent living working with
submersibles, and I can continue doing what I am doing and retire
comfortably doing it. However, If I can make a decent living sharing my
passion with others, and creating something of value for others, that would
be much more rewarding than enjoying it all by myself. My intent is to
continue doing what I love to do, and shrare it with others, while making a
living and having fun doing it. The moment is no longer fun is the time to
get out.... that is my personal belief.

I am willing to discuss this with anyone who is seriously interested in
getting involved in it. My only requirement is that all who are truly
interested in this must sign a non-disclosure agreement. If anyone is really
serious about this, this should not pose a threat as it is a common business
practice. If from these discussions enough interest is leveraged, it may be
possible to form a venture which could be mutually beneficial (or mutually
catastrophic) for all involved.  :-) These discussions could take place in a
private forum online, or at psubs discretion, a private forum could be set
up here.

What do you think? Post your comments online....

Take care,

Hugo




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