Meet Michael Wilkey | CEO of Caveman LLC | Husband & Father of 4 | Narcoleptic

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Wilkey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

#1 goal for all of this was to have more freedom in two areas.

First, freedom to spend time with my Family. I enjoy being actively involved in my kids’ lives and their hobbies, and working for someone else made that impossible at the level I wanted to do it at.

Second, freedom to adapt my schedule on a daily basis. As a narcoleptic, I don’t get to decide when I have energy to accomplish what I need to. This makes standard 8-5 jobs extremely difficult, and I was tired of having to constantly run everything by a leader that couldn’t truly understand what I was going through.

What should our readers know about your business?

My partner Frank and I always wanted to be inventors. But we didn’t want to enter into anything serious, unless it was a real unicorn idea. We wanted one of those “why didn’t I think of that?!” type of products. Something like a pop-socket. A solution that fits a lot of people, is cheap/easy to manufacture, and we could protect with IP.

Frank had a toilet moment when pondering on how heat effected his rifle’s accuracy. “If only there was a way to easily detect temperature on a firearm”. We chatted, looked into the IP and realized no one has ever done anything with this.

We then consulted a patent attorney who was a good friend, and his excitement sealed the deal. The opportunity was there; we could be protected. All we needed was an actual product.

After multiple prototypes and iterations, we discovered that it’s best to keep it simple. We dreamt of the simplest form of our product, which ultimately was a thermochromic infused silicone band. A simple, stretchy ring that goes on your barrel, and changes from dark to bright when your barrel is no longer safe to handle or store.

Frank made the first versions with 3d printed molds. He hand injected our silicone concoction into every single one. We ran sales and deals until we had enough money to find an American manufacturer who could take on a product like ours.

Little by little, we added new colors, new products, new patents, and new ideas to the market. The absolute hardest part about inventing something completely original though, is teaching your potential customers what it is, and how to use it.

We’ve spent years teaching people how understanding their firearm temperatures is important, and heat generated by shooting, can be used as data to make better choices around safety and accuracy. The struggle continues, but our messaging and branding becomes more focused and refined each month.

We have zero debt, soon to be 3 patents, and minimal expenses. It’s been a long process, but it’s rewarding to know that you’re well positioned. That way, when your time comes, for the right exposure, you’ll be truly ready to benefit from all of your hard work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Rather than spelling out a long, exhaustive narration of what each day would look like, I’ll just hit all the must haves.

Food:
#1 Music City Hot Chicken (Most favorite place of all time!)
#2 Jim’s Wings
#3 Matador Mexican Grill
#4 Cafe Athens (Best fries in the entire world. Literally)

Locations:
#1 Rocky Mountain National Park | Estes
#2 Garden of the Gods
#3 Downtown Fort Collins
#4 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The number one supporter has to be my wife first and foremost. She’s been an equal partner in every decision towards go the entrepreneurship route, and is a resource I know I can trust.

Next would be my business partner Frank Herrera. He’s the yin to my yang. We have the perfect amount in common, while offering different skill sets to make up each others’ weaknesses. Something that’s out of my wheelhouse, I know he can get done.

Then it would have to be our patent attorney David. He has taken the “I got this” mentality and lifted the burden of handling the intellectually property process. His talent is strong, and he’s secured us incredible IP.

Lastly is my parents. They gave us our first small loan to do a first run of product. We were able to pay them back within a few months plus interest. That first batch was the jumping off point for the company.

Website: www.cavemanllc.net

Instagram: @cavemanllc

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/caveman-llc/

Facebook: facebook.com/cavemanllc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq6XX_S8vqe3YNSf_vMbvAQ/about

Other: Discord: https://discord.gg/xN8bNMUTGc We have over 100 users here and interact with them regularly, as well as chose product testers from here!