Entrepreneurial Development Center

Ever had an embarrassing moment at work? Greg Helton has. One day in 1988, the first day at his new assignment as a terminal supervisor for a major LTL carrier, he asked one of his drivers in the yard to "put the rear trailer to door two, and then the lead trailer to door seven, in that order." Over the radios, the driver pointedly told Greg and everyone else listening, "It is physically impossible to back a set of doubles." While Greg was a little embarrassed, he saw this problem as an opportunity.

But it wasn't until December 2002, when the economy had turned, that Greg decided he wanted to pursue his entrepreneurial dream and began researching how to solve the problem of backing a set of double trailers. Once he and his mechanical engineers thought they had a good start, he came to the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC) for help with taking his idea to market.

Curt Nelson, President and CEO of the EDC, helped Greg refine his business plan, assisted him with securing State EVA funding for his prototype, and put him up in front of investors at the EDC Networking Meeting and the Venture Network of Iowa in Des Moines. The EDC also introduced Helton to Dave Rusch, president of CRST Van Expedited who helped him understand the worker's comp costs his product could alleviate.

Helton asserts that there are things you never think of when you go into business for yourself. "One day, I stumbled onto what I believed to be direct competition and thought they had ripped off my patent. I was in a panic. It was a Sunday and Curt surprised me by replying to my email asking me to call him at home. He completely calmed me down. And in the end, that company was not a patent infringement concern."

SwitchQuick is much more than an idea today. There are currently multiple major food service companies and LTL carriers testing his device. "One of the major LTL carriers has done a comprehensive study on the savings associated with SwitchQuick, which concluded that it will save them $17 million. That's a 3 month ROI - this far exceeds my hope of guaranteeing ROI within 12 months," stated Helton.

Helton feels confident that 2007 is the year that SwitchQuick will start producing paying clients. "I'll see revenue generation by summer and will be closing my first major sale by fall. Each major sale means multimillions, so this should be an incredible year."

When asked how things would've been if he hadn't connected with the EDC, Helton turned quiet. "The EDC has helped me at every turn. I have no idea what I would've done without them-I hate to even think of it. It would've been a great idea that would've never seen the light of day."