We are listed as #9, but everyone who has used Speedraft knows we are #1.

Seriously, Speedraft also has a hand in her items #1, 2, 6, and 7.

Click here to read the article.

Nice job Kate!

As a member, we receive roughly $100,000 in free software development tools, support, and market exposure. The catch? We pay Microsoft $100 three years from now. This is a great opportunity for anyone with a software-based startup.

One response was simply “two weeks”.

This is wrong. Even assuming it takes two weeks to quote each progressive die, the statement “two weeks”, to be accurate, implies the die shop has 100% conversion.

In other words, the assumption is they convert ALL quotes to sales.

On average, die shops earn one sale for every three quotes.

The quoting math, or qCalculus, then, is two weeks x three quotes = six weeks.

The die shop has to recoup this cost of revenue. How much is it?

Alot.

Assuming the shop burden rate is an average of $65 an hour per person with one person working 40 hours a week to quote, the cost of revenue is 40 hours / week x 6 weeks x $65 / hour, or $15,600.

To put this in perspective, it usually takes four weeks to design the die. It takes 50% longer to just quote one sale.

But wait! It gets worse.

If we assume the “average” progressive die is somewhere between $50,000 and $55,000 to design and build NET of quoting costs, then the cost of revenue is roughly 30%.

In order to maintain a modest profit margin on the job, a $52,000 die build project needs at least $15,600 in engineering changes for the shop to break even.

Yes, break even.

Remember: quoting is not selling.

Alltop is the mastermind of my acquaintance Guy Kawasaki. I am a big fan of Guy and have been fascinated with Alltop since its inception. In fact, I originally gave Guy the idea for their new “My Alltop” page functionality. That kicks ass too!

Thanks to Curtis, Perry, and Justin at Lathrop Gage, we filed the response. Everyone is excited and optimistic about the filing.

We are creating some of the best technology on the web today.

I think you will agree that RFQs are characteristically slow and complex. Speedraft eliminates RFQs by automating the specification, design model, and price estimating; online in real-time. Buying and selling build-to-order tooling products should be fast and simple.

Our customers say we are changing the world of manufacturing. We just want to make the purchasing process an enjoyable experience.

Please join our quest to eliminate RFQs. You can learn about our latest developments here on our blog.

Enjoy responsibly,

Tim Stephens
Founder & CEO

ps: Don’t forget to check out our demo and sign up for a free test drive!