Our booth at the National Hardware Show in Vegas

We showed our purple and blue colors to the world last week, launching our product at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.

The product was a hit, making the show a success. We had a lot of fun showing how our product works, seeing people’s reactions to our animated videos, and loved the positive feedback on our company name, branding, and literature hand-outs. We weren’t sure if we’d be too crazy for some, but almost everyone seemed to embrace the spirit of WamBam.

Our (admittedly unconventional) Show Handout

So world, meet WamBam, the first ever fence system to ship UPS, and the first digless fence system. It’s D-I-Y fence that’s fun to install.

Oh- and if you want your very own copy of The WamBam Journal, email me your address and we’ll mail you a copy. Warning: Don’t take it too seriously!

The WamBam Sandbox

Steve doesn't know he's about to encounter a bit of a snag...

First samples have arrived from China, horray!

We take our new treasures to the WamBam sandbox, which is actually just a piece of land down the street that we have rented from John, an 80 year-old businessman. We haggled with John to let us use a sliver of his land for grass roots quality control.

We show up to work in grubs, load up the pickup truck, and start WamBaming pipes into the ground. I want to try out the product myself, and despite my disciplined gym routine, it’s clear I need to pump more iron if I want to drive the anchors into the ground as quickly as Steve. It must be painful for him to watch because after a while, he says, “Give me that thing” as he starts WamBaming the anchors into the ground– quite effortlessly, I might add.

After one particularly successful blow, he remarks, “That’s easier. I must have just gotten past a rock.”

And within seconds we’re standing in a rapidly growing puddle. And it’s only getting bigger.

We’re really hoping that he hit an oil well, Beverly Hillbillies style. Visions of instant retirement with a lifetime of luxury without all the hard work of an endeavor like WamBam start flashing through my head. But then we realize with dismay that it’s water.

Yup, Steve broke a water line. (For the record, he did call the locates prior to driving the anchors and was given the clear.)

Water is gushing everywhere and we have to find John to confess our misdeeds. Things need to happen to rectify the situation: Turn off the water to the property. Dig up the ground to get to the pipe. Call a plumber. Write him a check.

A couple hours later, it’s all fixed.

I will say that I am impressed with our fence system. Sure, the anchors require some muscle to go into the ground. But it was pretty cool to see in practice, and the posts looked as even and white as a used car salesman’s smile. Yup, maybe I’m biased, but our digless vinyl fence system is pretty cool, innovative, and fun to install. Just as long as the water lines are kept intact.

Right now I’m now working on at least a dozen projects with people from the following countries: Macedonia, India, Ukraine, Russia, China, California USA, Georgia USA, North Carolina USA, and Canada.

They don’t know each other and they are all working independently of each other.

Yes, time zone and language barrier issues occasionally arise. Yes, it’s a lot to manage sometimes. And of course there are problems. But it’s a very cool way to do business and I’m thrilled with the results so far.

I love technology. Sometimes the rapid pace of the world scares me, but I want to embrace it.  And right now I’m happy to report that it’s working for me.

How can I relate this back to fence that’s fun to install? Um, let’s see…well, it’s good to embrace new ways of doing things. And the new WamBam way of installing fence is very cool, fun, easy, and overall a much better way for a do-it-yourself person to install fence.

Ok, that was a stretch. Sorry. But it’s all I got.

So we know WamBam is a zany, unconventional name. But it’s memorable and fun and since our product is digless, you do just sort of “WamBam” it into the ground.

I personally think it’s a great name  and we wouldn’t have it any other way. (By the way, Steve gets all kudos for coming up with the name). But I  realized quickly that there are a few minor problems with it.

For one, spam filters all over seem to be blocking our emails.

Two, trying to set up life here in the US as a Canadian is difficult on a good day. Getting credit, banking, utilities, etc. is a bit of a nightmare as we must deal with stuffy corporate businesses with so much red tape I wonder how they don’t strangle themselves. I am all professional when I talk to them. But when they ask the name of the company that I work at, there is usually a lull at the other end after I say, “WamBam Fence.” The lull is often followed by, “Excuse me?” I repeat myself and assure them it’s legitimate as I picture them flagging my file.

Three, it can get a little awkward in the social scene. I’m brand new here and trying to make friends pronto. Everyone here works for Lowe’s or Bank of America or other highly professional outfits. It’s a common question to be asked what I do for a living. “Sales and Marketing” doesn’t usually appease their appetite for my career-related information. The inevitable question that follows is, “What company do you work for?” I’ve tried the “Cough-cough-Wam-cough-Bam” approach but that doesn’t usually work.

Fortunately I don’t think I’ve lost any friends yet. And it is a great conversation starter.

Plus, the majority of people seem to like it.

So what do you think about this crazy name for a company that is changing the world of do-it-yourself fence?

(Bear in mind that our fence is easier to install than traditional fence, and a heck of a lot more fun. Forget digging holes and tearing up your yard- simply “WamBam” it into the ground. And yes, that was a shameless plug on some keywords for search engine optimization. At least I can admit it.)