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Opportunity LOL's Spotlight Interview: Entrepreneur Paul Budnitz
Being a designer toy fan and blogger, having the opportunity to talk with the founder of Kidrobot, Paul Budnitz is a big deal. Furthermore, Paul being an inspiring entrepreneur has made the research process highly informative and learning his philosophies towards business and life have helped me make some exciting decisions lately. While today's interview will not focus much on Kidrobot and their toys, this will be much more interesting. Interviews with Paul during his designer toy days are plentiful while less is known about his new bicycle business. Not only that, but Mr. Budnitz answered some pretty compelling questions about the psychology of winning and losing money, which isn't often explored in the business world. Plus, you should read on to find out what Budnitz thinks about Disney's popular Vinylmation toy line. Enjoy! Congrats on the opening of Paul Budnitz Bicycles, and selling out for this Fall. How many bikes equal "sold out" and now that you've seen them sell, are you planning on expanding production? Paul Budnitz: "Thank you. The bicycles are actually doing very well, and we don't publish sales figures of course. And no, we're not planning to expand production right now. We make all of our frames by hand. Doing this right takes a long time. Right now we have a waiting list for bicycles until almost New Years! I'm a strong believer is owning very few, very good things that are beautiful and last a long time. This brings me more pleasure (because the things I use are high quality, look good, and work well) and is more environmentally sound because there is less waste. That's what's behind the bicycle project. The philosophy with Kidrobot was similar, though it might not look that way. When I was involved with Kidrobot on a day to day basis (I'm not any more) I refused to make anything that I didn't think made the world more interesting or beautiful. Each object had to have that quality. I see the stuff I made around all the time and with few exceptions I still feel that way." How was Amsterdam? What were your motivations for going there and could you share any interesting stories from your travels? Paul Budnitz: "Amsterdam is a really amazing place. We travelled there so I could learn (in person) what it's like to live in a culture that uses bicycles as their primary form of transportation. I learned a lot -- met bike manufacturers, and learned many things that I'm applying to my own designs. And, it's just a fun place. The landscape is awesome, the people are really very cool. Terrible food. I wish we could have stayed longer!" Do you still have problems sleeping? Is it in inability to be calm, do you feel guilty sleeping, or something else? Do you have advice for others who can't sleep due to their mind racing? Paul Budnitz: "I read an article on Moby recently, and it turns out that he doesn't sleep much either. I met him briefly last year and it was two tired people shaking hands! Wish I'd known that at the time, we could have just got together at 4:00am for a drink. The best thing I can say about it is that I've finally learned to forgive myself for not being an easy sleeper. I take naps. It all works out." You are an author - writing I Am Plastic, I Am Plastic, Too, and The Hole in the Middle. We're quite excited to review the third (Thank you!). What book(s) are you working on now? Paul Budnitz: "Been working on a book about business, art, and creativity for several years, but it's slow going as I'm so busy with other stuff." How is it being a father? Paul Budnitz: "Very fun. Very hard works. Totally breaks you down inside. Reality gets resorted." Is Google+ and the +1 button changing the search engine towards what you talked about in the Inc. interview from mid-2010? Paul Budnitz: "I can't figure Google +1 out. I find it annoying. I frankly can't figure out why anyone would +1 anything. What do you get by doing it? All it's doing right now is cluttering up my browser. I keep trying to turn it off and it keeps coming back." What do you think of Disney's Vinylmation toys? Paul Budnitz: "Never seen them. Just looked. Um. Some of those toys would look great with a hypodermic needle in their hands." What trends do you see emerging in the designer toy world? Paul Budnitz: "I'm missing the blood." Talk about being in debt. What is the difference between a 20 year old being 10k in debt versus you being 750k in the red while running Kidrobot? Paul Budnitz: "Well, when you're almost a million dollars in debt money starts to become unreal. You know, what's another $50K? After a while the whole thing looks like a charade and in my case, it really set me free. You think you're going to die if you don't cover your bills tomorrow, and then you don't die. After a while you realize that, in my case at least, I wasn't going to starve, get killed, or lose my friends. It wasn't pleasant all the time. And I got lucky, it seems to have worked out. But if it hadn't, I'd probably get to eat breakfast anyway. There are some people in the world for whom that's not true. So in the end, big debt taught be to appreciate what I do have." Does money make you happy? Not so much being wealthy, which probably has all sorts of fun perks, but does making money give you a thrill? For instance, if you made 100k right now, would you get an excited feeling? How much would you have to make in a day to get a jolt of excitement and how much would you need to lose in a day to have the opposite? Paul Budnitz: "Oh, I don't know how to answer this. I'm not taking myself so seriously now, and I'm fairly confident I'll always find a way to get back on my feet when things go badly, unless the world collapses, and then we'll all be equally screwed, rich and poor. I'm not holding my breath for that to happen, either. I don't even drive a car any more. I build my own bicycles now, but there are some pretty nice old Schwinns out there. I've lived next to crack houses in Brooklyn and that was OK. I live (mostly) in Colorado now and that's OK too. So I don't think it'd effect me too much any more. What I'm saying is, it's all a matter of perspective. Anyway, if everything goes to hell I'm going to open a hot dog store like the one I grew up going to in Berkeley, and I'll work behind the counter. That'd be fun!" To follow up on the psychology of winning and losing money, do you play poker or blackjack? Does Paul Budnitz live large in Vegas on occasion? Paul Budnitz: "I don't gamble. I don't find games fun when it's clear that the odds are not in anyone's favor. That's a sucker's life. Reality is hard enough as it is. When I was 19 a friend and I read a book on card counting and went to Reno for a long weekend. We each made a few thousand dollars at blackjack. It was a lot of work for a little money and in the end, pretty dull. I quit early and had more fun looking at the things hanging in the pawn shops." Are you a comedy fan? Who are your favorite comedians and do you listen to comedy podcasts? Paul Budnitz: "I want to be Eddie Izzard in my next life." Could we see a shot of your current toy collection? Paul Budnitz: "I've said this in interviews before-- I only own about two dozen toys. Mostly things friends have given me. We've been moving around lately and they're still in boxes. My "collection" is all the things I've made or helped make that are out there in the world. It's fun meeting someone and they've got something I designed on their kitchen counter. It's REALLY fun running into someone riding one of my bicycles! But my shelves are bare. I prefer to make things and I enjoy watching others enjoy them. That seems to be my role in life." What can the Opportunity LOL readers look forward to from Paul Budnitz in 2011 and 2012? Paul Budnitz: "I'm making the best bicycles in the world. Really. Take a look!" For more from Paul Budnitz, check out his:
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