For Bruce Fleischmann, inventing a product for golfers was a natural.  Bruce is an avid golfer, and was in search of a solution to help him get off the tee better.  According to Bruce, "everybody I asked had a different method.  There was no device out there to assist in properly setting a height on a tee, depending on the club."

The answer was "teetool", a patented product that helps golfers adjust their tee to the correct height before driving, whether they use a 3-wood, a standard driver, or a jumbo driver.  This increases distance and accuracy, and therefore naturally cuts strokes!  "teetool" also stores a sliding and locking divot repair tool, a magnetic ball marker, and a club rest.  All this in one sturdy little unit that easily slips in and out of your pocket during play.

The road from idea to marketplace found Bruce seeking assistance from various organizations to help with his venture.  One of those was the Ohio Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University.  Counselor Roy Bean worked with Bruce from the Center's Ashtabula County office.  Roy and the SBDC helped develop the business plan and financial projections, and "encouraged us to potential avenues for some very creative financing", says Bruce.  At first the loan request was denied, because the bank had no benchmark to evaluate the potential success or failure of the business project.  Roy Bean then introduced Bruce and the "teetool" to Bob Niemi and Nick Colby of First Merit Bank.  The product's potential, and Bruce's business expertise, succeeded in getting approval for an SBA-backed loan.  With some additional financing from an outside investor, the "teetool" is now being manufactured and distributed on a large scale.  A large golf promotional products company, Golf Plus of Cleveland, Ohio, is currently working with Bruce to market the product nationwide.

Bruce anticipates that the majority of his sales will come from the promotional products industry.  The face of the "teetool" is designed to store company logos.  Companies purchasing the product can have their logos printed on the "teetool" for promotional advertising.  To purchase the "teetool", or more information on the product, visit the company's website at:  www.teetool.com.

The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University provides business counseling and training programs for existing and start-up companies in Ashtabula, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.  The Center can be contacted at:  330.746.3350, or you can visit the website at: www.ohiosbdc-ysu.com.

©2003 The Ohio SBDC at Youngstown State University
The Ohio SBDC at Youngstown State University
One University Plaza  •  Youngstown, OH  44555
Office: 330.746.3350  •  Fax:330.746.3324

Bruce Fleischmann

FLEISCHMANN-Ohio, Inc.
2706 E. Center Street
P.O. Box #449
N. Kingsville, OH  44068
Phone: 440.224.0259
Fax: 440.224.0260
E-mail: info@teetool.com