QB54: From Backyard Prototype to Big-Box Shelves — Mike Silva’s Playbook for Building a Tailgate Phenomenon
Part inventor, part hustler, part one-man media team—Mike Silva turned a Thanksgiving garbage-can game into QB54: a dual-purpose football game you play (then sit in). The Blue-Collar Twins dig into how he went from beach-day preorders to manufacturing at scale, survived COVID freight shocks, landed in 200 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, and kept his family in the ride the whole way.
You’ll hear:
- The origin story: buckets to chairs, a light-bulb prototype, and first cash-in-hand preorders on the Jersey Shore.
- Testing before betting: small runs, tailgate demos, and learning to trust (but verify) manufacturers.
- Retail reality: terms, freight, tariffs, drayage—and why “getting in” is nothing without “selling through.”
- Media engine: eight years of footage, smart ad buying, ROAS/CAC basics, and turning reactions into conversion.
- Resilience & risk: six-figure debt, family support, mentor advice (“stay even keel”), and the grit to keep moving.
- What’s next: Shark Tank exposure, overseas distribution, and a potential soccer variant.
Show links:
From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs
From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore
Produced by: www.verbell.ltd
Timestamps
00:00 – Cold open: “Believe in yourself… good things happen.”
00:41 – Meet Mike Silva, co-founder of QB54; what the game is and how it works
02:02 – Thanksgiving genesis: garbage cans, CB antennas, and a lifelong idea
03:54 – 2015–2016 decision to launch; neighbor won’t stop playing → “we might have something”
06:00 – First prototypes, the beach test, and 15 preorders from strangers
08:06 – Finding a factory, early small runs, and learning to test the market first
10:00 – Stadium-to-stadium hustle; bringing the kids and paying per sale
12:06 – Patents 101: provisional, design, utility—why protection mattered
14:20 – Family partnership, buying out his brother, and staying “even keel” through highs/lows
17:01 – The debt valley: $600k+, COVID container shock, and clawing back with ads
20:04 – Retail education: 90-day terms, consignment risk, Bed Bath test that needed in-store demos
23:59 – Freight, tariffs, drayage, warehousing—why COGS is only the start
27:01 – Marketing misfires, learning skepticism, and finding the right 3PL (“ShipDaddy”)
30:30 – Best day ever: 320 units in one day (and the ad spend behind it)
33:00 – Building the media machine: years of footage → Facebook/Google/TikTok wins
38:00 – Influencers, content gaps, and why reliability beats free product
41:20 – Brand placements (Corona/Labatt/retail displays) and the need to show how it plays
46:10 – Shark Tank journey: audition, pitch, and air date set (Oct 1)
49:50 – Community & peers: Founders Group, Crossnet lessons, and real-talk playbooks
53:40 – Exit possibilities, athlete interest, and league/sport potential
55:57 – Close: why the sale still feels like a rush and what 2025 could unlock
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