You might see Santa Barbara inventor Ben Ryan on Shark Tank next year, even if he successfully raises money for his invention. He’s just that excited to show it off to investors.
Ryan designed a device for guitar players just starting out or going from gig to gig — and every talent level in between. He says the CapoSonic is unlike any other guitar capo out there.
If you’re not a guitarist, you’re probably lost in the explanation. Fortunately, Ryan has a video of his product on his website, CapoSonic.com.
The general idea of the CapoSonic, Ryan said, is to lessen the need for constant tuning and adjustment to produce the sound you want.
“It takes the wonderful sounds of open and alternative tunings but still allows you to play the regular way you learned. All of the regular scales and fingerings are applicable and it adds to it,” Ryan said.
For beginners, that takes away some of the intimidation about learning to play. For more skilled guitarists, it makes playing more fun.
“It can be for the blues and for country, for electric and acoustic,” Ryan said.
Ryan, who plays the guitar as a hobby rather than as a profession, said he was really blown away that no one had thought of such of a device. So he’s trying to bring it to market quickly, while keeping it a local endeavor.
“We do have people all over the world who pledged money for it, so that tells me it’s a universal idea,” Ryan said. “I felt it was very important to do as much of it locally, and do it under control without a lot of exterior issues making it go into different directions.”
That was the reason for the Kickstarter account, where Ryan could try and quickly meet his goal of raising $39,600 by Oct. 28.
Ryan set an all-or-nothing goal, too, so he must raise at least that amount in order to receive money to put the CapoSonic into production.
Ryan’s confident he can meet his goal and get his invention in production by the end of this year, maybe in time for holiday shopping. Another reason he wants to launch this initiative without big outside investments was to keep the whole operation in the Santa Barbara area.
“There are a lot of people telling me you can’t do things in Santa Barbara because it’s too expensive,” Ryan said. “I would like to do it here because i live here and want to build something that doesn’t hurt anyone. Santa Barbara has been notorious for bringing great things into the world.”
So, what about Shark Tank?
Ryan said he applied to appear on the show, and received a response that he might have a chance to audition in the spring. He said that gives him enough time to refine his plan and maybe stop the sharks from yelling at him too much.
Honeybaked Ham Site Goes to a Jeweler
From pork to pearls: Brombal Coins & Jewelry is poised to take over the corner space at State Street and Calle Laurales that was long occupied by the Honeybaked Ham store.
Hayes Commercial Group announced last week that Paul Brombal purchased the 3,000-square-foot space across the street from El Pollo Loco, and plans to move his store from a spot further up State Street near Jeanine’s.
The building has long been on the market, and Honeybaked Ham had been tipped to leave the space for a while now. But the sale to Brombal means big things for his business because of the prominence of the San Roque location and the space of the facility.
“The building is highly recognizable and well known to Santa Barbara residents. It will definitely raise the profile of Mr. Brombal’s business,” said Michael Martz, the Hayes broker who represented the previous owner along with broker Kristopher Roth.
Roth said the property was sold for the full asking price, which was not disclosed.
Brombal was represented by Dean Vanecek.
Bertoli’s New Office
Jeannie Bertoli should know conflict between couples after working in Washington, D.C., for 11 years as a family and marriage counselor. But now she’s moved to Santa Barbara and started a practice in August helping people “come back to themselves and their connection with ‘All That Is.’”
Bertoli’s coaching skills are now available from her State Street office and online, through video chat. Looks like Santa Barbara has another game in town for people looking for a little motivational coaching. Visit her webstie, DrBertoli.com, for more on her services.
Remember Old Mom’s
Transition House’s celebratory gathering on Wednesday in honor of their recently constructed housing complex at 421 East Cota St. Carved into the face of the building is a reminder of what landmark Santa Barbara business stood at the site for decades.
Mom’s Italian Village has been out of business for almost a generation, and it might be just a hazy memory for even longtime Santa Barbara residents.
But even after Transition House bought the property in 1999, with the hope of one day expanding their own operations of helping homeless families into careers and sustainability, the building looked almost the same as it did when it was a local hangout and a place for Santa Barbara families to come and gather until it closed in the mid-1990s.
Transition House immortalized Mom’s as a new place for Santa Barbara families to gather, but in a rather different way.
Still, few other long-gone local businesses are honored in this way and in the quickly changing world of business here, it’s worth mentioning how Mom’s has been transformed into a new place to bring mothers, fathers and children out of homelessness and on the path of a better life.
BizHawk is published each Friday and includes items of interest to the business community. Share your news by emailing items to news@noozhawk.com.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Zac Estrada can be reached at zac.estrada@gmail.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.