Serial Entrepreneur Ron Ben-Zeev has built companies in multiple industries, including cloud software and real estate. Yet his current company, World Housing Solution–a three-time Inc. 5000 honoree based in Sanford, Florida–almost failed because Ben-Zeev didn’t follow a fundamental rule of entrepreneurship.–Ron Ben-Zeev, as told to Steven Weiss
About 11 years ago, I ignored advice that I give to everyone else: Don’t build something without making sure people want it. It’s a lesson I’d known before but just had to learn again.
I’d been consulting for a company–Insulated Component Structures of Florida–that had found a way to build prefabricated structures cheaply and in just a few weeks, ship them flat, and assemble them anywhere in the world in a few hours.
In 2010, just as we were bringing our product to market, Haiti was hit by a gigantic earthquake and we saw a market opportunity to use our temporary housing for displaced victims. FEMA’s solution was to house those people in tents, and we figured our shelters would be a welcome upgrade.
Depending on the application, these fiberglass composite structures–which cost about $80 per square foot–can include everything from doors, windows, and lights to thermal insulation and HVAC systems. They’re also immune to mold, mildew, rot, and termites. And they stand up to earthquakes and hurricanes.
So I relaunched the company as World Housing Solution and pitched it to FEMA. We failed miserably. Everyone told us that a tent was good enough.
As it turns out, in the first couple of months after a natural disaster, a tent is often the best solution. You can ship and build them more efficiently and quickly than our sturdier, heavier, larger structures.
Luckily, a few months later, I was approached by a purchaser with the U.S. Navy, who asked us if we could customize a run of our structures to its specifications. We had never done that, but I said yes.
The U.S. military, with its prolonged missions in remote geographies, has been the perfect customer for our product. Because of the Navy’s asking us for custom structures, we can now make units that are ballistic-, natural disaster-, and heat- resistant–all while still being mobile and flexible.
If I’d taken the time to do some market research beforehand, we would have saved a lot of time. There’s the old adage: If your grandma thinks it’s cool, that’s interesting, but what’s very interesting is when every grandma thinks it’s cool. Unfortunately, I did not do that test.”
From the October 2022 issue of Inc. Magazine
Steven I. Weiss
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