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Brennan Vaughn knows firsthand how time-consuming hanging and sealing ductwork can be from working in his father’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning business. Vaughn’s father is a 30-year veteran of the industry and the perfect sounding board for new ideas about ways to improve products and installation processes for the industry.

Vaughn’s four-month-old company SnapDuct is aiming for a major transformation when it comes to ductwork. The current approach to sealing ductwork uses aluminum tape or paint on mastic, a type of resin.  SnapDuct uses a connector that joins both ductwork ends with a clip or latch system and an internal gasket that will seal the duct joint, ultimately reducing labor on job sites. And those shorter installation times benefit contractors and customers alike—currently installation of ductwork is the most time-consuming item on an HVAC contractor’s install list.

Vaughn, a sales and business marketing major, is partnering with Max Chen, a student in the college of engineering and applied sciences. Together, they are working through the prototyping process. “I have worked with Max on 3D models, prototypes and CAD drawings. He has been great to work with. He comes up with new ideas and designs, which is what I am looking for—someone that can provide a new way of thinking.”

As Vaughn works through the intricacies of the optimal design for his product, he is taking advantage of all the resources available to him through Starting Gate, ɫɫ��’s student business accelerator. “Starting Gate has been a huge resource for me and SnapDuct,” says Vaughn. “I have been able to meet many experts who specialize in everything from accounting to marketing to legal. Being able to build out my network and have those people as contacts on my phone has been invaluable. Also, using the office space Starting Gate provides has been another game changer.”

Recently, Vaughn and pitch partner Danny Rogers, a fellow sales student and also a management major, traveled to Minnesota to the Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge, where they competed at e-Fest 2019, as one of just 25 finalists and the only competitor from Michigan.

Vaughn and Rogers placed third in their competition room, earning $1,500 of prize money, and they met many fellow entrepreneurs at the event. “I had two big takeaways from the competition,” says Vaughn. “First, there are many great ideas out there, but it takes a team to make something special happen. Second, a mix of patience and consistency is key. I could definitely tell who has been working on their business or idea for over two years. I am early on in my process, and I see where I could be in several months. If you work hard on your idea, you will get to where you want to be.”

And where Vaughn wants to be is ramping up his efforts on SnapDuct. The next steps for the young company are to use the college of engineering’s resources for further product development and to identify more potential customers by attending trade shows, setting up meetings and visiting job sites to observe installers’ behaviors and do informational interviewing. He also has his sights set on the Start Garden 100 program and other start-up incubators.

When SnapDuct is ready to go to market, Vaughn is ready to sell.

“The sales and business marketing program has had tremendous impact on how I approach meetings, present with impact, develop go-to-market strategies, overcome objections—which every sales call or meeting will have—close a sale and negotiate properly. I am glad I chose the sales and business marketing program because of the impact it has already had on my early career. Dr. Eckert perfected his sales craft years ago, and now he has been giving back to thousands of students and many businesses. He’s the real deal. I can’t wait to see where I am in five years from now because of the sales program and my other experiences.”