A pool table, a 3D printer and an Instagram-famous dog: An AZNavigator prototype for success
Billight Pool is the creation of Startup Tucson member Blake Martin
A millimeter, to University of Arizona senior Blake Martin, is everything.
He learned that through trial and error, over the course of six months, inside Startup Tucson’s Launch Lab, a prototyping space for entrepreneurs.
Blake Martin
“I was in there almost every other day,” he said of his 2022 fall semester.
Martin was determined to design a novel billiard lighting system, a set of LED lights that slides underneath the lip of a pool table to add flair and create competitive games based on speed and precision.
In the process, he became one of the lab’s most prolific users.
Now Martin is preparing to launch his product — known as Billight Pool — in time for the holiday shopping season.
Helping businesses launch on a shoestring
Martin is not sure he’d be at this point without the help of Startup Tucson’s prototyping lab.
“I would have spent a lot of money ordering prototypes … and burning through cash,” he said.
Instead, Martin was able to use the lab for free at the start. Only later in his entrepreneurial journey did he begin to cover the cost of the resin he was utilizing.
In addition to multiple styles of 3D printers, the lab provides users with access to a vinyl cutter, laser cutter, engraver and experienced guidance.
Startup Tucson is part of AZNavigator, a team of 10 organizations including Local First Arizona that works together to offer no-cost assistance to business owners across the state.
‘He is what comes to mind when you think of an entrepreneur’
Megan Finck, program manager at Startup Tucson, said some of Martin’s experiments on the 3D printers would take 20 to 30 hours to complete.
“There was a lot of trial and error and patience. It was a real dedication of time on his part,” she said. “I’m sure some of those moments were really frustrating.”
A millimeter difference could cause Martin’s wires to not fit in a casing or to slip out, for example. He learned the hard way that working by a window could cause a piece to cure faster than he wanted.
Billight Pool allows players to compete in new ways with colored lights
While in the lab, Martin also learned CAD — computer-aided design — from a lab engineer so he could make adjustments whenever he needed. Finck said that curiosity and willingness to learn reflected his student mindset.
“He is very much a problem-solver,” Finck said. “He is what comes to mind when you think of an entrepreneur who finds a problem and finds a way around it. It’s been fun to watch his journey and his growth.”
Startup Tucson provides more than prototyping
Besides the lab, Startup Tucson offers startup boot camps to entrepreneurs as well as classes that dive deep into topics such as digital marketing, legal support, branding, intellectual property, bookkeeping and investing.
“A lot of the people we’re working with are early on and bootstrapping,” Finck said. “We’re trying to offer them opportunities to learn how to do things themselves.”
One more idea before graduation: Dog fashion
As for Martin, he has embraced the “do it yourself” spirit to the fullest.
While developing Billight, he and his dog accidentally gained Instagram fame as Martin experimented on the platform to better understand the algorithm for marketing efforts.
Now he and his labrador, Whiskey Bear, are developing a clothing line and making cooking and cocktail recipe videos for “hoomans” and “doggos,” in addition to advancing Billight.
“I want to grow Billight as the primary company,” Martin said of his career aspirations after graduation. “Whatever that takes.”
Want to pre-order a billiards table light set or learn more about Billight Pool? Visit www.billightpool.com.
Do you need prototyping assistance? Talk to Startup Tucson by going to www.startuptucson.com.
Are you a business owner with a challenge to solve? Find a local organization to help you at localfirstaz.com/aznavigator.
