- Joined
- Jul 9, 2009
- Messages
- 469
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Hi All!
Some time last fall, I called a good friend, Justin Casp, to bounce off an idea regarding a new product concept I had. I wanted to make a kit version of some of the more popular Grey Seas Aquatics products. He thought it was a great idea, and knew there were a lot of aquarists out there who would love to do this given the parts, tools, and skills. It saves money, you get exactly what you want, and it's just plain fun to see your projects work. A few months later I asked him if he was interested in helping design and test the kits, eventually I asked him if he would like to become a partner in Grey Seas Aquatics; lucky for me, he was.
So after several (hundred) hours of talking and planning, we decided that we would combine our various skill sets in order to turn Grey Seas into a very different aquarium equipment company. We wanted to appeal to the DIY crowd unlike any other company out there, but still have something for those who just want a plug-n-play device. Along with the focus on DIY, we decided a new name and image would be useful to set us apart from the mainstream manufacturers out there. Why AVAST and the pirate theme? Well, we hope that it is memorable compared to the countless blue underwater themed sites. Also, we take ourselves just seriously enough to deliver a robust product- but you won't find chrome and racing stripes and multi thousand dollar price tags on our stuff. So a bit of whimsical humor was needed. Finally, we just loved the cool little octo dude that a good friend dreamed up. AVAST was born.
Just to give you an idea of how Justin and I run AVAST, I concentrate on CAD, machining, production, and material sourcing while Justin does things like shipping, IT, and customer support. If you have a question about a product or a problem, just ask me or Justin and we will do our best to help you out asap. If you need some advice on a DIY project, ask either one of us. We're on the forums, email, PM, blog site, etc.
Finally, we plan to keep our new projects and ideas highly visible to all. We're hoping that this transparency of the design and prototyping phase will show you how our products are conceived, as well as inspire and teach you to make your own new devices. You can follow our blog by clicking the What's New link on the website, or this link.
Thanks for your interest in AVAST!
Dan Lichens and Justin Casp
Captains
Some time last fall, I called a good friend, Justin Casp, to bounce off an idea regarding a new product concept I had. I wanted to make a kit version of some of the more popular Grey Seas Aquatics products. He thought it was a great idea, and knew there were a lot of aquarists out there who would love to do this given the parts, tools, and skills. It saves money, you get exactly what you want, and it's just plain fun to see your projects work. A few months later I asked him if he was interested in helping design and test the kits, eventually I asked him if he would like to become a partner in Grey Seas Aquatics; lucky for me, he was.
So after several (hundred) hours of talking and planning, we decided that we would combine our various skill sets in order to turn Grey Seas into a very different aquarium equipment company. We wanted to appeal to the DIY crowd unlike any other company out there, but still have something for those who just want a plug-n-play device. Along with the focus on DIY, we decided a new name and image would be useful to set us apart from the mainstream manufacturers out there. Why AVAST and the pirate theme? Well, we hope that it is memorable compared to the countless blue underwater themed sites. Also, we take ourselves just seriously enough to deliver a robust product- but you won't find chrome and racing stripes and multi thousand dollar price tags on our stuff. So a bit of whimsical humor was needed. Finally, we just loved the cool little octo dude that a good friend dreamed up. AVAST was born.
Just to give you an idea of how Justin and I run AVAST, I concentrate on CAD, machining, production, and material sourcing while Justin does things like shipping, IT, and customer support. If you have a question about a product or a problem, just ask me or Justin and we will do our best to help you out asap. If you need some advice on a DIY project, ask either one of us. We're on the forums, email, PM, blog site, etc.
Finally, we plan to keep our new projects and ideas highly visible to all. We're hoping that this transparency of the design and prototyping phase will show you how our products are conceived, as well as inspire and teach you to make your own new devices. You can follow our blog by clicking the What's New link on the website, or this link.
Thanks for your interest in AVAST!
Dan Lichens and Justin Casp
Captains
