Shooting your shot

By Jenny Yu.  

Learn how one company got its start from recognizing a need and filling it. 

Have you ever had an idea for a product but figured somebody else had already made it? The story behind TUBOS is an example of how one person nurtured their idea into a problem-solving product and a successful, game-changing business.  

Kevin Morris shared the TUBOS story with Karen Edwards in this episode of Roofing Road Trips®. TUBOS is a contractor-friendly vent pipe extension that increases the height of an existing pipe that needs to meet building code requirements. Manufactured for use with standard-diameter vent pipes, TUBOS works in conjunction with any roofing systems and has become popular due to their practicality, ease of use and inventiveness. 

“I've had a ton of contractors say, ‘Oh, I thought of that 20 years ago,’ or ‘Why didn't I think of that? Of course!’ We hear that a lot,” Kevin shared. “I've never left a meeting where I feel like the contractor wasn't fully on board with it.” 

However, TUBOS didn’t have the easiest beginning. Kevin started the company in 2009, square in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. 

“It was tough starting in '09, especially selling a new product that's never been on the market. We were selling something that no one was even looking for because they didn't know it existed,” Kevin detailed. “So, as a matter of educating the contractor, specifier or everybody, just letting them know that it's out there. Distributors, too, because they don't want to stock a product if they don't have sales already. 

But Kevin knew he had something special on his hands, and he forged ahead anyway. 

“We had to get creative, and that's kind of when we learned our first big specifier was the US Postal Service on a national level,” Kevin shared. “We realized that that's what we need to go after: school districts, medical facilities, any kind of specifier architects. That's our main focus, and they sell TUBOS for us at every pre-bit. Without any competition and being in the specs, it's a win-win.” 

In finding their niche, TUBOS created a market for themselves and continues to grow a reputation in. 

Toward the end of the conversation, Kevin offered advice for anyone hoping to invent a successful new product.  

“They say that less than 1% of patents ever make money. It is something that you have to really do your research before moving forward, because getting the patent and getting the moldings — anything that you have to do — you have to test it and test it and test it. It's very time-consuming, very costly. You want to make sure you do your due diligence before running with a product,” Kevin advised. “But so many times I hear that people come up with this or that, and they don't go through with it, and it's something they'll always regret. So do your research and give it a shot.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about how TUBOS became the revolutionary roofing product and company it is today.