Crafting the Future of Classroom Audio

Discover the fascinating journey of Avid Products as we welcome Ben Gomez to Spotlight for Success. Ever wondered how an audio solution company transitions from the airline and hotel industries to focusing solely on K-12 educational markets? Ben shares the keys to Avid's success, revealing their dedication to high-quality audio products and a commitment to safety that protects the sensitive ears of young learners. Get a glimpse into the intricate details of their products, such as headsets equipped with sensors to prevent hearing damage, and the rigorous European testing standards they uphold to ensure the utmost safety for children.

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Transcript

Devin Pintozzi 0:00

Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company. I am Devin Pintozzi, your host. We are here at LACUE with Ben Gomez with Avid Products. Welcome, B en.

Ben Gomez 0:11

Hey guys, what's going on?

Devin Pintozzi 0:12

All right, so tell us what brings you to LACUE today.

Ben Gomez 0:16

So we're here to promote awareness to our headsets. We primarily make audio for the K-12 market pretty big for state testing, esl-type test out stuff like that. But we want to make high-quality audio accessible to everybody.

Devin Pintozzi 0:34

Oh, wonderful.

Ben Gomez 0:35

So a lot of times when you're dealing with other headsets, you pay a lot for the brand name. Oh okay, even though we've been around since the 50s primarily with earbuds in the airline industry, hotel industry, if you go to the gym upstairs they have our earbuds

Devin Pintozzi 0:50

oh nice.

Ben Gomez 0:52

Now we've moved into the K-12 market. During COVID it was pretty big People working remotely, students learning remotely. So wearing a headset cancels out a lot of the outside distractions.

Devin Pintozzi 1:04

Oh, that's wonderful. And so what did you? What was I going to say? So you're there, you're doing these durable headsets, and how does that differentiate you from other people in this marketplace?

Ben Gomez 1:18

Yeah, so a lot of times companies will make headsets, cases, tons of accessories. We're hyper-focused just on the audio.

Ben Gomez 1:28

So, we don't do anything else, we only make headsets. So a lot of times attention to detail you'll notice super durable headbands. A big call out is safety. So a lot of people pour a bunch of money into the base or a bunch of money into the marketing. We put it into the product. So our headsets have sensors in them not to go above 85 decibels. A lot of times you'll see students plug in, crank up the volume as loud as they can, damage their little ears,

Devin Pintozzi 1:55

oh no. Can't have that.

Ben Gomez 1:57

So, yeah, we have sensors in that Same way with, like when we're making the product, we go through a variety of testing. Of course we're making the product, we go through a variety of testing, of course, all the standard required ones. But we do even go the next step with a lot of European type standards. Okay, so you know if a kid's wearing our headset, they're not going to have any damage with like chemicals or anything like that.

Devin Pintozzi 2:20

Oh, that's really wonderful. And so what are you hoping to bring back from LACUE. That your going to bring back to the other places that you go.

Ben Gomez 2:26

Yeah, so the big thing. We brought a lot of samples, we took a lot of contact names. A lot of the districts are using us, but we just launched a new headset for early learning over the summer, so designed specifically for K-6.

Devin Pintozzi 2:42

Oh wonderful,

Ben Gomez 2:42

So it's, our. On-ear headsets. I should have brought one over here, but it was good to get those in front of people, get them to try it out, touch, feel, listen and then take them home and, you know, try them out within the classrooms.

Devin Pintozzi 2:55

Oh, that sounds great.

Ben Gomez 2:57

So we've seen big districts in Texas and Illinois roll those out. They're compatible with the new iPads on USB-C Okay. So it's going to be interesting to see that trickle into other states as well. We saw that there wasn't really a market or that there was a market for early learning headsets. Since it's not all one size fits all. A lot of people think you buy $2, $3 earbuds and give them to every student, but on-ear it's going to cancel out a lot of the outside distractions. We built a new mic in it that's non-adjustable. We're calling it KidCom so it really gets kids so they can't fidget with it or chew on it. It's going to be more durable and, like I said, we've rolled it out into a few big districts and getting really good feedback on it.

Devin Pintozzi 3:47

Oh hey, that's great. So where can the public find out more information about Avid

Ben Gomez 3:58

Yeah, so, avidproductscom. I'm Ben Gomez. I cover central US, but we have reps on the West Coast East Coast. If you can't reach someone, reach out to me. We're a small company so you're not going into a big contact us queue. It's going to be a real person replying to you.

Devin Pintozzi 4:10

Oh, that's wonderful Love that Customer service is so important.

Ben Gomez 4:13

Yeah, definitely

Devin Pintozzi 4:13

customer service is not dead.

Ben Gomez 4:15

Definitely

Devin Pintozzi 4:16

Ben Gomez with Avid Products. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Ben Gomez 4:21

Yeah, yeah, glad to be here. Thanks so much for having me

Devin Pintozzi 4:23

All right.