Allow me to formally reintroduce myself to you and share some very exciting news about Fodera. This is going to be a LONG post as there is a lot of history to cover...
My name is Jason DeSalvo and I have been playing bass since the early 1980's, managing companies since 1990 and friends with Vinny and Joey (the Owners of Fodera) since early 2008. Effective October 14, 2009, a small team of co-workers and I became the newest partners at Fodera Guitars and we will be handling the day-to-day management of the business so that Vinny and Joey can concentrate on doing what they do best -- building fine instruments.
Before you read any further, let me assure you that what is going on at Fodera is NOT like the CBS acquisition of Fender in 1965 that caused a significant decline in product quality. Vinny and Joey are still the majority owners of Fodera, are still actively building the instruments (and, God willing, will be for many years to come) and my team and I are as fanatical about the quality of the instruments as are Vinny and Joey...but we also believe that the "Fodera Experience" shouldn't stop at making fantastic instruments, but should also include every interaction that our customers have with Fodera.
Simply put, since 1983 Vinny and Joey have been 100% focused on building instruments at the very highest level, but as is the case in many similar small businesses, they have lacked the money and management experience necessary to concentrate on running the business side of things. This partnership is intended to fix that.
My first visit to Fodera was in March of 2008 when I went to have the nut height lowered on a Monarch I had purchased through a dealer. I immediately fell in love with Fodera's Old World building techniques and the fact that in the year 2008, Fodera was still approaching the manufacturing of instruments in much the same way Stradivarius probably did -- every single decision about every single detail, component, piece of wood, finish material, electronics and hardware was treated with great care and consideration. There are no big secrets that cause a Fodera to be a Fodera, but there are hundreds of small ones that collectively add up to something wonderful.
Vinny, Joey and I hit it off immediately and I began hanging out at the shop a little bit each week. By the summer of 2008, I got up the guts to ask them if I could write a book about Fodera. After a month or so of deliberating (they are both very private people), they agreed and I began spending a full day each week onsite doing research for the book.
Starting in November of 2008 I began interviewing many of the well-known artists that play Foderas. What an experience that was. The fact that all of these amazing players (and people) took a substantial amount of time out of their jam-packed schedules to meet with me spoke volumes -- they loved their Foderas and the people that make them as much as we all do. This is all the more impressive when you realize that in the vast majority of cases, these players not only paid for their instruments but also waited just as long as we do for them (Richard Bona's new Imperial that was delivered in June of this year was a mere 3.5 years in the making!).
As my research for the book progressed, I continued to be blown away by just how well-made these instruments were, however, as a successful business person that has started and managed several companies over the past fifteen years, I could not help but notice that from a management perspective, Fodera was essentially a rudderless ship. No one had the time to do anything other than react to things as they came up and even then, important opportunities to serve customers often fell through the cracks. The business was running the people, not the other way around.
I also realized relatively early on that even though the instruments are quite expensive and the brand name is world-renowned, the business was under-capitalized and never had the money necessary to reinvest in the people and systems that could allow it to grow.
So, over this past summer, I pitched a plan to Vinny and Joey that showed in great detail how if a group of impassioned investors and managers committed enough money to Fodera to allow the Company to pay off all of its debts, invest in hiring additional people and train everyone to approach things from the same level of excellence with which the instruments are built, we could probably raise production a bit, sell more strings and accessories AND, dare I say it, be profitable. At first it seemed counter-intuitive -- hire more people and spend more money to make more money? But, yes, as is often the case with small businesses that have amazing products, the lack of money and well-trained people is often far more damaging than expenses are. Also, to be clear, by "impassioned investors" I mean people who not only bring money, but also a real, profound care and concern for the business, are willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard and who are fulfilled on a far deeper and more satisfying level by their work with Fodera than just by making money. The plan that we all bought into might not make any of us rich (at least monetarily), but this is how we see the challenge ahead of us:
1. Build electrical stringed instruments at the very highest quality level and consistently have our products be viewed as among the very best in class;
2. Provide a level of Customer Service that is on par with the quality of our products;
3. Provide our Customers with access to accessory products and supplies that are of the same quality level as our instruments and that enhance the overall Customer experience;
4. Develop the management, operating systems and Company Culture necessary to ensure that Fodera will be around for our childrens children to play our instruments ...
5. Ensure that the Company is profitable.
So, how can you help? Well, in the next week or two I will be posting some email addresses for all of you to use to communicate directly with us. We'd love to hear from you! We will be creating a database so that we can communicate news and product offerings directly to you and would love you to be part of that...
Also, if you have a bass on order and don't know when it is scheduled to be built, you will be able to email or call one of us and get a real answer. Fodera has not historically done a great job in this area and only over the past two months have we all pulled together (as part of finalizing our business deal) and created a true, fair, first-in, first-out production schedule. This means that if you have had a bass on order for 3 years (or close to it), your wait is almost over! It also means that if you want to order a new instrument (either directly or through one of our fine dealers), you will be given a pretty darn good estimate of when your instrument will be built as opposed to a promise of 6-12 months that ends up taking 3 years.
Many of the horror stories about instruments taking 3+ years to build have less to do with actual build time and more to do with what was an erratic scheduling process and lack of a clear scheduling policy (i.e. build 'em in the order they were ordered!)
Presently Fodera's real back-order time is around 22 months, meaning that an instrument ordered this Monday would be given a production slot in July of 2011 and be ready for shipping approximately 6 weeks after that (depending on how complex your order is). Our goal is to get this back-order time down below 18 months and, ideally have it running at no more than one year. Clearly this will take time.
Finally, if you simply cannot wait for the email addresses to be posted in a week or two, please feel free to PM me.
One of us will also be regularly checking in on this forum and will answer Fodera-related questions as promptly, honestly and thoroughly as possible.
We have along way to go, but I assure you that the vast majority of criticisms I have observed during my time as a TB member (most of which predates my business involvement with Fodera) have been used to help formulate the action plan and strategies that we will be implementing over the next months and years.
I thank you in advance for your patience and it is with great humility that my team and I approach the opportunity to work alongside Joey, Vinny, Vadym, Martha and Mike to continue with what Fodera does well and fix those things that have been less than excellent.
