AndyMark.pdf - The Fighting Pi

The FIRST Robotics Competition.
It’s a competitive sport.
It’s a life experience.
It’s opportunity.
It’s community.
It’s amazing.
And it WORKS.

AndyMark
MADE IN THE
HOW A DEDICATED PAIR
OF ENGINEERS CREATED
A COMMUNITY DRIVEN
COMPANY AND PROVED
THAT FIRST ROBOTICS IS
MORE THAN JUST A GAME.
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AndyMark, Inc. was formed in 2004 by
Andy Baker and Mark Koors to design and
sell robotics components targeting the
FIRST Robotics community. In addition,
they strived to support and grow robotics
education with their innovative mechanical
designs for mobility applications.
Together, Andy and Mark have over 50
years of engineering experience. They
began as members of Team 45 the
Technokats and have been mentors in the
FIRST Robotics Competition since 1998.
For the 2012 FRC season, they formed a
new FIRST Robotics team at
Northwestern High School, Team 3940. In
addition, they both continue to be active in
FIRST Robotics Competitions serving as
key volunteers at many events.

FROM SMALL
BEGINNINGS….
Andy Baker graduated from the
University of Evansville with a BS degree
in Mechanical Engineering. Upon
graduation, he worked at Delphi
Automotive for 15 years before leaving to
work full time at AndyMark in 2007. When
Andy started at Delphi in 1992, his coworkers
were mentors on one of the
original 28 FRC teams. In 1998, Andy
joined that team (FRC 45, Technokats
Robotics Team) and was a Technokat
mentor for 15 years.
During those years on Team 45, Andy
developed and shared many designs
which are now standards in FIRST. For
this effort, Andy was awarded the
Championship Woodie Flowers Award in
2003. Andy founded the Indiana Robotics
Invitational (IRI), Indiana FIRST, the
Indiana FIRST Workshops, and serves as
a Woodie Flowers Award judge. He even
designed the WFFA trophy. Andy is
married with three daughters. He is active
in the Kokomo community, and has acted
as a coach and mentor within many
organizations.
Unique designs have been essential to AndyMark’s success.
Creative problem solving has been a hallmark of
AndyMark.
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Mark is a graduate of General Motors
Institute of Technology, with dual
degrees in Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering. He was employed for 35
years with GM/Delco/Delphi Electronics
and worked primarily in research and
development. Mark authored 16 US
Patents during his tenure.
At AndyMark, Mark serves as Chief
Engineer and is responsible for electrical
and mechanical design of many new and
existing products. His mechanum wheel
design is patented and is sold around the
world by AndyMark.
Mark mentored Kokomo High
School's Technokats for 15 years. He
also has hobbies other than robotics. He
enjoys ham radio and working in his
garden. As a member of St. Patrick
Catholic Church, Mark volunteers with
their Haiti Ministry and has traveled to
MarFranc, Haiti many times since 1996.
He has engineered the drilling of water
wells, designed and installed a stained
glass window for their church, built a
solar electrical system for the church and
rectory, and supported the annual
medical mission teams. Mark is married
with three children and one grandson.
Andy and Mark’s mentorship and
volunteer work with FIRST Robotics
Competition teams allowed them to
identify a niche market that was not being
served by any existing company.
Together, they began designing and
selling their innovative designs to FIRST
Robotics Teams. Since that time,
robotics and STEM education have
grown significantly, and AndyMark has
been nimble enough to keep pace with
the ever-growing and changing market.
On October 12, 2004, Mark Koors and Andy
Baker were granted patent 6,802,381:
Propulsion Mechanism having a Spherical
Ball

On a mission
(written by AndyMark)
AndyMark began in the true spirit of an
entrepreneurial enterprise. We had
products people wanted, so after careful
evaluation and planning we started a
business to meet that need. The initial
market evaluation included consultation
with professionals including attorneys,
accountants, bankers, prospective
suppliers, and our families.
Next, we decided on a company name,
developed a business plan, and divided
responsibilities between ourselves.
Of course, no business (or FIRST team)
is complete without a mission statement:
AndyMark, Inc. strives to provide
and develop innovative hardware in a
cooperative manner that inspires our
customers, while making a positive
impact in our community.
AndyMark’s original goals were:
1. Make our customers happy.
2. Innovate, develop, and inspire
3. Create a positive and cooperative work
environment.
4. Make a positive impact in our
community
5. Increase sales and reduce costs.

Lessons Learned
Handing day-to-day operations at
AndyMark is a challenge, but skilled and
dedicated employees who believe in the
company’s vision make it much easier.
For the purposes of Behind The Design,
we decided to share some of the lessons
we have learned and the principles that
have guided us through the past eight
years. They have helped to sustain and
grow a small business in a tough
economic climate.
Our foundation was based on Dr.
Woodie Flowers’ theory of Gracious
Professionalism. We wanted to create
something that would benefit others.
We knew we were on to something
when we received the picture above, from
customers in the New York City area.
They gave us full payment for wheels and
hubs, and then they said thank you to us!
The appreciation from our customers
proved that we were on the right track
with our initial intentions to “do good”.

Should your company be a LLC, or an
S-Corp? Do I want to have a partner? Do I
want to have multiple partners? Where do
I begin? Who do I ask? These are
questions every business has to answer.
We consulted with attorneys,
accountants, bankers, and got advice from
friends and family who have small
businesses. During our initial year we
worked closely with Andy’s father, Jim,
who was a CPA in a nearby town. Jim had
helped many small businesses from
startup to maturity and had over 1,000
clients.
Jim helped set up AndyMark as an S-
Corporation and provided a good
foundation for taxation advice, forecasting,
and small business development. Sadly,
Jim died within a year of the beginning of
AndyMark, so he was not able to see what
the company has become.
We took all the advice and information
and made decisions based on what we felt
was right for us. It’s important to go
through this process. When you get to the
point of actually forming a company you
need to have all the paperwork and
documentation done properly to ensure
you are in compliance with state and
federal law.
We would also recommend consulting
your local Chamber of Commerce to see if
there are resources available for small
businesses. In Kokomo, consultation and
advice is provided for those considering
starting a business free of charge. It is
definitely worth the time to get your
questions answered, and to get objective
advice on how to proceed.
S Corporation and LLC Similarities
LLC and S Corp owners are usually not personally
responsible for business related debts and liabilities.
Both LLC’s and S Corps are separate legal entities
created by a state filing.
S Corps and LLC’s are usually pass-through tax entities,
and while S corps must file a business tax return, LLCs
only file business tax returns if the LLC has more than
one owner. Usually, no income taxes are paid at the
business level. Business profits or losses are taxed on
the owners’ personal tax returns.
LLC’s and S Corps must file annual reports and pay the
necessary fees.
S Corp and LLC Differences
LLCs can have an unlimited number of members; S
corps can have no more than 100 shareholders.
Non-U.S. citizens/residents can be members of LLCs;
Not so with S corps.
LLCs are allowed to have subsidiaries.
S corporations must adopt bylaws, issue stock, hold
initial and annual director and shareholder meetings,
and keep meeting minutes with corporate records.
Owners of an LLC can choose to have members
(owners) manage the LLC.
S corps have directors and officers.
An S corporation’s existence is perpetual, but some
states require LLCs to list a dissolution date in the
formation documents. Certain events, such as death or
withdrawal of a member, can cause the LLC to dissolve.
Transferability of ownership. S corporation stock is freely
transferable, as long as IRS ownership restrictions are
met. LLC membership interest (ownership) typically is
not freely transferable—approval from other members is
often required.
S corporations may have a better tax structure
compared to the LLC because the owner can be treated
as an employee and paid a reasonable salary.
Note: Do not construe any text as legal advice. We are
engineers and robotics team members, not lawyers.

1 out of 10 start-ups in the United States succeed
and provide a return on the initial investment.
-The Wall Street Journal
The average small business in the United States has
fewer than 20 employees.
-National Census Bureau
If failure is defined as failing to meet a specific
projected revenue growth rate or date to break
even on cash flow—then more than 95% of startups
fail.
-The Harvard Business School
Over 48% of the Inc. 500 (500 of the fastestgrowing
privately owned companies in the U.S.)
started their business with less than $20,000. No
one talks about the ones that are chewing through
ten times that in loans and haven’t made a dime.
-Boston Business Journal
The rule of thumb for a new business startup
is not to expect income for one full year. In
our case it took three years before Andy was
able to leave his full-time job as an engineer
with Delphi and receive full-salary and
benefits from AndyMark, Inc. Mark did not
receive a salary from AndyMark for another
10 months.
This meant that we worked two jobs for
three years, while being active as FIRST
mentors on FRC Teams, and spending time
with our families. These initial three years
were the most difficult time for AndyMark, and
the most difficult decision was determining
when Andy could leave his job at Delphi to
work at AndyMark full time.
We sought advice from financial advisors
for help and they taught us to manage our
cash flow. We created a financial model
and plugged in a salary for Andy along with
our other expenses and costs of goods. That
helped us determine that if we hit some key
sales targets we could cover an appropriate
salary for Andy.
Next, we implemented our plan. Our
commitment to this plan was constantly
tested, but our families’ support gave us the
boost we needed to keep us working toward
our goals.
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The 2005 omni-wheels created a rough ride and were prone to bending. The later versions were much
smoother-riding and stronger.
This is our theory: our market is everchanging
and our customers are incredibly
knowledgeable about our products. We don’t
wait until a product is perfect before we
release it, because many times the
community helps us improve them.
Our customer feedback is extremely
helpful, and we know we never get
everything right the first time, so we stand
firmly behind any product we send out. One
of our best examples in this area is our omniwheel.
In 2005, we introduced a very rough,
bumpy wheel that we called the “Trick
Wheel”. It was the FIRST wheel of its kind
on the market. Our customers were
appreciative that they had something to
work with, although it was originally
imperfect and could definitely improve.
We sold many of these wheels, but we
also received many comments about their
poor quality and suggestions for making it
better. So, we quickly revised them and
introduced omni wheels in 2006. These
wheels were smoother rolling and lighter,
but they still had some trouble due to the
lack of impact strength for the body material.
In 2007, we improved the wheels again.
We finally had a high quality wheel that
exceeded all customer expectations.
The 2004 versions of the AndyMark shifting transmission and planetary were replaced with lighter
and stiffer products.

Before you approach a bank for a loan,
whether it’s for a car loan, a mortgage or
to start a business, you have to do your
homework. You have to prove to the
lending company that you will pay them
back. They want to see your business plan
and they want to see your three year
projections of income. They want to see
your financial picture in detail.
Andy’s dad suggested that we should
FIRST approach locally owned banks. His
point was that a locally owned bank is
more apt to work with a small business,
and they can usually cut a lot of the red
tape small businesses have to deal with.
There are also other funding sources
small businesses can investigate. In some
instances both state and federal grants are
available. Small Business Innovation
Research Awards (SBIR) and stimulus
money are both out there. Just remember,
there are strings attached! If a small
business is looking for investors they may
also want to consider Venture Capitalists
(VCs) and Angel Investors.
Banks want to draw interest from the
loans companies use, so they want to
keep loaning you money. However, banks
don’t like surprises. We have been able to
accurately forecast our sales and growth,
and our bank appreciates that.
VCs and Angel Investors can also
provide capital, but they often want a
percentage of ownership of the company,
or they want a lump sum of cash after a
planned company sale after a few years.
We have not sought out VCs or other
investors for our business growth.
Small businesses need to watch all of
their costs carefully. They need to know
when to spend for quality and when to
pinch pennies. Many employees forget
to be frugal when travelling on business
or paying for meals and hotels because
the company pays. We can’t afford to
spend much in these areas, so we strive
to get the lowest travel rates.
This is also true for parts and service
sourcing. We look for low cost suppliers
of fabricated parts and professional
services. However, we also believe that
we get what we pay for, and if we are
always paying the lowest price, our
quality suffers. So, there is a fine line
between working hard to find the lowest
price and paying enough for a quality part
or service.
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We have depended greatly on many
software packages. From valuable CAD
packages and office tools to accounting,
inventory, and e-commerce tools, we have
invested in many useful software products.
We utilize e-commerce and have
embraced being a web-based company.
We used Yahoo e-commerce solutions
for the FIRST 5 years until we outgrew its
capabilities. Also, in the beginning stages
of AndyMark, we chose to be our own
distributor, developing our website and ecommerce
process while we were also
developing our products. We chose to do
this since other distributors had no
experience serving the FIRST Robotics
community, and we only could do this by
depending greatly on our software. We
figured that the best and quickest way to
get our parts to FIRST teams during their
build season was to perform our own
distribution and order fulfillment.
Within a few years, we outgrew the
capability of Yahoo e-commerce. At that
point, we evaluated many software
packages and picked two that now run our
web and our inventory management
system. We also use reliable accounting
software. It can be your best friend!
In addition, there are web-based
software solutions which integrate the
services of FedEx, UPS, and US Postal
Service which make our operations very
efficient. We use e-mail to communicate
with our customers, so we can respond to
them when we have time to give them the
time they deserve. Also, it seems that we
are depending more and more on cloudbased
file sharing like Google Drive,
Dropbox, and other similar programs.
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Thank you for all you have done for the FIRST
community and for giving all teams such a
great experience in buying and using your
products!
I'm a big fan of AndyMark, and your consistent
and continued commitment to quality and
service-after-the-sale.
Prices are competitive but the CUSTOMER
SERVICE cannot be beat!
The kit chassis and gearbox components
AndyMark offers are reliable proven solutions
and now the components are more affordable
than ever!
FIRST Robotics
honored Andy Baker with
the 2003 Woody Flowers
Award, the highest award
that can be given by
FIRST.
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We have been supported very well by
many facets of our family and
community. We realize that these
friends and family all wish to support our
efforts here at AndyMark, especially the
people who live close to our community.
Early on in the development of
AndyMark, Andy’s sister, mother, and
father all helped out at different times.
As the company has grown, many of the
people who have worked or are working
at AndyMark are friends from the
community and people we know from our
church or school affiliations.
The support we have received from
the FIRST community has also been
overwhelming and inspiring. We have an
outstanding customer base of honest
and passionate people. Sometimes this
passion may lead to raised stress, but
these customers work hard to help us
understand our strengths and
weaknesses, and often suggest for ways
which we can improve.

Don’t sit back and be complacent.
Always look ahead to what’s next. We
started selling parts for building robots,
and we have always sought out areas to
expand our business. We have seen more
demand in the kit chassis market recently,
so this is an area we are expanding into.
We are currently “jumping” into selling kits
and systems, as opposed to only selling
parts and components.
Stay with the product and market you
know. You can be innovative and take
risks within this market, but know your
boundaries and limitations. Don’t get into a
market you don’t know anything about.
This was a mistake we made three
years ago. We already had the sourcing of
parts and materials in place for our new
product, but it was a product and the
market we knew nothing about. We
thought we could depend on others to
guide us, but it was a mistake. Fortunately,
after almost two years we were able to cut
our losses and walk away, but it is an
experience we use when evaluating
prospective business ventures even now.
We know the educational robotics
business. This can lead us into other
markets, since education is a broad
market in itself. However, we have
learned that we need to stick with the
market we know and expand within that
market.
Toughbox Nano Tube 20"
Chassis
Mechanum C-Base Wide Frame
Nano Tube 31” 6wd with Plaction Wheels
Chassis

Cross the Road Electronics makes the
Battery Beak, the Talon, the uCANDRIVE,
the 2CAN Ethernet to Can gateway, and the
Cross Link Control System.
Robolytics developed the iAMdriver, the
iAMlight Quad, and the iAMlight Triple.
eStop Robotics makes the Cypress Carrier
Board and Cypress Enclosure, the Battery
Base kit, and the Custom Control Interface.
221 Robotic Systems produces the Wild
Swerve and Revolution Swerve module, the
new Sasquatch Robot Control, the Arduino
Control Shield, and Solenoid Shield.
We strive to communicate with our
competitors because we work toward a
common goal: to grow our market. After all, a
larger market means that we all benefit. For
the most part, this has been successful. Other
small businesses have collaborated with us,
even when we may be developing parts for the
same market and even while developing
similar products.
These companies see an expanding market
as an attractive opportunity for all of us to work
within, even as competitors. However, not all
companies within this market agree upon this
collaborative method of working together. The
market still benefits from the competition which
results in improved prices and products.
We at AndyMark have experienced
wonderful partnerships and collaborative
efforts with almost all of the suppliers who sell
parts within the education robotics market. It’s
difficult to get everyone to see this market in
the same manner we do, and we understand
that competitive business is tough. We will
continue to reach out to work with companies
to grow our common market.
IR3 creative makes Modulox
products for flexible gearbox and
transmission design.

The 2009 Woody Flowers Award Picture
We appreciate the opportunity the
FIRST community has provided to us as
AndyMark since we began in 2004. We
have depended on friends, FIRST staff,
mentors and students from various FIRST
teams as we have been able to grow our
company. We often get feedback
regarding how to improve our processes
and products, and we greatly appreciate
all input. Sometimes this input is harsh,
but constructive criticism is the best kind
and we accept and learn from it.
Lastly, we appreciate the opportunity to
provide content to the 2012 Behind the
Design book. If any reader has questions
regarding anything about AndyMark,
please email us at sales@andymark.com.
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AndyMark has grown from supporting
Andy Baker to employing over 30 full-time
and seasonal employees. AndyMark was
named "Business of the Year" in 2011 by
the Kokomo Howard County Chamber of
Commerce.
Currently, AndyMark is one of the
leading distributors and makers of
robotics parts within the robotics mobility
and competition market, selling to
customers in all 50 states and to in over
40 countries around the world. Our world
headquarters are located in Kokomo,
Indiana.
AndyMark takes pride on providing
high quality, robust gearboxes, wheels
and components for mobility platforms.
With a unique customer base, we strive
for cost-effective options for robotics and
mobility applications, with an emphasis on
customer service. Motivation and hard
work founded this company.
The staff at AndyMark works together
as a team to meet our customers’ unique
needs, and achieve success through
creativity and development to provide the
highest quality products available.
http://www.andymark.com/aboutus.asp