Quote:
Most people may hear the name Innovation First and think of it as a manufacturer of kits used by high school students in national robotics competitions.
But owners Tony Norman and Bob Mimlitch say the world is beginning to realize the firm is far more than that.
“Most people think of us as a robotics company, but that is really only about 10 percent of our business,” Norman said.
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This is one of the most important statements in the story. For several years, many FIRST teams have been assuming that IFI makes most of their money from sales to teams and FIRST (and admit it, there have even been some less-than-gracious near accusations of price gouging, etc. on these very forums). A few have known, and this statement verifies, that IFI makes their money elsewhere (can you say "Dell Users"?
) and uses those funds to support and subsidize their FIRST-related activities. There is a hidden, but very significant, contribution that IFI makes every year in terms of product development, sales costs, and support to every team out there. This is enabled by their "other business" that most of us do not see (and may not even have been aware of). This is a good story, and helps shed a little light on just how much the folks at IFI put an emphasis on thier corporate participateion in FIRST to help the teams out there. Next time you see someone from IFI at a competition, you might want to just wander by and say "thank you!" - I am sure they will appreciate it. Unless it is JVN, in which case you can just rub his head.
-dave