February 2010

David Valade and Ming Wang met and became friends while attending Michigan State University's Eli Broad Graduate School of Business.  With similar interests, complimentary skills and expertise they began developing the idea for what ultimately became Maylong Group LLC, A company that makes an easy to use global positioning device.  David and Ming went their separate ways after obtaining MBAs in 2004 but continued conversations about creating a business together.

 In 2006, the two friends travelled to China and connected with China GPS, a Chinese On-Star type company, and were introduced to their portable navigation system.  Returning to the U.S. and continuing with their full-time jobs, they began work on starting their own portable navigation system company on a part-time basis.  By the end of the year, they had incorporated Maylong Group LLC.  "Maylong is a combination of the two Chinese words eagle and dragon, me representing the U.S. symbol and Ming representing China's dragon," David related.

Ming Wang attended the massive Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas in January 2007, doing the leg work on understanding the trends and market opportunities for GPS navigation devices.  In the meantime, David continued to work on the business plan for their new company.  In March, David left his previous employment to focus all his efforts on starting up Maylong Group. "I was concentrating full time on building a brand for an easy-to-go navigation system and five weeks later Ming left his job and joined me," David recalled.

The two spent the spring on product development and sought to identify software and map providers to engage in their concept.  "During one of the many conversations I had with these folks I was told our product would be perfect for the 'For Dummies' application that would soon become available.  We put a bid into Wiley Publications, publishers of the Dummies book series and in May 2007 and were awarded the 'Navigation for Dummies' global license, enabling us to manufacture a navigation device that anyone could use."  In the meantime, it was back to China to identify suppliers with Ming successfully securing a manufacturing agreement with YFI, Inc. to produce Maylong's navigation system. Production of 'GPS Navigation for Dummies' began mid year.

Working with a German software supplier and a Chinese producer, David and Ming experienced many 24-hour days.  Up to this time, the partners had been able to self fund their fledgling company but were now looking for outside financing.  But, as David recalled, "looking for funding is a full time job."

By the end of 2007, seeking help in financing and managing the growth of their new company, David contacted Automation Alley and was connected with Business Consultant, Tom Kelly, at the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC). "Initially, we were exploring the possibility of venture capital for growing the company. Tom provided us with a wealth of information.  He helped us understand the venture capital world and gave us solid information on what we could expect from venture and other funding sources.  He steered us to the Small Business Administration, at that time a more appropriate source of financing, and we were successful in obtaining an SBA loan."

2008 brought explosive growth and a growing demand for their product. "While our engagement with the SBTDC, was limited, Tom could see the big picture and was invaluable in giving us a realistic view of the marketplace," stated David.  "Our sales went from $500,000 in 2007 to more than $10 million at the end of 2008."

Both partners agree that a shared vision and hard work has been the key to success to date.  "As we move into 2009, we are looking at tripling the companys growth and will be looking at a variety of funding sources for support.  The challenge now is to ensure we are able to finance the demand we have for our product," David recounted.  "Nearly all of our sales have been in the U.S. but this spring we'll be rolling out a European version at Cebit in Germany and will be launching a navigation system that can be operated on a number of GPS enabled phones."

"As we continue to grow our company, we would like to be a part of southeast Michigan's transformation into a hub for navigation technology.  We are grateful to Automation Alley and the SBTDC for their help and support of Maylong Group," said David.

Contact the SBTDC.