Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show heard here and seen online at thebusinessmakers.com. And now it is time for the BusinessMakers Flashback. And for this mornings Flashback, we are going to roll back to June of 2006 when John and I interviewed the founder and CEO of ScreenTek, Fred Pounds. We entered the discussion where we asked Fred to tell us about ScreenTek.

Fred: ScreenTek's the leading global LCD screen procurement company for notebook computers. Our core business is replacing damaged laptop screens, and that's what we've developed a unique specialty for. We estimate that almost three-and-a-half million screens are broken year-round on an annual basis, and many of these individuals and end-users are not aware that they can actually make a replacement.

John: So in other words, if I have my laptop and I'm at the airport and it falls off the conveyor belt because of security reasons, it's better - it'd be less expensive for me perhaps to replace the screen than to get a whole new laptop.

Fred: It definitely would. In fact, your laptop may be just, you know, months old. It could be quite - and you know, has a useful life to it and also has all your data and all your files. And it's actually possible to replace the screen yourself. We can actually sell a screen to someone, educate 'em on how to do it themselves, and eliminate all the extra hassle factors as well as the time delay.

John: Now what components do you replace on the screen?

Fred: Usually a cracked screen is fairly obvious. There's a visible crack, a line in the screen, and that's when you know it's a broken screen. It's very salvageable. The screen itself, it can be replaced. You pop out a screen, you put a new one in. And we have instructions on our website and we have people available by phone and email to support people that wanna make a replacement.

John: Now what about the electronics behind the screen that actually creates the image on the screen? How does that work?

Fred: Well, on our website, there's step-by-step instructions and it's quite easy. We have people from grandparents to young people that take this one and do a great job first time through.

John: Okay. So you're guard-variety laptop. What would a screen replacement thing cost?

Fred: Our typical screen, about $350.00.

John: Oh wow.

Fred: You'll find when you actually price these screens from the manufacturer of laptop makers, they typically are $700.00 to $800.00, maybe $1,000.00. And actually, that's not their specialty, that's not their mainline business, and their main business is selling new hardware.

John: Yeah, they wanna sell you a new laptop.

Fred: Yes, sir.

John: Right, okay. Now we get it.

Fred: Yeah, wow. [Laughter]

Russ: This is pretty cool. So this is like a do-it-yourself changing of your display. That's your core of business.

Fred: That's a core of business. We actually started with the idea that people would want a lot of assistance. It's a pretty scary thought to open up a laptop. And our initial offer was, you know, if you want to, send us your laptop and we'll take apart, put a new screen in, and then send it back. And we still have some consumers that prefer that. But over time, that's shifted to about 90 percent of people that wanna do it themselves, mainly because of the time improved. You know could literally be in business the next day. Breaks on Monday, you have a new laptop screen Tuesday.

Russ: I've got a new Dell Inspiron and six months old and I break the display and I find you. Would you sort of be replacing it with something that's similar to what was factory installed?

Fred: Actually it's the exact same screen. We -

Russ: No matter what Inspiron model I have?

Fred: Exactly. In fact, we've been at this business now for years. Our whole specialty is to focus on models and changing technology. We've developed elaborate test equipment, we have all the industry standard equipment to measure and monitor quality. In addition to that, we have, you know, a very dedicated, totally committed staff. So the online support and the telephone support we give repair shops and individual consumers is what makes it really work.

Russ: So how many different LCD models of displays do you have to keep on stock?

Fred: Well you know, we estimate that we have replacement screens for almost 40,000 to 50,000 different models of laptops, and what -

Russ: But that wouldn't be 40,000 or 50,000 screens and there's overlap a lot with that, yeah.

Fred: No, that's correct. There is overlap sure.

Russ: But [Laughter] yes, okay. So how many would you estimate that you do keep in stock with different screens?

Fred: We typically have thousands and thousands in stock. We have inventory that, you know, is probably the largest in the marketplace. We don't know if anyone that's dedicated both two things really - the staffing and the infrastructure to focus on this industry - this segment. And secondly, the in stock inventory. That's what differentiates us. People that have a problem with the screen is you can appreciate are not interested in a back-order or out-of-stock condition, or a delay.

Russ: Okay, now we move a little bit further into the interview where we asked Fred to just tell us, what triggered the idea to start this cool company ScreenTek.

Fred: I've spent my life in the business world. Been a CFO, a CEO, a COO of various companies. I've been around the corporate landscape for a long time and actually was contemplating my next move in the corporate world when one of my children had started a very promising computer parts business. And as I spent more time working with him, we got more intrigued and became pretty interested in taking this into a full-scale operation. And that's when we co-founded ScreenTek and that's the start of our business together. So I'm very fortunate to have shifted gears if you will, from the big scale of corporate America and wearing suits every day to a little different setting. We have a good time, we have a small company, we're focused here in our backyard and we're enjoying our agenda, which has taken, you know, a small company to a much larger scale. And secondly, we're really serving a very useful need out there, this segment of the world that doesn't know they can replace a screen.

Russ: Okay; and a son or daughter?

Fred: Son.

Russ: Okay; and is he still in the company?

Fred: Yes. We are founders and partners together. We've also brought in his brother, -

Russ: Whoa.

Fred: - so we have three of us now.

Russ: Alright and that concludes our dscussion with Fred Pounds, founder and CEO of ScreenTek. And that wraps up this mornings BusinessMakers Flashback. Stay tuned in to when we interview, get this, Fred Pounds daughter, Lisa Pounds founder of Green Plate Kids. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com.