O-Fold has a promising product idea and with rising fuel costs, airlines are forced to charge fees even for the first checked bag.  It is not uncommon to be charged $50 or more per bag per flight, and should one go over the allowed weight limit, the airline can charge an additional fee beyond the standard.  Some travelers don’t check their bags because they have a lot of things to travel with, but rather because they have delicate clothing that they prefer not to get wrinkled when put into smaller bags. Having the option of a carry-on that can store delicate clothing (whether it’s a suit, wedding dress, etc.) without being wrinkled is definitely an excellent idea to start a company with.
	We believe that Richards has a slight chance at successfully attaining a sustainable competitive edge using the crawl-walk-run strategy because of his lack of experience, capital, and manpower.  His product, The O-Fold, would be marketed to a very narrow market niche which also puts him at even more of a disadvantage because of seasoned competitors whose brands are well known (i.e. Samsonite, Hartmann, Victorinox, and even designer brands that also sell luggage such as Louis Vuitton).  Richards most definitely needs some type of outside assistance in order to sell this product and make profit.  However, with that being said, it would be quite improbable for Richards to sell the idea or convince an angel investor to invest without any market data to support his product.  Since Richards had also implied that he was unsure of whether he even wanted to go this route with his life due to the tremendous commitment involved, the business model I would propose is a combination of the “crawl” step and licensing the idea.
During the “crawl” stage, Richards would recruit his brother, and one additional employee (preferably a friend or family member who would work on this venture as a side job), familiar with both webpage design and also marketing, who would produce and maintain a website to sell the product on.  The website would have a tutorial video about what “The O-Fold” does and how it actually works, so that people are more comfortable buying a product they have never heard of from a brand new company they also have never heard of.  The marketing aspect of the product would be done in ways to minimize costs, such as advertisements on social networking websites and websites associated with travel like Expedia.com (if economically feasible).  Also, word-of mouth is a powerful tool that would be used.  Brochures or flyers could be produced at a low cost, and Richards and his partners could choose whom to distribute them to.  I think it is important to focus on distributing them to the narrow market niche in order to introduce them to the fact that a product such as “The O-Fold” exists.  The brochures could be distributed at airports (if allowable) and business conventions.  
All of the business related functions would occur in Richards’ home, basement, or garage so that no building or equipment lease is necessary.  Also, during this time Alex would secure a patent and operate under the one year grace period from the U.S. government which would give them some degree of reliable competitive strength and/or the concepts involved in it (e.g. wrinkle-preventing designs, maximum use of storage space).  Finally, prior to the year grace period deadline, Richards will have gained some entrepreneurial experience and will hopefully be able to develop market data that will help build the reputation of the product and prove the legitimacy of Richards’ company and product (as long as all goes as planned). 
