UT student who started iSpyPens aims for bigger e-commerce impact
By Margie Manning on September 12, 2018
Andrew Gilliland sees plenty of opportunity ahead in e-commerce.
The 21-year-old University of Tampa senior already has launched and grown iSpyPens, a company that sells video surveillance pens and now has $250,000 in revenue, primarily from internet sales.
But Gilliland says iSpyPens is a starting point for something bigger and more impactful.
About six months ago, he formed Action Holdings LLC, a company focused on vetting business opportunities in the e-commerce space.
“What I want to do is essentially be a channel by which businesses can achieve success on the internet,” said Gilliland. “If we can target the right products, we can get the business to the next level. I’m focused on platforms that drive attention to products that deserve to be recognized.”
Action Holdings is working with three businesses now, and one of the brands is expected to launch on e-commerce website As Seen on TV next week.
E-commerce experience
It’s a natural progression for Gilliland, who says he started building websites, taught himself about e-commerce and began selling things online when he was 8 years old.
His first sales were of mini-arcade games, stemming from a fascination with how carnival barkers could get people to play games for a chance at a prize. “The sales process fascinated me,” Gilliland said.
He’s self-taught in video editing, graphics and coding, and has experience in e-commerce. As he approached college age, he wanted to apply his skill sets to a company that he led and managed.
“I knew I wanted to be in the tech space, and to find a product that existed but wasn’t performing to market needs,” he said. “I used Google trends and market reports to identify a rapidly growing video surveillance market.”
The pens, which have a built-in HD camera, also lend themselves to online sales because they are small and lightweight.
He started iSpyPens in 2016 with $400 in cash, working from his UT dorm room and selling the pens on eBay and Amazon, as well as a website he coded himself. The company took off faster than he expected. Sales now top $250,000, he said.
While iSpyPens is sustainable, Gilliland has needed extra funding for product development, so he got a Small Business Administration loan from TD Bank and also tapped Kabbage, an online lending platform for small businesses. He banks with GTE Financial, which he says has been helpful.
Gilliland said he’s also faced challenges, including learning to manage employees and other business relationships.
He’s still a student at UT but is taking a part-time course load to focus on his businesses. He expects to complete his degree by 2020.
iSpyPens also is in UT's Spartan Accelerator, which pairs students with a launch team of experts to help them formulate business plans and investment presentations.
Demographics
There are three key target markets for iSpyPens:
Private investigators, law enforcement agencies and process servers, who are under constant public scrutiny
Victims of workplace or sexual harassment, bullying and racial discrimination, who use the product to collect evidence that may support a case
Students and other professionals who are exposed to lots of information and use the product to capture video and audio
Laws about audio and video recording vary from state to state, so iSpyPens urges buyers to review the terms of purchase and the laws for their own state.
Gilliland is working on securing retail partnerships and is preparing to file for his first patent on new technology incorporated into the pen. He’s also brought an engineer onto the team. iSpyPens has three employees and a team of eight independent contractors who assist with operational components, such as packaging, shipping and handling phone calls.