Today we’d like to introduce you to Vance Zahorski.
Vance, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Fishing since 4 yrs old grandfather’s dock in Wisconsin so fishing is my life. A few years back I was fishing at a friends wedding in Florida and caught a black tip shark. It got tangled up in fishing line so I ran up to my tackle box to get my fillet knife and I stepped on it, almost cutting off my toe. After chipping the same tooth 2 times from biting fishing line to cut it and then cutting my toe, I wanted to create a faster, safer, more convenient way to cut fishing line.
When I got home from the trip I went to a Home Depot and purchased welding putting, broke apart a dental floss cutter and made the very first Line Cutterz ring. I knew it would be big so asked my wife to sell our dream home, boat and I walked away from a six-figure job, all while supporting two daughters. I filed a patent hired a design firm and quickly ran out of money so I created a Kickstarter campaign and successfully raised enough money to pay for tooling.
The campaign was a hit and soon Line Cutterz was being sold in small independent stores in Texas. Later, I applied for Shark Tank and landed a deal with Daymond John. The episode aired on ABC Prime Time. We spun off a sister company called Thread Cutterz for the crafting industry and it has also been doing extremely well. We are not sold in Cabela’s, Academy Sports & Outdoors, 2 Buc-ee’s locations and 50 California Walmart stores.
We are also being sold in 8 other countries and on Amazon. We have expanded our product line and have filed two additional patents which are currently pending. We got hit hard by Hurricane Harvey and both our home and business flooded. We persevered and kept our foot on the gas which included making a delivery of packages by boat during the flood. We also teamed up with one of the most recognized Bassmaster anglers in the world, Mike Iaconelli who uses Line Cutterz on his tournament boat which can be seen on ESPN. It’s definitely a story about chasing the American dream.
Has it been a smooth road?
We ran out of money during the product launch and had to start a Kickstarter campaign to pay for tooling which was rough. we maxed out credit cards at one point as well to pay for more inventory because our growth was so fast. We also had to move in with our parents in Wisconsin so we could pay for inventory, and then moved back down to Texas, with 2 cats, a dog, and two young daughters.
We went through Hurricane Harvey and we also had someone knock off one of our products. We have kept our head down and foot on the gas through every obstacle.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Line Cutterz, LLC. – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Line Cutterz’s has an amazing customer base of fans from across the globe (over 60,000 Line Cutterz followers on Instagram and 17,000 on Facebook). We are an innovative young company that invents products to makes others lives easier. The first and most successful Line Cutterz product is a patented ring that cuts fishing line (As Seen On Shark Tank). It can cut up to 100lb test braided, monofilament and fluorocarbon fishing lines like a hot knife through butter.
The Line Cutterz ring can also be mounted to boat rails, fishing rod handles, kayak seat posts and tackle bags. Line Cutterz has a dba called Thread Cutterz which sells the same patented ring, marketed to the quilting, sewing, crafting, cross stitching and knitting industries. It can be taken on airplanes and it cuts clean which means no licking frayed ends to thread a needle. Both Line Cutterz and Thread Cutterz have expanded product offerings which includes the new flat mountable cutter, perfect for tackle boxes, sewing machines, boat consoles etc. Surprisingly, many new industries are using the Line Cutterz ring like balloon tyers, butchers, scuba divers and the list goes on.
Line Cutterz, LLC has been focused on giving back to 3 key areas, Breast Cancer Awareness (grandmother had breast cancer), Veteran Fishing Programs to Help those suffering from PTSD and youth fishing programs (to get kids away from video games and out into nature).
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The Houston Astros Of course! proximity to the ocean, warm weather, great food, ethnic diversity, sense of pride everything is bigger in Texas. Texans are proud to be Texas! We have learned first hand that when the going gets tough (Harvey) Texans stick together and neighbors help neighbors when help is needed.
Pricing:
- -The Original Line Cutterz Ring – As Seen On Shark Tank – $12
- -The **NEW** Flat Mountable Line Cutterz – Mount to Tackle Boxes and Boat Consoles – $12
- -The **NEW** Swarovski Bedazzled Thread Cutterz Ring – Single Row Crystals – $15
Contact Info:
- Website: www.linecutterz.com
- Phone: 512-900-0137
- Email: info@linecutterz.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/line_cutterz
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/linecutterzllc
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/line_cutterz
- Other: www.youtube.com/linecutterzllc
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
