Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Hildebrandt.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My personal background is in sales and marketing. I worked for a Fortune 500 company as a National Account Manager for nine years. As the Enron scandal hit in 2002 and the economy took a hit, I found myself wanting to change industries. I decided to sell medical equipment because it’s more recession-proof than a lot of products and I needed to sell something that I could have a passion for. I took a job selling AEDs for a manufacturer.
After two years on the job, I was told I wasn’t a good fit for the company. I had so much love for what I did that I wanted to stay in the industry, so I decided to start my own AED distribution company. In 2004 I launched my company. My focus was on educating people on the need for compliant and effective response programs.
Has it been a smooth road?
There were several occasions when I had to sit down with my wife at the kitchen table to review our finances and what expenses we would have to cut. There were several times when I knew I wasn’t going to make our mortgage payment, but a sale would come through at the last minute to allow us to make it. Our products are Class III medical devices and as such are regulated by the FDA.
More than once we’ve had manufacturers stop production because of a recall. These stop ships can sometimes be extensive and we have to shift our strategy to adjust. At one point we lost a contract with a major supplier and it was a tremendous challenge to alter our business plan and make up for the loss in revenues. Since then we’ve been able to resign with the supplier and better fulfill customer needs.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the AED Brands story. Tell us more about the business.
We play a role in saving lives. We sell and distribute portable defibrillators, which are designed to treat a person in Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). SCA is the #1 cause of death in the country. About 350,000 people a year in the U.S. die of SCA. That’s almost 1,000 per day.
However, there is a cure – early defibrillation and effective CPR. We educate customers on the need for a compliant and effective AED response program. We supply the equipment and knowledge to make sure that if a person ever falls into SCA, the employees will know how to respond and their AED device will work the way it’s supposed to.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We find that more than 50% of the AEDs out there are not compliant. Either the electrode pads are out of date, or the battery is dead. There is more and more emphasis on maintaining the devices to make sure they’re ready if needed.
Customers are looking for ways to better manage their response programs, and manufacturers are building features into newer devices to help. Newer models will have features like WiFi or Bluetooth to communicate the status of the unit.
Contact Info:
- Address: 95 Chastain Road NW Ste 302
- Website: www.AEDbrands.com
- Phone: 770-425-5840
- Email: khildebrandt@aedbrands.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/aedbrands2010
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/aedbrands
- Twitter: www.pinterest.com/aedbrands
- Yelp: www.youtube.com/aedbrands
- Other: www.linkedin.com/company/aedbrands/
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