DaveFason Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Hey guys, I have always wanted to make a post like this. So many companies don't get personal with there customer base/fans. I am sure many of you have wondered, " Who is this Dave guy? ". Here is a small background of myself and how Nano Box Reef was started. Its me! IMG_7985 by Dave Fason, on Flickr I started an aquarium ~nine years ago. I quickly feel in love with it and started a true reef tank. Setting up a 250w halide over a small 24" tank. It worked but man was it ugly. I have always been in to the aesthetics side of things. There are so many tanks out there that are gorgeous on the inside but the outside looks like something from the Matrix. During this time I was playing professional paintball. I had time for the tank but not enough to devote a full SPS. I broke the tank down a few years later to quickly set a new one up. I can't believe I found these photos! I made my own stand that could have held ~3000 pounds. post-18330-1143597921 by Dave Fason, on Flickr post-18330-1140996293 by Dave Fason, on Flickr My next tank was my pride and joy. I loved the dimensions, I loved the corals and I loved the look. The Sunpower unit was SO close to being perfect but still felt it was a little large. I would sketch ideas for units but nothing that would be feasible. The 35g was set up for many years, won a few TOTM awards and was to this day my favorite. I was highly inspired by supernip, Tigahboy, Sushi Man and a few others. The beginning : IMG_3497 by Dave Fason, on Flickr All grown up : DSC03116 by Dave Fason, on Flickr I started to read about LEDs and thought, " man this could be the ticket for a nice looking aquarium light ". The technology was still behind but it was very promising! Guys from RC and NR ( Evil ) really sparked me to do something. I started group buys for LED's and then ordered a few extra to build myself a unit or two. A few people saw them and asked if they could buy them and Nano Box was born. One of the first : IMG_0108 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_0107 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_0109 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_0236 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_5502 by Dave Fason, on Flickr I was still working a 50 hour a week full time job but every possible moment reading data sheets, how to's, going to electricians housings and anything I could to learn. I bought a small hobby CNC to see what I could do. I failed many times but loved building and cutting metal. I still have this mill and will keep it as a souvenir for Nano Box. My first AIO heatsink. Don't laugh! IMG_0219 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_0218 by Dave Fason, on Flickr I contacted a friend from the paintball world and we made one of the first controllers out there. I was to small then to make enough but I ~20. These did lightning, storms, dusk/dawn before anyone was really doing it. I built each by hand. This only fueled me to make something really cool. IMG_0021 by Dave Fason, on Flickr This is what jump started Nano Box before it was really anything. People were contacting me to build stuff for them. I was terrible at time frames then with a full time job and a girlfriend ( now wife ). I had a friend that had a router CNC and I found a housing material that I knew would be KILLER. We busted our butts and made a small run of 50. This was it, my dream. Small, sleek, sexy, powerful and my own creation! Prototype : IMG_20110318_123632 by Dave Fason, on Flickr nbrside by Dave Fason, on Flickr My logo designs at first : IMG_0067 by Dave Fason, on Flickr I sold all of these quickly and knew I had to do something from here. I contacted a local manufacture to see if we could manufacture the units. Things progressed but ultimately they screwed me. BIG time. I was paying NRE fee's, prototyping fee's, they put me off because I was smaller and in the end I made a bunch of customers angry. I was promising things that were being promised to me and had nothing. To be honest I almost threw the towel in. Here are the prototypes I had. it has a full built in USB controller, same housing, etc. IMG_0441 by Dave Fason, on Flickr IMG_0434 by Dave Fason, on Flickr After refunding people, paying insane fee's and a few other things I was in a slump. I then started stalking a few knife makers and other handmade goods. I was blown away with the creativity of there work. This sparked the idea, CUSTOM LED units. Have a base unit that was easy to customize and look exactly how the customer wanted. I made a few and people bought them within minutes. I started building every one by hand, got to use my creativity and absolutely loved it. Joel from Cut Brooklyn ( check his stuff out! ) really fueled my fire. I now own three of his knives. Nano Box Flavors by Dave Fason, on Flickr FW Unit by Dave Fason, on Flickr New Color and Milling on NBR by Dave Fason, on Flickr Kyles Custom 24" Unit by Dave Fason, on Flickr As things progressed I wanted a smaller and sleeker unit. I found a new housing and then the Nano Box line was born. Minis, DUOs, QUADs. Jake from Reefbuilders REALLY helped me out along with a few industry people. Along with them the Nano-Reef squad has ALWAYS been here. You guys really helped me out with bad times, good times and ideas. I took photos of every unit, took photos of behind the scenes and kept up with you guys. I still to this day do this! I believe that this is the future and things will only get better. I love sharing peoples tanks on Facebook or Instagram. The first Minis : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Newer Mini : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Fast forward and back in March I quit my full time job to pursue my dream! I know have a few new products like the HYBRID, the new BEAM and a few other things I am working on. The units are only getting better and more people are finding out about them. I will continue to innovate and be on the cutting edge. Without you guys I would not be where I am today. THANK YOU! Here are a few other fun photos from the past. As you can see I have been playing with LEDs for a while now. Full Spectrum back in 2010! IMG_5418 by Dave Fason, on Flickr RETRO in 2010 : IMG_5504 by Dave Fason, on Flickr 300+ LED Build for a massive tank 2011 IMG_0367 by Dave Fason, on Flickr 4"x4" 48 LED Array : Back in 2011 before anyone! b4b9b73d by Dave Fason, on Flickr pulsarside by Dave Fason, on Flickr One of the first HYBRIDS : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Lights for a Zombie Shoot : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr I also love food and traveling. My favorite person on earth : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr My other best friend : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Me in Kauai - My favorite place on earth. Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Talking with Joel at Cut Brooklyn : THE MAN Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr Pie I made : Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr One of my knives : IMG_7729 by Dave Fason, on Flickr FOOD : IMG_7898 by Dave Fason, on Flickr FOOD : IMG_7887 by Dave Fason, on Flickr Good Friends : Johnny, Joe, Jake Untitled by Dave Fason, on Flickr -Dave Link to comment
DaveFason Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Current Line Up : Mini tidewhiteorngredfadegoose by David Fason, on Flickr DUO duogreyblackhang by David Fason, on Flickr QUAD quadornagegreygoose by David Fason, on Flickr HYBRID hybridwhitered by David Fason, on Flickr -Dave Link to comment
NYfishies Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Dave, This post was awesome. I really enjoyed reading through the history of Nanobox. I am a very proud owner and cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in years to come! Best of luck to a very well deserving businessman! Link to comment
Halo_003 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Holy crap this is cool! Really neat to read the history and problems as someone majoring in business. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 the nom noms look pretty good the picture of the "zombie scene" lights really reminds me of the opening scene of jurassic park, you know, the cage with the raptors and one of them eats someone. Link to comment
jbb Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Oh how I remember the USB units ... Still have one running to this day . Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Man, we really need to get together for beer and a good meal. Brunch perhaps one weekend? Link to comment
Normang Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Great idea to post all of this info. I didnt know much about you and this really opened my mind to who Dave the Nanoboxreef guy really is. Link to comment
braaap Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Very cool to see. Keep up the good work. Get Apex controllability and I'm in. haha Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 dave is a tall mother####er Link to comment
deathbyart Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Totally forgot about your knives.. now I need one of those too! Link to comment
jaynkeel Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 I remember reading through your accomplishments many moons ago right here on nano-reef!. I know for a fact the community is a better place and glad that you didn't throw in the towel when things got bad. You have proven yourself and set the bar so high that the future is gonna be awesome. Reach around and pat yourself on the back you deserve it, rock on man... Link to comment
HM3105 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Just wow...thank you for sharing Link to comment
aviator300 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thank you so much for sharing Dave. You sir, are a steely eyed missile man. Link to comment
metrokat Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Can't wait to meet you next month in person. Link to comment
Horerczy Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Meeting Dave in person would give me neck pains from craning my head back the whole time. Link to comment
nismo_sky32 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 This post is awesome! Keep up the great work!! Link to comment
DaveFason Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thanks everyone! When I say I have some cool stuff in the works I mean it. I will also start a thread of my food. -Dave Link to comment
Horerczy Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Great, now Dave is trying to take my money and make me hungry. XD Link to comment
Gamby Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Great post! A little background is always interesting! Good luck with everything going forward. I love my Tide and I am sure you will continue to expand and prosper with such great products and attention to detail! Link to comment
basser1 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I remember reading through your accomplishments many moons ago right here on nano-reef!. I know for a fact the community is a better place and glad that you didn't throw in the towel when things got bad. You have proven yourself and set the bar so high that the future is gonna be awesome. Reach around and pat yourself on the back you deserve it, rock on man... Heck, I go back before Dave was even on this site on another forum, Carolina Reef or something like that..... dave is a tall ############ And to think, he was/is pretty good at paint ball! You'd think he would be an "easy" target, LOL!! Coarse as skinny as he is, that may be another thing..... Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Is that knife damascus? really a slick way to weld it up, ive always delt with a folded pattern. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 You selling that organic milk? There's a major shortage going on. Great presentation! I don't own a Nanobox, light and I don't always buy into the "Made by a great guy in America, now give me tons of money" narrative, but it's clear that you love making great lights, and the hobby needs lots of people like you. Two thumbs up! Link to comment
Mike Savage Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Very cool, especially the Boston Terrier! (Gorgeous wife too.) Link to comment
Addinali Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 It was nice reading about you Dave. I don't have one of your lights yet but in the future I will. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.