Moskal Speaks To Jonesboro Inventors Group

A man whose first job as a child was running a landscaping business said Thursday that future inventors and entrepreneurs should know the lay of the land before working on an idea.

Ted Moskal spoke at the monthly meeting of the Inventors Club of Northeast Arkansas. Moskal, who worked on business strategies for FedEx before starting his own company, said his work mowing yards as a 12-year-old helped to shape him.

“Your early life experiences will serve you well,” Moskal said. “The lessons I learned as an 11 or 12-year-old, they are the same lessons I use today.”

Moskal said a chance opportunity in 2006 helped him develop Litmus Rapid B, or Rapid Pathogenic ID Bacteria.

He said he was asked to evaluate a product at a Food and Drug Administration lab in Little Rock. The work then started.

The program, which tests bacteria by injecting hydraulically compressed water into a machine, helped food companies find bacteria in their product, Moskal said.

Before the product was built, it would take nearly two days to test food for bacteria. Now, it takes about 12 to 14 hours, Moskal said, noting companies often deal with perishable goods.

Moskal said the program went from concept to practice in 2008, patents were filed a year later and the company separated from its parent company in 2011 to form Vivione.

The company then went public in 2013, with 2,500 man-hours of work with eight law firms and 40 attorneys going through specific details, Moskal said.

ADVICE
Moskal told the group that being an inventor and working as an entrepreneur is enjoyable.

He asked the group to take advantage of the opportunities set before them; be disciplined, persistent and positive; talk with experts when needed and accept that things may not always go as planned.

Among other pieces of advice were to pay attention to details; have a supportive, tolerant family; and be a good salesman for your product.

As for that first job, Moskal said he had some competition – his brother, Pat.

Pat created his own landscaping company, with both working to build a customer base.

Moskal said he had about 15 employees at the peak of his first company and that the landscaping business provided some early learning.

“I learned about differentiation, quality of the work and the value of the work with customers,” Moskal said.

Moskal said his father, an investment banker, helped with buying equipment and meeting other needs. But otherwise, he was on his own.

“I had a forward thinking dad. It was fun. After about a year and a half, it was a forced merger (between he and his brother),” Moskal said.