"If CVS is on board, where is and how far behind could Walmart, Costco, Walgreens and Target be? Not to mention all the other known associations, MundiPharma...."
All well said beacham....I have been writing for some time imploring the Whelan/Nalepka team to complete their first of many large pharma retailer and/or Big Brander deals. Do one and many will follow, is my philosophy. And they did it quietly, perhaps only a trial launch in 100 stores or so, because shelf presence does not seem to be chain-wide right now...maybe only those renovated, but they did it, and right under everyone's nose.
Brilliant teamwork, Whelan was talking CVS 5 years ago. It took BIEL's distributor Protex to do it, but penetrating large retail buyer mindsets is often precarious. Whelan/Nalepka/Protex still pulled it off, who cares who? Success is only about teamwork here, not ego, never ego.
Now everyone pulling together must concentrate on 4 things, (i)increasing the CVS launch 1,000 stores at a time; (ii)fulfilling the reorders that will surely happen, perhaps in process already; (iii)quickly preparing and releasing a 3-way joint CVS/Protex/BIEL press release, hopefully in-process, the mother of all press releases to let the word out on the street that the ActiPatch Tsunami has made landfall and ActiPatch has been successfully launched at CVS; and (iv)make the second large pharma retailer/big Brander deal ASAP.
Heard gossip over the years here on iHUB that Andy Whelan is stubborn and has difficulty getting along with everyone. That may have been the case, but obviously Protex and Keith Nalepka are not. Somehow, the 3 of them got ActiPatch into CVS...probably why Whelan hired Nalepka to do the sales & marketing that takes a good people personality, recognizing his talents lay elsewhere. That's what smart leaders do, stay in your office and put the winners out on the field.
Whelan may be quirky, may have picced off the FDA a few years ago and others along the way, by fighting and wanting everything his way, but he's not stupid or suicidal. I'm just glad he decided brilliantly to give the green light to the CVS deal. Enough of waiting for a home run on FDA full clearance. Didn't happen, never does!
Hiring Keith Nalepka was Whelan's brilliant blind luck, real players know in business that singles, doubles and triples give you depth, HR's give sizzle. Cudos to Whelan for his wisdom, had to have been almost out of cash waiting as long as he did. CVS is the ultimate sleeper Home Run. Hope Whelan was/is wise enough to let Nalepka just run with it and do his job of creating magic. Only fools don't change their mind.
Think I'm being hard on Whelan? Wrong! I'm a shareholder, he's got and spent my money, I want a great return for risking my money on ActiPatch and Whelan had the throttle, no one else and it's time. Thank God for Keith Nalepka and Protex and CVS....and Whelan seeing the light finally on only reckless fools don't change their minds! Make this one a sticky Mods, it's the truth!
I was worried a few years back when Whelan was bumbling through interview after interview on web radio, they were terrible, that he may be one of those OCD micro-managing company founders, who can't let other good people help create their successes for them, by meddling with everything, wasting precious time and money, creating disasters and souring relationships until they implode. Seems the hiring of Keith Nalepka and the launch at CVS are what BIEL needed to start winning, instead of losing more time. So, I'm not being hard on Whelan, I'm congratulating him for stopping the stubborn foolishness and starting to finally win! Quote me, I know what I know to be true....my work is done....
ActiPatch...the CVS Tsunami has landed, thanks to Whelan and Nalepka...run baby run
