Entrepreneur Spotlight: Fighting Chance Solutions

Fighting Chance Solutions (FCS), now located in Historic Downtown Muscatine, was formed when educator Daniel Nietzel conceived an idea to help protect students and teachers in an active shooter or violent intruder scenario in a school by securing the door closer arm found on most classroom doors. Often in schools, classrooms only lock from the outside, forcing a teacher into the line of fire to secure the room.

FCS was formally organized in the fall of 2013 when fellow educators Edwin Colon, Mike Morgan, John Lawrence and Jame Hayes joined Nietzel and fabricator Carl Negus to bring The Sleeve into reality. By the summer of 2014, The Sleeve was a reality and has been featured on national news outlets such as Fox News, Huffington Post and Business Week.

One of the largest pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to never be afraid to learn. As teachers, they have had to learn the process of a creating a business.

“Our naïve understanding of business had us thinking that in just a few months we would be selling our product. Although we could have begun production and sales immediately, we would have put ourselves at risk of protecting our intellectual property. It was the ability for all of our team to learn and adapt that has gotten us to the market,” said Hayes.

When creating the organization, it was critical to bring in not just friends, but friends that are selfless problem solvers.

“As a small company, we had to be able to not only work together, but to be results oriented. Each of us took on tasks that we could achieve and were interested in,” said Hayes. “We were open to constructive criticism from our peers as we all learned together. In the end, we support each other and have turned the corner from an idea into a growing business using as many local resources as possible.”

As the company continues to grow, there will always be an eye on philanthropy. The original team, along with the addition of Joel Kraushaar, Brian Wilson and Chris Anderson, recognize the need for additional resources to be available for kids and teachers to be able to maximize the educational experience. Over the next months and years, the FCS team will be creating a structure so those interested in making education more effective can come together to drive results for students in the community.

You can find out more about The Sleeve and Fighting Chance Solutions at www.fightingchancesolutions.com or reach out by phone (888)559-6412.