Meet the Founders
At age 11, Ken knew without a doubt, that he would be a realtor when he grew up after tragically losing his uncle, who was a realtor himself, and his aunt in an airplane crash. At age 21 Ken became the youngest realtor in the state of Missouri and eventually went on to become a high profile real estate broker in Branson, Missouri for 33 years. Ken firmly believes in giving back to the community and helped raise the 160 million dollars for the Branson Airport. He also served as the Chairman of the Board for the first 3 years. Ken Coleman is now CEO and Co-inventor of the “Tubular Sign” which he hopes will change the ‘face’ of real estate marketing.
Originally from Salem Oregon, Russell grew up in Bolivar Missouri, and Owatonna Minnesota. With Russell’s ability to bring ideas to life, becoming an inventor became a natural career path for him. Russell holds several patent pending and patented designs and is constantly developing new inventions. Russell Smith is the chief engineer and Co-inventor behind Tubular Signs, and is responsible for the technical aspects of production of their patent pending, first ever, fully collapsible real estate signs.
How This Product Helps the Real Estate Community
Having struggled with heavy, bulky and hard to install real estate signs throughout his career as an agent and broker, Ken felt there had to be a better alternative. After years of trying to come up with a lighter, more durable, and easier to install sign, Ken’s dream eventually became a reality after meeting his now business partner, Russell Smith. Fast forward to the present day and Ken and Russell finally have a sign that they hope will benefit thousands of agents across the country who are tired of having their cars scratched and their clothing torn by their current real estate signs. Introducing the compact, convenient, light, and durable “Totally Tubular Sign.”
Product Highlights
Ken and Russell have fittingly named their sign company “Tubular Signs” which was themed after the tubular shape that the signs fold down into for transporting. In fact, according to Ken, they fold down to 1” x 3” x 24” about the size of a baseball bat, which makes them very portable and much easier to store. Their patent pending design folds a structurally solid metal sign into the shape of a tube, so no more annoying and damaging metal banging coming from the back of your car! The “Totally Tubular Sign,” (22” x 24” real estate sign) is also much lighter than traditional real estate signs, weighing in at approximately 4 lbs. As for installation, all that is necessary to install the Tubular Sign is a hammer. No more nuts and bolts, Ken explains. And since the hammering of the sign occurs down at the base of the unit, there is no longer a sign face to contend with during installation.
The sign frame is constructed out of aluminum, with the stakes comprised of hardened aluminum which makes them “comparable in strength to steel,” Russell explains. The frame is expected to remain rust free and can be installed in most ground surfaces, Ken assures. The Tubular Sign includes the sign face which will be made of high quality vinyl. They also stamp each frame with a unique serial number in order to aid in the recovery of the sign if it is lost or stolen. And ladies, I know you’ll love this, you’ll even be able to purchase a canvas carrying bag for your sign and rumor has it that they are also coming out with designer bags.
To hear what they plan to release next…..be sure to listen to the podcast!
Meet the Founder: Tubular Signs