Cross & Crescent

As California Polytechnic State University sophomores in the same dorm, Colin Roche (California Polytechnic 1995) and Bobby Ronsse (California Polytechnic 1995) both unknowingly pledged Lambda Chi Alpha.

“We didn’t get to know each other and I guess we thought each other was goofy,” Roche says.

After receiving their bids, both men were escorted to the chapter house where all the new associates were introduced.

“We looked around and thought ‘Oh cool’ and then we both looked at each other and said ‘Oh no! Not you!’”

Fast-forward 10 years to 2001 and Roche and Ronsse are now great friends, business partners, and the creators of PenAgain, a wishbone-shaped writing instrument.

Messy Business

After joining Lambda Chi, Roche and Ronsse soon realized they both had an entrepreneurial spirit.

Brainstorming business ideas as only fraternity brothers can do, they decided to capitalize on the 28,000 dog owners living in close proximity to the chapter house.

With a $200 investment to buy the registered dog owners list, their first business, Doo Doo Dudes, was born. They also came up with a catchy tagline: Business is really picking up.

The brothers sold Doo Doo Dudes T-shirts and generated a lot of local publicity for their unique and successful business.

“We put the whole fraternity to work,” Roche says. “That’s what planted the seed for later. We said after that, maybe later in life we should really try to hook up and do something.”

However, both men knew they didn’t want their dog business to be their lasting legacy.

Bonds of True Brotherhood

Whether it was a skate board competition, bath tub races, or a hot dog eating contest, Roche and Ronsse believe their business skills were greatly enabled by the bonds of true brotherhood.

Roche says, “I think the confidence building of putting yourself out there and if it doesn’t work it’s almost a success because the world’s still standing, it didn’t hurt that bad, and you still have these great people around you saying ‘Ok, what are you going to try next?’”

It’s better than never having had that opportunity because you never felt that comfortable with certain people or groups, Ronsee says. Maybe you had ideas or things you wanted to do but just never did it because you did not have that support group.

In the end, everybody laughs at you for trying something different but then they also end up having a great time, he says.

Invention from Detention

In 1987, during a lunch break from detention at his Palo Alto, California, high school, Roche found a toy robot that when twisted doubled as a pen.

With the robot and a lighter, he burned the writing tip off one leg and then reattached it to the robot’s head.

Writing in that position, with one index finger between the robot’s legs, he found he didn’t need to grip so tightly because the design supported the natural weight of his hand.

In his garage, while most other Silicon Valley-garage inventors were busy building computers, Roche played with other pens, melting them down and shaping them into V-shaped writing instruments. He then told his father: “I have this idea to reinvent the pen.”

Through college, he continued thinking about his invention, choosing its name after a friend called and woke him from the dream he was having. “I was just thinking about that pen, again,” Roche told a friend.

Business Partners

In 2001, after Roche and Ronsse went their separate ways for a few years after graduation, they went out to dinner one night for Roche’s 30th birthday.

Roche said he was going to pay to have a computer design drawn for the PenAgain and Ronsse told him he could “do it in his sleep” as he was now a mechanical engineer for a semiconductor company.

Ronsse went home and quickly designed something and told Roche where to get prototypes made, and that was the beginning.

Once the prototype was made, they began to meet weekly at Oasis, a well-known burger and beer restaurant near Stanford University.

They would give each other homework, like finding an attorney or a package goods expert. They would also try to get feedback on the prototype wherever they went. “The feedback on it was insane,” Roche says.

Putting in $5,000 each, Roche and Ronsse officially launched Pacific Writing Instruments in December 2001, filed for patent approval, and set up production in the Bay area of California.

PenAgain then made its big debut at the National Stationary Show in New York City. After that they began receiving small orders from retailers, and that led to additional orders, distributors calling, and the viral marketing just continued to expand their business.

The company also has growing sales in the promotional-products industry, European sales, and they continue to be one of the top sellers on Amazon for office products.

Last year PenAgain had $2 million in revenue from retailers, including 5,000 independent stationery and office-supply stores, 200 Staples in Canada, and other chain outlets including Fred Meyer and Hobby Lobby.

In addition, PenAgain currently has major trials in progress with Wal-Mart and Office Depot.

During the the recent Wal-Mart trial, Roche contacted the Cal Poly chapter and several others to ask them if they would report on how the PenAgain displays looked at area stores.

Roche received a lot of support from the chapters and he was pleasantly surprised by the response when he called asking for help. “It was very refreshing to still have this bond because we shared the brotherhood.”

The PenAgain also has received positive reviews and testimonials from all types of users. Many users are people who were no longer able to grip a regular pen due to arthritis or other hand ailments and injuries.

Writing the Future

“Our dream for this right now is to be similar to what snowboarding did to skiing,” Roche says. “It was a basically a disruptive technology for the skiing industry.”

PenAgain also is coming out with a smaller pencil version of PenAgain that forces correct posture for children. Doctors, teachers, and occupational therapists are saying it is simply a better way to write.

Plus, it would develop a PenAgain customer for life.