GraniteEmbedded, LLC

For what it’s worth — an epilogue to three interesting years

Carl Levine — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:28:53 +0000

For three years of my mid-twenties, I devoted every waking minute to the development of an iPod adapter that may or may not be part and parcel of your daily driving experience. I have tried very hard not to look back on my loss-making venture with bitterness, but I am finding it quite hard not to.

I am a Saab enthusiast, and have been for over a decade. When I built this adapter for the community as a whole during the summer of 2006, it was a cathartic experience as it helped direct anger away from an unfortunate series of life experiences. The overwhelming response to the product quickly outstripped the parts on hand to build the product, and thankfully I was able to build the initial run albeit a bit later than the original orders had been placed.

The promise of growth going into 2007 as the first run shipped out spurred a few fiscal decisions that to this day I am not exceptionally proud of, but I was able to persevere because of the faith I had in the product I had developed. I will never say that the adapter was a perfect product, but for God’s sake, I tried. Over 100,000 miles were driven in the testing of the original firmware and all subsequent revisions thereafter to ensure the reliability of the adapter. From day one, Granite Embedded ran as a one-man operation; I was responsible for all aspects of the business’ operation. There were a few times, mainly in 2007, where I had to work a second job; not to keep myself afloat financially, but the operation itself. The sacrifices I made in my life to see this product through are worth more than you will ever know.

The long and short of it is that this operation burned me out. This post is for the rest of you out there who never realized that this was a one-man operation; that I gave up on having a life of my own to bring this product out and I have moved on.

I now have a full time job — for those of you insisting on emailing me incessantly, please realize that I am only devoting an hour to these concerns a week. Granite Embedded LLC is NO LONGER A GOING CONCERN! Refunds, unless promised by me to you in writing prior to this post, are no longer being issued. Granite Embedded LLC had a gross profit of $537.84 last year. The costs of development and testing alone were enough to siphon enough funds away in EVERY FISCAL YEAR that the company operated. If you are owed product at this point, it will be delivered to you in due time. I am in the process, at this time, of diassembling my workshop and as these things are discovered, they will be dealt with.

To the customers who are enjoying the product, thank you for your patronage. To those waiting on product, thank you for your patience. Those harboring resentment, I am sorry you feel the way you do but I would honestly love to see you try to launch something like this in a niche market and not get burned out from realizing the mean-spirited nature of your fellow enthusiasts.

I can’t believe it had to come to me writing something this bitter, but I am deeply disappointed with the Saab community thanks to the impatience and intolerance of 5% of my former customer base. I will not be attending most owner events this year because of this resentment I am feeling.

In closing, Belkin still doesn’t return my calls but when they do and you are still waiting for a cable, I will let you know.

Contact Information Changes

Carl Levine — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:10:42 +0000

As of 3/1/2009, GraniteEmbedded will no longer have the phone number that was listed here on the site.

The new mailing address is as follows:

Carl Levine
PO Box 1432
Portsmouth, NH 03802-1432

When mailing back any repairs, please use the smallest packaging possible (a padded envelope works best) and remember to indicate what year and model Saab the device will be used in.

Walking away, for good. GraniteEmbedded closing operations 1/30/09 with tech support continuing until 7/31/09.

Carl Levine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:42:27 +0000

As a business owner, I’ve really made it a point not to let my work life collide with my personal life. Unfortunately, at this juncture, this venture has caused me enough stress, hardship, anger and pretty much any other negative emotion. I’ve tried hard in the past three years to stave off these emotions by changing a number of things about the way the business was run and how I approached it as the owner. Now is a good time for me to walk away. Everything inventory-wise is sold out on a retail level, with a lot of harnesses and plastic shells for the units themselves leftover for whoever wants to throw down and take the reigns.

Those waiting for AT-2 cables will be sent cables when I am able to get Belkin to make a small batch. I have quite the case against them anyhow, so whether it ends up in court or me cutting them a check, I will ensure that the cables are provided. Updates will be provided here, please do not email me looking for status.

Retail business will end officially this Friday, January 30th, but as I said, everything is sold out at this point. If you ordered an AT-1 over the weekend or this morning, those are the last to go. If you are waiting on anything else, I will still be working on this stuff a couple days a week until the end of July to cover everyone’s warranty period.

Unfortunately, if you had your heart set on an AT-2 in the next production run, it’s not going to be manufacturing them — once I find a buyer, you can be assured that the product will be better than ever and perhaps even a bit less expensive.

This situation, that started as a project to make Saab automobiles safer and snowballed into the company that it is today, has consumed a massive part of my mid-20s and it’s really time to move on. I would kindly ask that emails are NOT sent to try and talk me out of this, compliment or berate me for my efforts in these past four years. I have a lot of work to do to phase this all out and the last thing I need is more email.