Those “really big” Christmas lights that have appeared all over town? The ones that are somehow reminiscent of old-fashioned ceramic lights and, still, something you’ve never seen before?
They are a hot new item across the country – shipping out of a warehouse just south of the Plaza. The product is the brainchild of 26-year-old Sonoman Stephen Rouse, and his father, former Mayor and serial entrepreneur, Tom Rouse.
Stephen Rouse says his big idea for big lights was inspired by another Sonoman known for putting on impressive visual displays.
“John Lasseter used to hang huge lights at his house in town, and then my dad got his hands on his own set of large lights from China,” said Rouse. “Neighbors were always asking where they could get them. Last Christmas, I was home for the first time since high school and it got me thinking about whether I could raise some money to turn those lights into a business.”
And Really Big Lights was born. Rouse only spent a few minutes considering other names and admits with a laugh that “Big Ass Lights” was an early contender.
Being a media savvy Millennial, he decided that a Kickstarter campaign featuring a quirky video was the best way to build a buzz online. His Kickstarter, launched Aug. 31, was a resounding success and it closed, fully funded with almost $35,000 from 167 backers in a month. He found a Chinese company that could manufacture exactly what he wanted and production started immediately.
He signed a lease on warehouse space on Eighth Street East and within weeks big packages of really big lights began arriving. The Kickstarter orders were fulfilled and shipped by Nov. 4 and hundreds more started coming in via the website he quickly designed – reallybiglightscom.
The 12-inch tall LED lights, which retail for $69 per set, sold briskly throughout November and early December. The first big order was 10 pallets to three Friedman’s Home Improvement locations. From there, 18 Ace Hardware stores placed orders, then 14 Lucky stores and 26 Sale-Marts.
By mid-December, Rouse had sold 5,000 boxes to customers in 41 states. Right now, they are available in traditional multi-colored and all white.
The average order is two boxes, said Rouse, and then two more if the customer likes them and wants to hang more.
A man in Granite Bay went into his local Ace Hardware and picked up 28 boxes, and then came to Rouse’s warehouse the next week and picked up 20 more. A woman who owns a farm in Brentwood bought 30 sets at a tradeshow last month.
The lights are durable, but not too heavy. “We have dropped them off of a three-story building and they bounce,” said Rouse. “They feel good in your hand… substantial.”
Big Lights is the latest in a string of ideas for Rouse.
“I have lots of other ideas, but first I am going to scale this one and work on ways to keep the product relevant,” he said. Because Christmas 2015 transitions to Christmas 2016 almost overnight, Rouse is now in meetings to expand distribution dramatically next year. “We’re in meetings right now about a large order from Home Depot and other big-box retailers for the 2016 holiday season.”
He travels back and forth between the U.S. and China frequently to oversee the manufacturing process, quality control and packaging, and has racked up hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles in the process.
It is basically still a one-man operation, although dad Tom Rouse is actively involved in mentoring his son, and Stephen’s girlfriend Samantha Morphy is helping out with social media and sales.
It is perhaps Stephen’s youthful energy that has sustained him through a grueling round-the-clock schedule for months. “My translator is Russian and we go back and forth all night long to Taiwan and mainland China, switching back and forth between Mandarin and Cantonese. I can’t sleep through a question from the plant or I could have a terrible surprise the next day.”
In addition to personally fulfilling current orders, he is also working with his manufacturers to experiment with different colors and shapes with the idea of creating a year-round business of line extensions that might encompass Halloween and Fourth of July decorations, weddings and business lighting. “The seasonality of a product like this is a unique challenge,” said Rouse.
“I am going to ride this wave as long as I can. I’m not sure that Christmas lights are my calling but I found a product that people really like and I am going to get it out to the masses in 2016 and 2017 and see what happens after that.”
“My mission is really big, it’s not just the company name,” said Rouse. “I am looking to partner with a solar flashlight manufacturer to provide a free flashlight to someone who has no electricity for every Really Big Lights purchase.”
And his business that was born here will stay here. His ties to Sonoma run deep and are meaningful to him. Rouse graduated from St. Francis Solano and Justin-Siena High School. He spent a few years away, attending Cal State Channel Islands, but he is happy to be home and is excited to be building his business here.
“I have been surprised by how much fun it has been,” he said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into but it has been an absolute riot.”
Contact Lorna at Lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.
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