Five years ago, Craig Connelly was running a multi-million dollar billiards company in the United States, manufacturing and selling 10,000 top-end, furniture-style billiards tables a year. His Connelly product line developed a reputation for being some of the best billiards tables in the world, and the company became a leading sponsor of women's billiards tournaments on ESPN.
At the peak of his business in 2005, Connelly had 175 employees, was doing $23 million in sales and had a goal of opening 50 retail stores across the United States. He had the third-biggest billiards company in the country and was supplying top distributors in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Then came the U.S. housing crash and economic meltdown...
...He eventually had to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2008. In the settlement arrangement he lost the U.S. business rights to his own name, which had made one of the most recognized brands in the world of billiards.
“They got my real estate, they got my factory, they got my name, they got everything,” Connelly said.
Now Connelly is trying to get out from behind the eight ball and rebuild his billiards company – only this time from Nicaragua...
...Today, Connelly has only four factory employees who tend to custom orders from the small local market. Last year, the man whose name is associated with the best billiard tables in the world – and who literally wrote some of the industry standards for billiard table specifications – manufactured only 25 tables, which were sold to local billiard clubs and wealthy individuals living in Boaco and Managua...
...With $100,000 Connelly says he could get back in the game and start shipping containers of parts and tables to the United States, as well as to Central America's untapped market.
And with $300,000, Connelly says he'd have enough to open a small distribution warehouse in Texas and start supplying his old sources with top-quality tables again.
Unlike when he started the business the first time in 1980, when he was in his mid-20s and fresh out of Arizona State University, Connelly, now 53, has a lifetime of industry knowledge, a factory full of equipment and world-class reputation with the top names in the industry.
He said he's not even afraid to compete against his old Connelly brand name, in the event some other billiards company purchases his old U.S. company before he can raise enough money to buy it back.
Indeed, Connelly says, all he needs to start running the table again are a few investors to help him get the ball rolling.
To learn more, visit Connelly's webpage www.connellybilliards.com, or contact Craig directly at connosinv@aol.com, tel. (505) 8853-1315.
Read the whole artice: "World famous billiards table maker is working to rebuild company from Nicaragua."
Hoping for a Good Break: Craig Connelly is trying to rebuild his famous billiards table company from Nicaragua.
I admire this man's positive thinking. I remember hearing some rumblings about Connelly tables on this forum a year or so ago but didn't pay it much mind. This article caught my attention. He is not going to give up. I like that! :smile:
At the peak of his business in 2005, Connelly had 175 employees, was doing $23 million in sales and had a goal of opening 50 retail stores across the United States. He had the third-biggest billiards company in the country and was supplying top distributors in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Then came the U.S. housing crash and economic meltdown...
...He eventually had to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2008. In the settlement arrangement he lost the U.S. business rights to his own name, which had made one of the most recognized brands in the world of billiards.
“They got my real estate, they got my factory, they got my name, they got everything,” Connelly said.
Now Connelly is trying to get out from behind the eight ball and rebuild his billiards company – only this time from Nicaragua...
...Today, Connelly has only four factory employees who tend to custom orders from the small local market. Last year, the man whose name is associated with the best billiard tables in the world – and who literally wrote some of the industry standards for billiard table specifications – manufactured only 25 tables, which were sold to local billiard clubs and wealthy individuals living in Boaco and Managua...
...With $100,000 Connelly says he could get back in the game and start shipping containers of parts and tables to the United States, as well as to Central America's untapped market.
And with $300,000, Connelly says he'd have enough to open a small distribution warehouse in Texas and start supplying his old sources with top-quality tables again.
Unlike when he started the business the first time in 1980, when he was in his mid-20s and fresh out of Arizona State University, Connelly, now 53, has a lifetime of industry knowledge, a factory full of equipment and world-class reputation with the top names in the industry.
He said he's not even afraid to compete against his old Connelly brand name, in the event some other billiards company purchases his old U.S. company before he can raise enough money to buy it back.
Indeed, Connelly says, all he needs to start running the table again are a few investors to help him get the ball rolling.
To learn more, visit Connelly's webpage www.connellybilliards.com, or contact Craig directly at connosinv@aol.com, tel. (505) 8853-1315.
Read the whole artice: "World famous billiards table maker is working to rebuild company from Nicaragua."
Hoping for a Good Break: Craig Connelly is trying to rebuild his famous billiards table company from Nicaragua.
I admire this man's positive thinking. I remember hearing some rumblings about Connelly tables on this forum a year or so ago but didn't pay it much mind. This article caught my attention. He is not going to give up. I like that! :smile:
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