David Lariviere Contributor
I have been covering sports and business intensely for 30 years.
When Jonathan Bender was forced to abruptly leave the NBA in 2007 after seven years because of chronic knee pain, it appeared his career was over. But in actuality it turned out it was just the beginning of a new career that is blossoming today.
Working with scientists, Bender began developing a support device worn on the lower back designed to relieve not only chronic knee pain but shoulder, back, hip, joint and sciatica discomfort as well. Launched in December, the upgraded and rebranded JBIT MedPro device has catapulted Houston-based JB3 Innovations as it has realized exponential 60 percent growth, month over month, and established a direct sales pipeline-based forecast of 40 percent growth through the end of June.
Priced at $199.99, it’s sold in Relax The Back retail outlets but mostly through direct sales with about 3,000 users at this point according to Bender. “We’re a unique product. Anything else that might be considered our competition is way above our price point,” the former Indiana Pacer and New York Knick explained.
“Our goal is about half a million (dollars in revenue) through year one and we’ve already blasted through that and to sell 10 million units in five years,” Bender said.
In a press release the company said its rapid marketplace acceptance “is spurred by its unique design, which serves a dual purpose of relieving pressure from the joints by delivering a zero gravity field that is just like being in water or in outer space. It acts as an ‘external hamstring’ while also delivering constant resistance to strengthen the core and lower extremity muscles.”
It worked so well for Bender that, after four years out of the NBA, he was able to return to the Knicks for a year. Still in the prime of his career at 29, Bender walked away for good to pursue his business dreams. “In the beginning I just wanted to help myself but then I saw it as an opportunity to help as many people as I could and as a business opportunity,” said the one-time fifth overall pick out of high school in the 1999 draft.
He’s not surprised by the company’s success. “My vision was always way ahead of the curve.”
It’s especially satisfying for him that the company is his own creation. “I didn’t want to buy a franchise like some guys do because that’s somebody else’s business. I wanted to create something from nothing,” he said.
Asked why some athletes are successful after leaving the game while others struggle, Bender, now 33, said, “You have to take the same mental approach that made you a great athlete. Some guys are just a little deeper than others.”
