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CartIf you’re wondering how TRACT Optics started it was eight years ago as an idea on a piece of paper. Today, the company has blossomed into a Direct to Consumer optics manufacturer who always puts the customer first.
Wondering how TRACT Optics started? We’d be happy to tell you!
Jon Allen and Jon LaCorte launched TRACT Optics in 2015, knowing at the time that the optics industry lacked focus on an important factor: the consumer. Eight years later they’ve maintained a level of customer service that optics aficionados and novices alike rave about. When you call TRACT, one of the “Jons” as they’re affectionately known, will answer.
Interview with the Jons
I had the opportunity to speak with them recently about the last eight years and how the business has evolved since day one. Here’s our conversation.
Can you guys start at Ground Zero; from the first time one of you communicated “hey I have an idea” until the company went live in 2015? And tell us what you did in those early pre-launch days to make your idea a reality.
Jon LaCorte: It was a situation where we were no longer happy at Nikon. One day we were sponsoring 40 TV shows, then the next Nikon wanted their logos taken down. It took a leap of faith to leave secure jobs. But we wanted to give the consumer a better value than any competition could, and give them products with specifications normally found in rifle scopes, binoculars, and spotting scope costing much more.
Jon Allen: The motivation for creating TRACT was Nikon (he and Jon LaCorte’s previous employer) moving away from hunting. We never anticipated leaving Nikon, but our experience working there towards the end eventually pushed us away. I was doing a lot of writing since I was always on airplanes traveling. I started to explore and come up with ideas of what a new optics company would look like. I even wrote down the name TRACT even though I don’t know why or how. I left it alone though, closed the book and thought, “nice exercise.”
You launched the website in 2015, sold some products, published your very first blog, and started getting some press. What was that first year like for you guys both personally and professionally?
JL: We left Nikon in July of 2014 and were ready to launch the site officially in December of 2015 at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Show. We traveled to both Japan and Taiwan to meet with subcontractors and started out only selling four types of binoculars. I worked at Nikon for 15 years and for 13 and a half of them I couldn’t wait to go to work in the mornings. The last year and a half was where I fell out of love with it mostly due to the company’s shift out of hunting and shooting. I knew that we would be out of a job sooner or later anyways. So it seemed like a good time to start thinking about other options.
JA: Like anyone who starts a business, my family and I had to make sacrifices at the beginning. Despite this, we never questioned our decision.
Finding Your Strength’s
You guys have had partnerships that have helped along the way though at the core of the business it’s Jon and Jon. How has having a partner in this venture affected the business?
JL: JA handles more of the sales side of the business, and I handle more of the product. However, we do work together along with an agency doing ads and marketing. We covered two different areas in our careers prior to TRACT, so we bring two different skill sets to the business. We thought that this meant we knew everything about the industry, but we did not. When we first started, we were more focused on hunting rifle scopes, but that is not where the customers are today. We never imagined a $1,700 scope would be our number one seller.
JA: We have some serious competitive shooters relying on TRACT. We agreed on day one that we would make no compromises on our products.
What’s changed in the optics industry since 2015?
JL: The fastest growing part of the industry is long-range shooting by far! Rimfire is gaining a lot of speed since a competitive range doesn’t require a lot of distance. Especially with centerfire starting at 1,000 stretching out to two miles. Ultimately, listening to the customer has allowed us to help them fulfill their needs.
JA: Customers appear to be tired of paying high prices for optics that under perform. That has opended up an opportunity for us to build long-term relationships with people who have become major ambassadors for our brand
You always hear about the great customer service TRACT provides. And in that very first blog we published in 2015, you guys said “when you call, we’ll answer. If it’s an email, we’ll respond.” As the company has scaled, how do you guys still manage the personalized customer service part of the business? Are you able to take every call and respond to every email?
JL: What has separated us from our competitors is the fact that we are able to call people back and answer their questions. We are thankful to be able to do it, and it’s getting noticed by the customers. We always say that the day is not over until we go to bed at night. Eventually, we will need help, but we try our hardest to be the ones to do it because it’s what we love to do.
JA: It has started to get tough, but like JL said, we absolutely love it. We have gotten help in some areas, like working shows, for example. We’ve been able to hire some great people that can travel, set up a booth, and talk about TRACT like we can. As for calls and emails, how long we can keep that going is hard to say. JL handles all of the emails and I answer all of the phone calls. He’s been such a huge asset for me for the knowledge he brings to the table. He’s taught me a lot.
What have been some of the most important factors that have kept you guys in business for eight years?
JL: Repeat customers and word of mouth advertising have been the most important factors.
JA: JL has worked hard over the last 20+ years to develop relationships with the media which has helped TRACT tremendously. We know that new, innovative products drive awareness and ultimately new customers. However, I truly believe it’s been the LORD’s mercy upon us. He has instilled in Jon and I a high level of commitment to customer service that has kept TRACT strong and healthy these last eight years.
Product Development
You guys just launched your latest rifle scope that has very different capabilities from anything you’ve put out so far. Can you guys talk about why you thought the industry needs such a scope and how it came to fruition?
JL: Going to the shows, listening to the consumer, combining our information, then producing it. We develop products that both make sense for the consumer and stand apart from what’s currently on the market. I am a stubborn Italian, so I won’t rest until we’re able to design and build the exact product we set out to produce.
JA: The people behind our company who buy our products provide vaulable information that has helped build our line to what it is today. This new 4-25×50 is a direct result of those relationships.
What’s been the MOST important lesson each of you have learned along the way?
JL: We took a lot of things for granted early on that we thought we knew coming from Nikon. At Nikon, we had a lot of resources and big dollars to spend, but this wasn’t the case with TRACT. We’ve had to be really smart about every dollar we spend.
JA: We have learned (especially from the Weaver family) that running a business requires the discipline to live within your means. Plus, investing all your time and energy in people at the consumer level has changed the entire way that I view business. We also know that we can’t do it all on our own and have since developed great partnerships that have helped us continue moving forward. “His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
Check out our latest rifle scope, the TORIC 34mm 4-25×50 ELR.
