Mark William Publicover (born 1958 in Los Gatos, California) is an American entrepreneur, inventor and co-founder-owner (with Valerie DePiazza Publicover) of
JumpSport, Inc. in
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
. In 1996, Publicover designed the first
trampoline
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled spring (device), springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. ...
safety net enclosure to become commercially successful. These enclosures protect trampoliners from falling off the trampoline.
Childhood
Publicover is a fourth-generation inventor and entrepreneur born in 1958 in
Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...
.
He went to school in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, where he graduated from
Blackford High School in 1977.
Education and early career
Publicover attended the
University of California at Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
where he majored in Economics.
He married Valerie A. DePiazza in August 1984.
In April 1988, he founded American Builders & Craftsman Inc., a professional homebuilding and commercial construction firm in
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California. Located in Silicon Valley, in the southern Bay Area, its population was 31,051 at the 2020 census. Saratoga is an affluent residential community, known for its wineries, restaurants, and attra ...
.
Inventor
In 1995 Publicover's children, along with friends, were jumping on his trampoline when a young neighbor fell off, hurting herself. After that he began building prototypes of his enclosure design.
Publicover went on to design and patent a trampoline enclosure that is sold as standard equipment with millions of trampolines each year. By July 1997, Publicover's family-run company, JumpSport, had
Hedstrom Hedstrom, Hedström and Hedstrøm are surnames of Swedish and Norwegian origin which may refer to:
*Åse Hedstrøm
*John Maynard Hedstrom
* Jonathan Hedström (born 1977), Swedish professional ice hockey player
* Lotta Hedström (born 1955), Swedish ...
of
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,861 at the 2020 census.
His ...
, manufacturing their trampoline enclosures, but few sales were achieved during the winter holiday season. This was attributed to the enclosure costing slightly more than the trampoline together with the lack of retail distribution. After burning through most of their assets and remortgaging their home, they decided to make one final effort by attending the
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Super Show in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and taking out a full-page ad in ''
Disney Magazine
''Disney Magazine'' was an official Disney magazine that was published quarterly from December 1965 to April 2005. The ''Disney Magazine'', otherwise known as ''Disney News'' ''Magazine'', was the “Official Magazine for Magic Kingdom Club Fam ...
''. At the Super Show,
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
agreed to test the product in 22 stores, where the product sold well. Costco took the product into all of its stores nationwide. Soon after JumpSport expanded to other retailers.
In 1998 Publicover developed two more trampoline safety inventions. After Publicover suffered a minor leg break while testing another manufacturer's trampoline with his kids, he focused on improving the shock-absorption characteristics of the trampoline bed, patenting the StageBounce and DoubleBounce systems. Between 1998 and 2000 his company introduced four trampolines based on these safety features.
In 2000, Publicover raised capital from Silicon Valley's
Band of Angels
''Band of Angels'' is a 1957 psychological drama film set in the American South before and during the American Civil War, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. It starred Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo and Sidney Poitier ...
.
As of May 2014, Publicover has been granted 24 patents.
He also has more published patent filings, some of which were still being
prosecuted
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
.
Patent litigation
Publicover initially sold 200 units to
Sam's Club
Sam's West, Inc. (doing business as Sam's Club) is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam’s Wholesale Club. , Sam's Cl ...
for a market test. The sales led to a verbal order for 6,000 units that fell through.
Instead, Sam's Club switched to selling competitor Jump King trampoline enclosures that were later deemed unsafe by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...
in 2005.
Publicover says that more low-quality knock-offs quickly flooded the market. In 2001 Publicover sued Wal-Mart, Hedstrom, Jump King, and several other infringing companies.
Publicover ended up winning a seven-figure settlement from Hedstrom and JumpKing and while Wal-Mart was not found liable, they were banned from selling the copycat products. In 2007, JumpSport's 15-employee business had $13 million in sales and in 2008 Publicover claimed over $50 million of lost sales due to patent infringement.
Legacy
From 1998 to 2006, enclosures gained broad acceptance in the marketplace and were being sold together with more than 80% of all trampolines. In that same period, U.S. sales of trampolines doubled from around 550,000 to 1,200,000 while total annual reported trampoline injuries began to decline.
Personal life
As of 2014, Publicover lives in Saratoga, California, with his wife, Valerie DePiazza Publicover. They have one son and two daughters.
References
External links
JumpSport, Inc. company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Publicover, Mark William
Living people
1958 births
American inventors
American company founders
American chief executives
Trampolining
University of California, Davis alumni
People from Los Gatos, California
People from San Jose, California
People from Saratoga, California