Dale Krevens grew up loving music. Her brother was a “rock and roller,” and Krevens could be seen at every one of his gigs. “I’d carry his guitar, but I wanted to do more,” said Krevens. “I actually wanted to get into managing bands. I always wanted to be in the music business but just couldn’t figure out where I fit in.” So those rock and roll dreams fell by the wayside. That is, until her friend Andrew Barta showed up with a then-unnamed product.
“He had invented this thing that had no name at the time. It was just a black box and when he told me what it did, I said I have to hear it,” said Krevens. “I happen to have good ears. So when I heard it I was completely floored.”
Krevens knew a good opportunity when she saw it…or did she?
“When the opportunity came up to work with Andrew I didn’t take it too seriously in the beginning,” she recalled. “I was working in advertising and marketing at the time and would help him on the side. Then I took some time off and planned to work at Andrew’s office for awhile before going out and looking for a ‘real job.’ But when I saw the potential, I couldn’t leave.”
The partnership between Krevens and Barta began in the late ‘80s, when originally Barta wanted to sell the technology. Neither of them thought they would be manufacturers, but it’s a role that Krevens feels she grew into, and is still growing with after all these years.
“I’m still learning how to not run out of product. That’s the hardest thing, trying to coordinate your purchasing and your production and trying to anticipate your needs,” she said. “Certain parts have 10 to 12 week lead times. Then something happens: the boat sinks, there’s a hurricane or a tsunami, they have some other contract that’s bigger and better and they push us to the side. How do you anticipate your needs a year in advance? You can’t do it.”
In the 20 years the company’s been in business, Krevens’ role has certainly grown. Not only does she run the company, she handles numerous details including some of the production and purchasing duties, the marketing and advertising, and even writes all of the company’s owner’s manuals. For many facets of her job, Krevens calls upon skills she picked up as an advertising professional.
“When it comes to advertising and marketing, you literally apply the same principles no matter what [the products is],” said Krevens.
What’s different about [the music industry] is that it’s much more emotional and subjective. You’re trying to talk about something that makes sound. So that makes it a little trickier.
“Sometimes people come out with ads and they just overstate it,” she continued. “We’ve always gone toward understating it, if anything. That’s why we get a lot of compliments that our products do what they say they’re going to do. That’s the highest compliment to somebody who’s in advertising and marketing.”
Communication is certainly important when you’re working with a product no one has ever seen or heard before. Couple that with the stigma of being a woman in the music industry in those days, and Krevens had her work cut out for her. Not that she was ever deterred.
“In the early days, especially at NAMM shows, people would come into the booth, they’d look at me, and they’d go over to one of the guys,” she recalled with amusement. “Sometimes they would be all jammed up and I’d be like, ‘Can I help you?’ They’d say, ‘Well, I have a technical question,’ and I’d say, ‘Just for the heck of it, try me.’
“Most of the time,” she continued, “I could answer the question. Then all of a sudden they would open up and start talking. I was always amused by the fact that they would reluctantly talk to me and then all of a sudden we were having a real conversation. It’s fun to watch people turn around like that.”
Making Sans of it All
After 20 years, it’s clear Krevens did know a good thing when she saw it. She has no regrets about giving up “a very successful career in advertising.” Despite her initial hesitations, she’s found that her unique skill set is perfect for her job and she wouldn’t change a thing for the world.
“I’m totally happy with what I do because I get to use so many of my different skills. That’s why I’ve been bored in previous jobs and careers. You get to a certain point and there’s nowhere else to go,” said Krevens, adding that her time at Tech 21 “is not a job; it really is an adventure. It seems like there’s always a new challenge here.
“As long as Andrew wants to keep going and keep designing products, I’ll be here,” she continued. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I really can’t.”
No matter how long she stays in this industry, Krevens has already left her mark. She named her company’s big product—the SansAmp.
“It’s a marketing person’s dream to take a name and basically make it a household word,” said Krevens. “There aren’t too many [musicians] who never heard of SansAmp. But of course I couldn’t have done it if the product wasn’t as good as it is. You can have all the greatest marketing in the world but if the product is no good, that’s it. You’re done. So being able to take a really good product, get it out there and get everybody to know it, that’s a huge achievement.”
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