Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer Reiss
Hi Spencer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Spencer Reiss. I was born in Illinois, grew up in Washington, and spent some time in Oregon and Montana before moving to Duluth, MN. I have always been mechanically and electrically inclined. I spent my childhood playing with Lego, K’NEX, and Meccano, as well as experimenting with electronics learning kits. I’d build anything from lighting timers, to logic chip circuits, to small robots. My dad was a programmer who worked from home, so naturally, I started coding at a young age. I built my first electrical circuit at age 6, and wrote my first code at 8 years old.
When I was 11, my parents bought a newer vehicle, and gifted me the family car. It was a 1992 S10 Blazer that did not run at the time. After letting it sit for 5 years, I finally started working on it and got it running, only to discover it had blown head gaskets. I spent the next two years working on it here and there, and successfully resealed the engine and got it running again. It was my first time working on cars, and I was hooked! I bought my first Subaru shortly after high school. I learned how to do brakes, axles, and I installed a lift kit. I have owned many Subarus since, most of them needing head gaskets when I bought them, and most of them I installed lift kits of varying heights. After repeatedly buying used parts from a local shop in Bozeman, they offered me a job. I spent the first year learning the “easy” stuff, as the only experience I had at the time was big jobs like replacing head gaskets.
I built an off-road 1997 Subaru Outback (pictured) in 2021. I had always wanted an H6 swapped Subaru, so after receiving an EZ30R for free, I figured that was a perfect excuse. I spent a year and a half figuring out the wiring, trying different possibilities and making different harnesses. They all worked, but I was never satisfied with them. I wanted something that looked factory, and didn’t require any cutting or splicing of the factory harness. While in the process, I had several people reach out, requesting I do the wiring for their own swap. I turned them down as I didn’t even have my own car finished, nor did I have the time while working full-time.
In February of 2023, due to a series of unfortunate events, I found myself without a job. Instead of going out and applying for jobs, I decided to try my hand at running my own wiring business. Much to my surprise, there were a lot of people interested, so for 9 months, all I did was build plug and play ECU kits and make custom wiring harnesses. As with any new business, things weren’t perfect. I had little overhead, and money was tight. I didn’t account for having to wait for parts to arrive, and I therefore often gave unrealistic turnaround estimates. I wanted to reduce these issues, and I wanted to find a way to guarantee speedy delivery for every order, every time.
To reduce turnaround times, while boosting the quality and consistency of my kits, I began to develop more universal ECUs, compatible with a larger variety of vehicles. Rather than custom building a kit specific to a particular customer and their specific build, these kits are compatible for a wider range of models, while simultaneously providing options for expandability and future builds. In the process, I was even able to slightly reduce my prices. While turn around times were 4-6 months before, they are now down to a month or less. I effectively created shorter wait times, higher quality products, and lower prices, all at the same time. This allows me to shift my focus to developing other products, such as JDM retrofit adapters, 5MT swap kits, and more. Additionally, moving forward, I am starting to get into motorsport wiring, and would like to shift my focus to high end performance builds.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I started out, I didn’t have access to a lot of resources. My harnesses were OEM harnesses spliced together, and wrapped in plastic casings. They work and are functional, but are not the type of quality I am proud of. Additionally, I did not give realistic turn around times, and therefore upset several people along the way. When I first moved to the Midwest in fall of 2023, I was working 65+ hours a week just to make rent, and could not afford the time needed to keep doing business. I made the difficult decision to close in January of 2024, with the intention of finishing everything with my current customers at the time, but not accepting any new customers. I unfortunately did not communicate well enough, and rumors were spread, people got upset, and my reputation suffered. I was not aware of many of the rumors until months later when I was finally able to reopen. Unfortunately, several of the rumors run deep, and I am still struggling with fixing my reputation today. Even more unfortunate, is the fact that the people who are still spreading rumors have never purchased from me, seen my products, or spoken to me. All I can do is keep my head up, continue to provide top quality products, and prove that I am a man of my word. I have countless happy customers, and will have countless more!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about ReetWire?
I am very proud of my developed ECU kits. They are neat, professional, easy to install, infinitely expandable, and as a bonus, they look completely factory in design. I am also proud of my retrofit adapters. I make alternator retrofit adapters, JDM headlight adapters, and MSD coil pack adapters, with many more to come. I always use all new wiring, connectors, and shielding. It makes me proud to look at my current line up of products, compared to how they looked when I first started out.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have been very fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had in life. I was able to work with a local mechanic who helped me with my S10 Blazer in high school. I had parents who valued learning and education, rather than allowing us to play mind numbing video games. And I have had a place to work on my projects throughout the years, both mechanical and electrical. I have also been very unfortunate in the most fortunate of ways. Having to do two Subaru head gasket jobs in one summer was awful, but it gained me the experience and attention to get my first mechanic job. Having no job in February of 2023 was a huge blow, but had it not happened, I’d have likely never started my business. Even amidst the heartaches in life, they have provided me with opportunities to grow that I would not have had otherwise. I am very thankful for where I am in life, and am excited to see what the future has in store!
Pricing:
- Plug and Play SpeedyEFI ECU Kits starting at $800
- JDM Projector Headlight Adapters starting at $35
- 2 to 3 Pin Alternator Adapter $25
- MSD Coil Pack Adapter $35
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reetwire.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reetwire
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reetwire
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@reetwire
