Mon, Jan 30 2012
This week, after an extensive Eval, the Quirky team decided to pursue these seven selected idea submissions further. We are going to be putting all of these ideas under development, starting with the design phase, to further explore their possibilities and see if they have the potential to be world changing products.
Josh Hanes works for a crane construction company in Chicago. His grandfather had to get a very serious procedure done, called nephrostomy, after his kidney’s failed. Josh told us that the outcome of this procedure was that his grandfathers urine would be redirected into an external bag. The problem with this medical bag was that it strapped around his grandfather’s leg using velcro. It was very uncomfortable and Josh believed that his invention idea of a pair of boxer briefs with urine pockets would have help the comfort level and confidence of his grandfather. Quirky believes this solves for a problem that would not necessarily get attention from, or be marketed by, other companies. We have a unique opportunity to use our platform to help people going through this procedure and better their day-to-day lives.
Kevin Morse from Flint, Michigan is a program manager for an automotive component company. Kevin was working on a project concerning the back brake light in the middle of the rear window of a minivan. Around the same time that he was working on this project, he went for a drive in his car and had to stop short because the bicyclist in front of him swerved because of a turtle in the middle of the road. At that moment he thought about combining the brake light project that he was working on with the helmet the bicyclist was wearing. Thinking about it even more he decided that a much larger market would be served if it was implemented to motorcyclist helmets. Quirky selected this idea as it presents the opportunity to increase the safety of motorcyclists. We will be looking into the IP landscape, idiosyncrasies of required RF/wireless technology, and design/styling required for this kind of product.
Susan Fine, from NYC, is both a real estate developer and a teacher. She came up with herpill purse idea when she grew frustrated by the fact that it is difficult to be inconspicuous when taking pills. Nearly everyone takes pills from vitamins to medication to birth control pills, but they are difficult to carry with you. The current designs are bulky and embarrassing. Susan’s pills always fall out of the case while she is traveling and they turn into a huge mess. She hates that there is no discretion and that she is made to feel 30 or 40 years older with the designs that are available. The Quirky team felt that this was a huge opportunity to allow people of all ages to carry medicine in a discreet, more socially acceptable method.
Kwame Appiahene-Agyei, a product Design Student from Illinois was assigned to submit a product to Quirky for a grade in one of his classes, Kwame did extensive research to createthis idea. He found many ice scrapers could easily be damaged or worn down after repeated use because they are produced cheaply, and are limited in function. Instead of an ice scraper JUST for the winter months, this invention has a series of attachments and can be kept in your car all year, to squeegee, clean, scrape and brush whenever it’s needed. This is the type of product that will give you more bang for your buck. The Quirky team is pumped to begin looking into this product’s full potential and explore the opportunities this submission presents.
Mark Goldman, a Content Strategist For a Web Firm in Berkley, California is an avid recreational bike rider. When he would ride for a while and get hot, he would remove his jacket. He wanted to find a way to store it instead of wrapping it around his waist. He began wrapping bungee cords around the space under his bike seat and holding his jacket there. His bike riding posse loved the idea, but pointed out it wasn’t a very secure storage method. Through trial and error, many prototypes, and a lot of bike riding- Mark finally came up with his final solution. This clever idea stemmed from Mark’s need for simple storage and could change what bikers choose to bring with them during their rides. Mark’s presentation of his invention and the issues that he brought up were well thought out and helped show us the potential market for his idea. The Quirky team is now looking into the possibilities that this bike accessory can bring about.
Jay Andress from Cincinnati, Ohio works within his family-owned Retail Business and was trying to recycle the extra boxes around their store. He became frustrated when he realized the boxes wouldn’t fit in the bin and he would have to resort to breaking down tons of cardboard boxes with scissors or a blade. He was certain there had to be an easier way. Jay came up with the idea of creating a type of tape with a string that can be pulled. This would safely and easily rip the tape in half, making the boxes easier to break down. This is an idea Quirky is looking forward to exploring (especially after breaking down all of those boxes after our move)!
Sudarshana Ranabahu is the owner of an Interior Design Firm in Sri Lanka. When organizing her sample library, she found that many papers needed to be separated from each other but kept in the same pile. She tried to brainstorm solutions for her filing woes, and came up with a twin clip. A set of these clips would make a great addition to any office filing system and help students keep their schoolwork more organized. Quirky felt that this would be great in an office setting so we will be moving it forward to the design phase.
