Plant Traps — a Tool-Free Railing Garden Shelf
Made here in the Pittsburgh region, a Scalable story
So you have an idea?
Everyone dreams of having a million-dollar idea. That simple little innovation which is so obvious you can’t believe no one has ever done it before. During COVID quarantine, Deborah Holtschlag had one of those ideas, and she decided to do something about it even though she had no prior experience with fabrication or manufacturing.
Deborah started with a sketch of an idea for displaying container gardens on the exterior base of balcony and deck railings. Traditionally, railing planters use the top rail, but her idea was to add a new gardening tier by creating a product for the base too. Her first “Plant Trap” prototype was made at Mendel Steel & Ornamental Iron Co. This proved her cantilevering theory would work, but it was not ready for large-scale production yet.
Inventor to Entrepreneur
That was when Deborah began reaching out to local manufacturers to see if they could help her improve the design of her prototype and manufacture the product. After some initial conversations with a manufacturer based in Ohio, Deborah was able to design a new prototype and get a quote for a first production run. At this point it became clear that the simple idea could be a real product, but if it was ever going to be a successful business she would have to choose her next steps carefully.
Making the Right Connection with Local Manufacturing
One of the first questions entrepreneurs need to answer at this stage is “How much should this cost to make?” Deborah had a quote, but she had no way of knowing if it was competitive or if it encompassed all the technical considerations required to successfully take her idea to the next stage. That’s when Deborah came to Innovation Works (IW) for help.
Scaling to the Next Stage
Matt Verlinich manages Innovation Works’ Scalable Innovation Program. The program aims to help PA-based hardware entrepreneurs connect with local manufacturers and service providers who can help take ideas one step closer to market. Through a series of meetings, Matt worked with Deborah to find and select a local sheet metal contract manufacturer, AccroTool, review her designs and quotes, and provide advice on direct-to-consumer/e-commerce sales & fulfillment strategies. These meetings culminated in a project proposal that would take Deborah’s production prototype through her first manufacturing run and give her products to sell to her customers.
Innovation Works awarded $10,000 of Scalable Grant funding to offset her production costs with AccroTool. As Deborah received invoices for work performed on Plant Traps by AccroTool, she submitted expenses to Innovation Works for 50-percent reimbursement. Scalable Grants are designed to incentivize entrepreneurs to take the leap and build a meaningful relationship with local manufacturers, which will grow as the entrepreneurs with which they work grow their own businesses.
As soon as Deborah had her first product in hand, she began selling them through local garden centers and was even featured on Pittsburgh Today Live, a CBS Affiliate. Her combination of drive and a great product-market fit helped her to quickly sell out of inventory. As any hardware entrepreneur knows, one of the biggest challenges of scaling a physical product is featured on Pittsburgh Today Live, a CBS AFFILIATEcash flow and supply chain management.
Due to the volatile global supply chain and rising material costs, Deborah’s cash flow wasn’t quite enough to keep pace with the growing demand for Plant Traps. Fortunately Innovation Works was able to increase her Scalable Grant cap from $10,000 to $15,000, which was just enough for her to arrange a larger production run and begin building out a more robust supply chain.
Do you have an idea you’re looking to scale?
Visit the Scalable Innovation Programs website and read more about our Scalable funding or schedule a brief call and get all your questions answered!
