Flippin' Laundry
Breakthrough:
Debbee Barker's FlipFOLD allows you to fold all your shirts into one uniform size at only 5 seconds per garment, creating a neat and organized look for your closets.
Inventor:
Debbee Barker, United States
Financial reward:
$20 million
The Story:
Debbee Barker had a problem. No matter how many times she scolded her two teenage daughters, she just couldn't get them to keep their clothes neat and organized.
They complained it was just too hard to fold clothes neatly, even if it would de-clutter their room.
Debbee started brainstorming and came up with a simple solution: the FlipFOLD. This simple device enabled her girls to fold their shirts in less than five seconds, and it was fun!
It can save you hours of laundry fold time every week, and can fold everything from t-shirts to collared shirts, to jeans, shorts, skirts, and even sheets and towels.
No matter what size your shirt is, the FlipFOLD will fold them all into the same size, making them neat and stackable.
Her original product was actually made out of cardboard. She made a template for her kids to use, taping it together with duct tape. But it kept falling apart.
Then one of her girls learned about patents in school, and that got Debbee thinking about commercializing her invention. She started by doing focus groups, asking people if they liked the product.
Getting a positive response, she then got her whole family – husband, sister, mother, dad, children - involved assembling the FlipFOLD in her garage.
She then persuaded a friend who was going to a T-Shirt convention, to give her a table in his booth, and the 200 FlipFOLD's they had made in their garage sold out within three hours.
The Home Shopping Network got excited about her device and sold 10,000 of them on the first day her commercial aired. The FlipFOLD was on its way.
Adding holes to the FlipFLOP's design made folding even faster, and reduced static cling. Rubber cushions made handling the device easier, and provided non-skid stability on any surface.
Debbee realized that her device wasn't just for home laundry folding. It could also help retailers keep their shelves looking neat with a minimum of effort. Creating a tidy stack of 9' x 12" perfectly folded shirts became a breeze.
The FlipFOLD was soon being used by retailers like Nike and Sports Authority, and by pro sports teams, stadiums, monogramers and uniform companies. Even the FBI!
Her simple idea, created on her kitchen counter, is now being sold and distributed around the world, and bringing in millions of dollars.
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