A recent announcement by Rick DeVos of
Pomegranate Studios confirmed that
5X5 Night, an "auto-accelerator" for ideas, will continue this October. Dave Schemmel, the inventor of Dave's Great Green Tomato Cage and one of the early recipients of a 5X5 Night grant, reflects on the event, saying that his inspiration was simply to "try to build a better mousetrap" after managing over 50 tomato plants a few years earlier.
Although Schemmel had been working on the tomato cage concept two years prior to his 5X5 Night pitch, he credits the exposure and the grant for putting it on a fast track. Now, he is working quickly through the manufacturing and marketing process.
Schemmel's future plans go well beyond his tomato cage as he has two more gardening products in the pipeline. Both will be marketed under his newly-formed company, "Dave's Great Outdoors," and through his website, which will be a direct-to-consumer venture.
A firm believer in keeping business local (his products, website and infomercial are all being made locally), Schemmel credits Rockford native and former Grand Rapids columnist Tom Rademacher for his recent success, including coaching him on his 5X5 Night pitch and being part of his upcoming infomercial.
His advice for inventors and entrepreneurs is simple: "The first step is to keep your eyes open. Look for different problems and applications to solve them."
Although not yet launched, you will be able to check out all of Schemmel's products through his site, DavesGreatOutdoors.co.
Source: Dave Schemmel, Dave's Great Outdoors
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs Editor
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