Notes from Chris

Episode 504

Shari Deutsch works as a marketing strategist for a telecoms company putting together content for the likes of BET, Comedy Central, and The Discovery Channel. But under the deep shadows of the night, she dons the guise of the most unlikely of alter egos… She’s the co-founder of The Strap Saver, a nifty little gadget that saves women’s tops, bras, bikinis—and lives.

So where does our pseudo-hero’s story begin? Well, to answer that, we need to take a trip back to 2013. The beginning of Obama’s second term in office and of course the year of Miley Cyrus’ twerking display at the VMAs... who can forget.

It was the middle of summer, and our champion was lounging by the pool alongside her best friend and future sidekick, Beth Lieberman. This was a time-honored tradition that they’d been doing since college. While their cherished poolside chats often covered a multitude of topics, this conversation, in particular, came strapped with a specific theme: non-adjustable swimsuit straps.

Their bathing suit straps just weren’t holding their own (or holding anything up, for that matter), and they were quickly becoming the bane of their existence. The straps on Beth’s new suit—cute though it was—were too long, and Shari’s had stretched out completely following a few summers’ wear.

So what’s a girl to do with a seemingly fantastic swimsuit when the straps take a dive south? Sure, they could hop on a sewing machine to remedy their elastic strap woes, but that was just a temporary fix. What they needed was a more long-term solution.

They figured that it was a problem that could be solved by something relatively simple, but after an evening spent with a bottle of wine and their other friend Google, they were surprised to find that there was literally nothing on the market. A quick ring around a few girlfriends confirmed to Shari that she and Beth weren’t the only ones struggling with saggy straps, so they set out to create a solution themselves.

The answer: a small gadget that attaches to any bra or clothing strap so it can be adjusted to the right length. They called it The Strap Saver: your multi-purpose comfort-providing hero—or heroine, I guess. Wherever there was a swimsuit, bra, or tank top in need of a little lift, The Strap Saver would be there. There was no job or size (!) too small or too great. The Strap Saver was saving damsels in distress, one strap at a time. (That was Whitney’s line—good touch there.)

Sales weren’t an overnight success as well. They’re now taking in around $800 in sales each month—more when the sun’s out, and less during “sweater weather.” The business is completely self-sufficient, and now that they’ve recouped their initial investment, they’re currently working towards some major profitability.

But they’re doing more than just saving straps and the sanity (and pocketbooks) of the women who own them. True to superhero form, they’re also saving lives. An important part of Shari and Beth’s business model is their decision to donate five percent of their sales revenue directly to life-saving charities. Strap Savers are making a genuine difference in the world—one strap at a time.

Looking ahead, these modest heroes are looking to expand their superhuman reach to more customers using the power of Amazon. They’ll be optimizing their website, and looking at how inbound marketing could help them grow awareness and expand their customer base. The rest of their energy will go towards developing a clear plastic version of The Strap Saver that’s just as effective as their stainless steel version.

There’s definitely more to come from this pair of inventive entrepreneurs—they’d better strap themselves in!

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Strap Saver: Learn more about this gravity defying invention over on Shari and Beth's website!
• Google Forms: The form builder that Shari and Beth used to get customer feedback on their Strap Saver
• Wordpress: Shari and Beth used Wordpress to setup The Strap Saver, and here you can learn how to install your own Wordpress site in 5 minutes

  SEE ALSO:

• UX Designer Creates "SimpleBra" to Help Women Feel More Comfortable: How a UI/UX designer scratched an entrepreneurial itch and used $15,000 of her savings to create a side hustle manufacturing bras for women looking for an alternative to the push-up bra
• Clothing Store Salesman Invents Baby Harness, Earns $100k Per Year: An innovative salesman creates a baby harness that benefits both parent and child, all the while creating a six-figure side income for himself
• Hair Salon Owner Designs Mittens for Cold Runners: An avid runner has a difficult time finding gloves or mittens that feel comfortable enough for running while also keep her fingers warm in the winter. She decides to make her own and pursues a patent for her idea

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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