California Mom Invents the Aqueduck Faucet Extender To Make Hand Washing Routines A Breeze
A big welcome to today’s Mompreneur Rockstar, Susanna Lee. Susanna Lee is the inventor of an amazing product called The Aqueduck. She is a Huggies MomInspired grant winner and has recieved numerous awards including Creative Child Magazine Creative Toy Awards, and Mom’s Choice Award just to name a couple. You might have seen The Aqueduck on NBC news, Rachel Ray, and the Steve Harvey Show. Continue reading to learn about Susanna Lee and her time-saving product The Aqueduck.
Welcome to Mompreneur Media Susanna Lee! Please tell us about yourself
I am Susanna Lee and I have 3 boys: they are 8, 10 and 12. I really enjoy being a mompreneur since it allows me the freedom and flexibility to focus on my kids when they need it. I have always wanted to become a entrepreneur since I was 7. As an elementary school student, I would ask my dad to buy me a sheet of stickers. I would then sell the stickers individually to my classmates for a nice profit. I was born and grew up in Taiwan but moved to the US when I was 15. I have been in California since and now live with my husband and 3 boys. I enjoy traveling and I feel happy when I see some my products on the shelves of stores while abroad.
I have three adorable and extremely active little boys. We took a family trip to Disneyland and they were touching everything and all over the place. I was helping them wash their hands before eating, there were no step-up-stools and I was struggling to lift them up to wash their hands – remember I’ve got 3 of them! On our ride home, I was obsessed with coming up with something to solve this problem and the Aqueduck Faucet Extender was born. Every parent can use this at some point and it’s portable and easy.
What kind of approximate start-up costs were involved in getting The Aqueduck® from concept to launch mode
Prototype, hiring industrial engineers, Patent attorney fees, packaging design, web design, manufacturing cost. They total about 100k.
Any future plans for you or Aqueduck®?
More cute and innovative bath related products.
Please provide 1 manufacturing tip that will help a mom get started with the manufacturing of her product.
I would highly recommend working with an industrial engineer (I prefer a local one) to obtain some prototypes before you start talking to the manufacturer. There are a few steps you’ll need to take from conception of the idea to finishing of the product. You may need to make several prototypes before you get everything right. I was naïve enough to think that the first one should just work but I went through at least three prototypes before the Aqueduck Faucet Extender was born!
1 thing you do for yourself to unwind from it all?
A Spa day and some good food with my girlfriends.
Share a book or a website you like to browse just for fun
“Smart Thinking” by Art Markman.
Like many parents, some of our best ideas come from the everyday struggles we encounter. We were taking family trip to Disneyland. Like many moms, I wanted to make sure everyone had a great time, but I of course was always thinking about safety, germs, and nap schedules too. At the time my boys were young (7, 5, 3) so we were making many trips to the restroom and I was constantly having to lift them up to wash their hands. That’s when my first idea was born – a product for children that would help them reach the faucet and wash their hands on their very own.
We launched Peachy® in 2010 with the Aqueduck® – the first faucet extender in the market. Since that moment, here at Peachy® we have been working diligently to develop other easy to use and fun products that will foster independence, build confidence, while at the same time making lives for parents easier and of course Peachy!
Connect with Aqueduck
Website: http://peachyco.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peachyllc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peachyllc
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