Business Opportunities Weblog

February 23, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

MediaNews:

While feeding a baby, Debbie Stauffer and Kathleen Whitehurst came up with an invention that landed them a spot on “Oprah,” an article in Good Housekeeping and a hit new product. It’s a counter. A simple, cute digital counter in bright colors.

If you’ve mined moldy leftovers out of the refrigerator, over-fed your fish or killed plants by under-watering, you may need it.

Called Days Ago, the tiny, reusable counter ticks off days while it’s attached to your leftovers or fish tank by a magnet or suction cup.

Originally, Whitehurst said, the plan was to make something that would keep baby food safe. Families could throw away mushy peas after the counter spit out a certain time — say, three days. “That’s a lot for a busy family to keep track off,” Whitehurst said.

The two came together after Stauffer taught a leadership course for a nonprofit in Modesto that Whitehurst’s husband worked with.

Stauffer said she respected Whitehurst’s 25 years of retail experience. Whitehurst liked Stauffer’s inventiveness.

Stauffer adds that they’ve also been learning a lot from folks who have been buying their product to count the days between good food and bad or tasks.

“Did you know,” she said, “that most snakes need to be fed every seven days?”

Photo by double u products, inc..

In Invention, Niche, Startup, Women | 1 Comment