Inventor Aims To Make ‘Hip Visions’
Instead of heading into corporate America after college, 21-year-old Rob Ianelli works for himself, as the president of a company he wants to make known for its cool ideas.
Realizing his talent for thinking creatively and visually, Ianelli launched Hip Visions LLC after becoming a patent holder for his bottle-opening sunglasses design. He was 18 years old when he came up with the idea for the product called BrewSees and when he blazed his path into the world of self-enterprise.
Today, he has his sights set on selling or licensing his patent to a sunglasses company and continuing with his entrepreneurial aspirations of product and service concept design and consultation. BrewSees is only the beginning.
“Going down the entrepreneurial road this young is a long haul and brings about challenges in many ways,” Ianelli of Fishkill said. “When fellow peers are taking on jobs in the corporate world and pursuing that route, what I am doing is seen as a ‘rogue move.’ ”
His bottle-opening concept came about in 2006 on a spring break trip to Mexico. Ianelli was wearing Reef Mick Fanning flip-flops, which have an opener built into the sole, but the footwear was caked with mud. Ianelli immediately imagined his sunglasses being able to open a bottle.
“After a quick sketch on a napkin and plenty of Coronas later, it looked possibly feasible,” he said.
A Poughkeepsie patent lawyer confirmed the idea was one-of-a-kind, and that was all Ianelli needed to hear to give him the incentive to pursue a provisional patent, which is a patent that expires. He hired product designer Luke Ritchie in Beijing, China – a friend he had met during his study abroad travels – who drew up two-dimensional plans. A family connection helped him secure a China-based product manufacturer, who built a few prototypes, the latest one having arrived on Ianelli’s doorstep last fall.
Because of costs, the young entrepreneur changed focus from the retail market to licensing or selling the concept. So far, he’s spent about $10,000 and is still keeping all options open.
Photo by Hip Visions LLC.
John Peden on June 1st, 2008 3:26 am
Thats a lot of money to have spent as a college graduate! Has he made any sales yet?
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