For years, Janet Lau organized her papers with sticky notes and paper clips but was constantly frustrated by the messiness that would ensue. Then, in 2004, she decided to fuse the two office supplies together, and Clip-Tabs were born. “You think about it for days and months, and that’s when it hits you and you wake up,” recalls Lau of the moment her idea came to life.
The paper clips, which are attached to a durable, double-sided note and come in a variety of bright colors, hit stores last year and sell for about $3 a package.
With Clip-rite’s 2008 sales projections hitting $500,000, Lau, 38, has plans to provide a major line of office supply solutions for consumers within the next few years. She also hopes to start distributing Clip-rite products to a variety of retail outlets beyond office supply stores, such as grocery stores and Target.
As for aspiring entrepreneurs, Lau emphasizes that anybody with a good idea should start by determining how it will play out in the marketplace. “Everyone is thinking of a product or service to enhance people’s lives, and if you have that passion for it, make sure you do your homework before you dive into it,” she explains. “I did a lot of research for my product and felt I really had something unique.”
Photo by Clip-rite.
Inventor Makes Paper Clip One Better
June 30, 2008 by Rich | 3 Comments
In Creativity, Invention, Startup
Curt on June 30th, 2008 at 11:57 am
This is a great idea. I use post-it notes to mark pages in books all the time. I will have to get these a try. The question is will they stay in place as good at post-it notes?
Angela on June 30th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
That is a brilliant idea! That is one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” things. I love the idea. Especially since I am notorious for using a paperclip on book pages.
cassy on June 30th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I agree with them…
It also neat and very colorful!