There is nothing unusual about an entrepreneur having a great idea and then developing and marketing a new product. But it’s not so common to have two very different yet marketable ideas going at the same time.
Which takes precedence?
For business partners Janet Spangler and Randy Redel of Stanwood, the choice was not difficult.
They went with their No Mess Pet Dish, a rubber-footed plastic base tray that securely holds a disposable paper liner.
The disposable liners can be changed at every meal so the pet always has a clean sanitary dish and the owner never has to wash a dirty pet bowl.
“We’ve got the provisional patent on it,” Spangler confirmed.
The pair are selling the dish and trays on their website at NoMessPetDish.com and will debut their product at the Seattle Pet Expo on June 4 and 5.
“A clean dish in a snap — we call them click and toss liners,” Spangler said. “It still surprises me that no one else has done it.”
The pet dish wasn’t the first product for the pair. Spangler and Redel came up with the pet dish idea when the friends first became business partners in another planned venture, the Image Awareness Center, back in 2010.
Spangler, a longtime image consultant who has worked on television commercials and radio voiceovers, had already formed the Colors Made Easy Personal Palette System for image consultants and was planning to launch the Image Awareness Center for training and consulting purposes.
She brought in longtime family friend Redel and another colleague, Dione Gleave, as partners.
Redel worked in broadcasting and multimedia. Much of that work involved compiling videos and conducting seminars. As a busy single professional, he used to save time and energy by feeding his cat out of paper bowls that he could throw away or burn.
At the same time, Spangler had six cats that she fed using ceramic bowls. She had 15 ceramic bowls that had to be rotated and washed regularly to ensure her cats were always eating from a clean dish.
Redel’s paper bowl method intrigued Spangler but she was less than satisfied with the way paper bowls moved easily across the floor and tipped over.
Experiments to develop an efficient disposable pet dish for personal use had resulted in the first prototype of the No Mess Pet Dish in 2013.
Both Redel and Spangler tested subsequent prototypes at home including a dog-sized bowl for Spangler’s dog, Sasha.
With Gleave’s agreement, the Image Awareness Center was going to stay on the back burner for a little while longer so Spangler and Redel could push their pet dish concept first.
“We went up to Artisan Industries in Arlington,” Spangler said. “They do injection molding. We thought that would be a great place to have our dishes made, somewhere local.”
A company was formed, a provisional patent obtained and the domain name was locked in place.
They also developed a video for the project that drew on the past experience and skill sets of both partners. Redel created the video and Spangler, along with her pets, was the talent.
A few weeks ago, the No Mess Pet Dish became available for purchase at the website and the company’s Facebook page was launched.
As the dish was invented purely as a convenience for busy people, both inventors were a little surprised that the health aspect seems to be what is driving initial interest in the product. They’ve since learned that many veterinarians advise cat owners to feed an all wet food diet but that some owners refuse because it is messy.
There is also a risk of germs to both humans and pets from handling dirty pet dishes.
These were outlined in a report by the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine in 2014. Disposable dishes could cut that risk.
“I guess that’s the important thing for any entrepreneur or any new business that is starting out,” Redel said. “You find a need and you solve it. That’s what we hope that we have done.”
As for the future, No Mess Pet Dish is applying to be on the entrepreneur reality show Shark Tank. Spangler and Redel are also waiting for feedback from shelters and veterinarians who have been invited to try the product.
Then there is the other business venture that was put on hold — the Image Awareness Center for image consultations and training — which is far enough along that Spangler has her studio near completion.
“Maybe in a year or so we’ll do a big launch for that,” she said.
But at the moment, it’s all about the pets.
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