Chris Hawker does his best thinking when he sees someone doing something awkward. Watching people struggle with everyday tools guides the designer to invent things that solve everyday problems, from peeling a cucumber to powering our growing number of electronic devices.
So when Hawker found himself in an uncomfortable stretch between his couch and the nearest outlet, trying to charge his phone and talk on it at the same time, he wished for a plug-in near his leg.
Hawker came up with Couchlet, a thin, dual-USB port that tucks in between couch cushions or wedges beneath a mattress. On Indiegogo for just three days, the Couchlet attracted more than 1,600 funders and surpassed a $30,000 goal.
“It’s not a situation that we had to explain to people. They got it right away,” Hawker said of the growing number of enthusiastic funders. “This is our special skill. We spot things that are missing in the marketplace.”
Hawker is the founder of Trident Design in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to designing products, Trident helps inventors navigate crowd funding and bring their inventions to market.
His company has refined kitchen items like the vegetable peeler and pizza cutter and developed a set of goggles for cutting onions. The company also designed a 60-quart cooler, with a built-in rechargeable blender and Bluetooth speakers, that raised more than $13.2 million from crowd funding.
Trident found the most commercial success with the PowerSquid, a surge protector that looks like the sea creature, complete with six tentacle-like plug-ins for devices. It won a Best of Innovations Award at the Consumer Electronics Show.
The Couchlet has a 6-foot USB cord that will plug into any wall charger. The Couchlet is low voltage so it is as safe as the charging cord that comes with your phone or tablet, Hawker said.
For as long as there have been cellphones, you would think such a simple charging device would have come along sooner.
“Five years ago, this was not such an issue,” Hawker said. “It wasn’t until smartphones came along that getting to the end of a day with power became a huge issue.”
Right now, one Couchlet costs $16 on Indiegogo but there are funding options that allow buyers to purchase multiple chargers at a discount.
Hawker said he hopes Couchlets will begin shipping in December.
