http://blog.thisisthelaststraw.com/" title="This is the Last Straw">This is the Last Straw

I have been exploring the concept of a no-spill straw since the summer of 2003. The idea came to me at home one day. It all started with just an accidental spill from my then two-year-old daughter, Em, right after I handed her a full juice box. Frustrated, I studied the box to find the name of the supplier and it occurred to me, “How can a company sooo big in the beverage world put out a product so messy for moms and dads.” If you’ve got kids, I know you’ve experienced juice box spills from the moment the straw hits the juice box. There has to be a better solution.

I knew that many critical factors would impact the design of a better straw such as safety, price, performance, volume, simplicity, etc., and so I began to sketch. This went on for months. (Yes, I’m type A to the max. Just ask Heather.) It hasn’t been easy to create a no-spill straw and meet the multitude of requirements that would influence a company’s decision to adopt such a product. After the sketching process, I moved to the creation of very rough prototypes with found materials around the house and sure enough, some of those prototypes worked reasonably well.

And that’s how this idea first started to take shape. In this space, I’ll take you through all of the interesting twists and turns we’ve experience since the inception of the idea back in 2003…the patents, the people, the tests, the partners, the decisions that have lead us to this point in the evolution of the Last Straw. By documenting and sharing this process with you, I hope we can learn from each other and I hope my story inspires you to turn your spark of an idea into a real solution.

Who knows, Heather and I might make it to the finish line with this one. Does anyone know where that is? We do believe that we will need support from people like you.

My opinion on great ideas and inventions next…not exactly what people may expect….

Thanks.