Core77

New-England-based Big Idea Group, yet another organization that seeks to let the common man/woman come up with an idea for an innovative product and get it on the market, has their latest success story: Arra David, a New Hampshire resident who was having a problem with his driveway markers.

Winter after winter, passing snowplows would snap off the markers that outline Arra David's long driveway. Or he would scrape against them as he pulled in to park, scratching his car. And if he waited too long to install the markers, pounding them into the frozen turf without breaking them became a problem.

Eventually, his frustration inspired a solution: a stainless steel spring at the bottom of a 4-foot fiberglass reflective rod that was flexible enough to survive plow blades. To make it easier to secure them, David added an 8-inch steel spike to the bottom.

David turned to Big Idea Group, an "open source innovation company" that helps the average joe go from idea to assembly line.

As a city dweller, I didn't even know what "driveway markers" were, let alone that there was a problem with their design. And I can't see a product like this coming up on most of the brand name design firms' radar. But it was on David's radar, and now that his re-design has hit store shelves--a process that only took nine months--the forecasted sales for the first year are two million!

via boston dot com