Walmart snaps up 11-year-old's invention
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:27 pm
By JEFF BRADY / WFAA ABC 8
At Prestonwood Christian Academy this year's invention convention offers a lot of potential products - such as the homework helmet, the toe tingler, and the car-go-nizer.
All it takes is a simple, useful idea.
Case in point - Hang-Ease - a plastic, collapsible hangar designed to make hanging shirts, sweaters and blouses easier.
"It has sort of a hinge in the middle and it just pulls open when you apply pressure to it," says Ryan Landis, 11, the inventor.
"My clothes rack is a few feet taller than I can reach to pull my clothes of, so I would just tug on my shirts, and the hangars would snap and break off."
Landis came up with the idea to fulfill a school assignment three years ago.
"And as we talked to people about it, we kept getting this consistent feedback, 'what a great idea,' 'I could use that,'" said his father.
With a little assistance, Ryan was invited to demonstrate his invention in Bentonville, Arkansas, for the buyers at Wal-Mart.
"He was a little nervous going into the Walmart meeting, but he did great," said Gary Landis.
Ryan made the pitch, and it worked.
Now he is a Wal-Mart supplier. Several hundred stores around the country are selling Hang Ease. Some of his sales have been close to home.
"My teachers have seen them, my friends have seen them, and they've bought them, yes," Ryan says.
"I like the idea that we encourage children to think about entrepreneurship, and those things that really make this country work," says his father.
Ryan's now in sixth grade.
But with one federal trademark already under his belt, this budding businessman has something to hang his hat on.
At Prestonwood Christian Academy this year's invention convention offers a lot of potential products - such as the homework helmet, the toe tingler, and the car-go-nizer.
All it takes is a simple, useful idea.
Case in point - Hang-Ease - a plastic, collapsible hangar designed to make hanging shirts, sweaters and blouses easier.
"It has sort of a hinge in the middle and it just pulls open when you apply pressure to it," says Ryan Landis, 11, the inventor.
"My clothes rack is a few feet taller than I can reach to pull my clothes of, so I would just tug on my shirts, and the hangars would snap and break off."
Landis came up with the idea to fulfill a school assignment three years ago.
"And as we talked to people about it, we kept getting this consistent feedback, 'what a great idea,' 'I could use that,'" said his father.
With a little assistance, Ryan was invited to demonstrate his invention in Bentonville, Arkansas, for the buyers at Wal-Mart.
"He was a little nervous going into the Walmart meeting, but he did great," said Gary Landis.
Ryan made the pitch, and it worked.
Now he is a Wal-Mart supplier. Several hundred stores around the country are selling Hang Ease. Some of his sales have been close to home.
"My teachers have seen them, my friends have seen them, and they've bought them, yes," Ryan says.
"I like the idea that we encourage children to think about entrepreneurship, and those things that really make this country work," says his father.
Ryan's now in sixth grade.
But with one federal trademark already under his belt, this budding businessman has something to hang his hat on.
