I was home-schooled for most of my childhood. Any of you that know me are probably now saying, “That makes a lot of sense.” During the day when I was not working on my school assignments, I used to turn on the TV and watch infomercials. I would sit and watch demonstrations about these newly invented products for hours – products like the Miracle Blade, OxiClean, and the “Set It and Forget It” Rotisserie Oven. I wrote in my 2nd grade homework that I wanted to be an inventor when I grew up. At 11 years old, I drilled a hole through a baseball and bought a stiff spring from the hardware store so I could attach the ball to a base and use it for a more convenient batting practice. I was so excited about my creation and I asked my parents if I could patent it. We pursued a patent lawyer but unfortunately found that somebody already had claimed this concept. It was called the “Hit-A-Way Baseball”. That creation was the first of many I brought to life, but none of them were carried through to the stage of filing for a patent.
Many years later, I went to college to pursue my passion for engineering. I had always known that I wanted to create things. Before I took my first class, however, I changed my major because I was fearful that my collegiate sports would be too demanding and time consuming to continue down the path of engineering. I made a choice that day that changed my course in life. I chose to allow fear to dictate who I would be and what my future would look like.
I have been making decisions rooted in fear since that day. Some would call them “calculated risks”. With each calculated risk, I had slowly forgotten entirely who I was and what I was passionate about.
Fear is a powerful motivator. Fear of failure. Fear of judgement.
“What if I go for it and lose everything? What if the people in my life casting doubt on my abilities are right?” I allowed this fear to control my decisions for more than a decade…
About 3 weeks ago, I began to observe a need in my grocery store. My wife being 8 months pregnant during a global pandemic has resulted in me being the designated grocery shopper. I had not been in a grocery store in years… it takes me 10 minutes alone to find the parsley – but I digress…
I took into observation how all the customers (wearing masks and social distancing) were touching the same common surfaces when checking out – the self-checkout kiosk and payment reader. The reader was covered in cling wrap and the kiosk had no covering. How was cling wrap solving the sanitation issue? The staff was not wiping it down after every customer use, so I failed to see the issue that was being solved using cling wrap.
I noticed a similar experience in a big box retailer. The reader was covered in cling wrap – but this retailer was advertising an app that I could download to use for a touchless payment experience. To me, the puzzling thing about the app is that it could only be used for payment. I still had to touch the self-checkout touch screen on numerous occasions. Additionally, I began to wonder if they were really helping ALL customers with this touchless solution.
Would my grandparents know how to download this app and use it for payment? They are considered by the CDC as the most “at risk” after all…
A few days after this observation, operating under the core belief that “ALL customers should have the option of a touchless checkout experience,” I imagined a product that could solve for this need. Just 19 years removed from my first attempt as a child, I filed my first patent.
I found myself again. I am a creator. I was made to do this.
Mid-pandemic with a 2nd baby on the way, I made a decision rooted in faith rather than fear. I decided to pursue my dream of a start-up, head on.
I announced my product, FreeStylus™, on Wednesday of last week and the response has been overwhelming. FreeStylus is an eco-friendly, biodegradable stylus which is delivered to the public from a touchless dispenser and serves as substitute for your finger on any touch-interactive surface, including:
- Kiosks
- Payment Readers
- Vending Machines
- Voting Booths
- Elevators
- ATMs
- Tablets
The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of discussions with pharmacy chains, major airlines, theme parks, grocery chains, big box retailers, and kiosk providers who are all scrambling for a solution to win back consumer confidence with a hygienic solution. I cannot express enough my gratitude towards the positive response on FreeStylus so far. I am thrilled to be a part of a solution to help get people back to functioning like normal.
If any organization is interested in being a reseller of FreeStylus or helping place the product, please contact us by emailing info@thefreestylus.com for details. For anyone who has lost their job or income due to Covid-19 and would like to be part of the team by helping to place the product, you can contact me directly at scott@thefreestylus.com.
Lastly, be careful not to let fear drown out who you were meant to be. It will creep in and chip away at you one decision at a time. Even in a pandemic, make decisions based on faith instead of fear.