Collar Perfect

Our Approach

After meeting with Dierker, the Enventys Partners product development team quickly got to work. The industrial design team focused on how to use the technology found in hair straighteners and flat irons to create an effective, efficient travel iron, assessing factors such as weight and ergonomics. Meanwhile, the engineers began looking at heating technologies by dissecting hair straighteners, irons and mini irons.

After establishing a baseline of existing products, the team began to design the new product. Using foam form models, the product development team tested out different shapes and sizes to determine the optimal version for ironing different pieces of clothing. It quickly became apparent that it was easy to iron collars and in between buttons, but flat ironing was much more difficult. This was until one of the designers was inspired to create a model with hinged tips that could be used like a hair straighter but also fold out to flat iron larger surfaces.

At this point, the team was ready to create a concept model of the device to ensure that it was possible to incorporate the electronics, buttons, heaters and hinges in the form they wanted the product to take. Using machinable foam hollowed out to allow room for the electrical components, along with a faux heat plate and some hinges, the team created a non-working prototype that they could use to further develop the tool, and that Dierker could use to gather feedback and approach investors to fund additional development.

At this point, the product development team was ready to build a true alpha prototype they could use to continue to improve upon a design. Once the prototype was complete, Dierker and the Enventys Partners team noted some improvements that needed to be made, but the product was far enough along in the development process that Dierker was able to launch a Kickstarter project to raise funds and continue the development process.

After a successful Kickstarter project raising over $40,000, the team was able to continue refining the prototypes. Improvements to the product included better insulation to make the heat plate heat up faster and make it more comfortable to use, upgrades to the heating element, and improvements to the coating material on the heating plate.

Once the product was finalized and ready to go into mass production, Enventys Partners worked with Dierker to find manufacturers, source the components and handle overall logistics.