Baby walker with Forest Whitaker tie takes off
Nash, 56, has a patent pending on the design to help protect his idea and bottom line from competitors.
The former men's retail salesman was out with his daughter and her family when he came up with the idea. Nash noticed a woman struggling to walk with her toddler. "When I saw the woman bent over, for some reason the whole design idea came right in my head like it was given to me," he explained.
Things moved pretty quickly after that. Nash sketched the idea by hand and, tapping his retail industry contacts, was able to have a prototype sewn. After a few misfires, he finally had the perfect sample, as well as a connection with a Chinese manufacturer. And with about $35,000 in startup capital, the Juppy Baby Walker was ready for retail in one frenzied month.
Nash secured about $10,000 in startup capital from his father and a friend and the rest came from his 401(k). Interestingly, he did not turn to his daughter and her uber-famous husband, Whitaker, for an investment -- or even an endorsement. The Juppy is strong enough to be marketed on its own merit, he said.