Entrepreneur Proves Every Challenge is an Opportunity

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA13 years ago

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 CONTINENTAL DRY-WORKS

The owner of four Tim Horton’s franchises, including one in New Albany, entrepreneur Heather Wilcox probably could not have predicted her next innovative idea. But following complications from her husband’s treatment for prostate cancer, she realized there was a market for male urinary incontinence products. “I started to think about designing something that would be invisible to the public but effective to the user,” says Wilcox.

Returning to her roots as a designer, Wilcox created a prototype she calls The Pocket which resembles an athletic cup. The unique product also features a layer of swimsuit-type netting which sits on a semi-rigid outer shell, a solution that is less bulky than a diaper brief yet remains disposable.

Wilcox, who received $50,000 from TechColumbus to pursue her idea, is awaiting a patent for the product which could come within the next twelve to eighteen months. The next step is to conduct consumer testing to further streamline The Pocket. Wilcox hopes to sell her idea to a mass-market products company to compete in the $700 million per year industry. She adds, “With Baby Boomers retiring, the senior-care products market is getting ready to explode,” she said.

For more information on Continental Dry-Works, visit their website.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.