An episode of Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act,” which
originally aired the day after last Thanksgiving, featured an appearance by
George Davison in the segment, “Dare to Invent.” The founder of Davison told
the story of the development of the BikeBoard, an idea created by Davison
client John Iavarone, and explained the Davison “Better Way to Invent” process.
He also provided the opportunity for the company’s followers to win a $100 Toys
R Us gift card through Davison’s Facebook page.
John Iavarone was inspired by his children when he came up
with the idea of marrying a bike, a skateboard, and a surfboard into one
product. His children loved the Razor scooter, and while John was happy to
encourage their activities, he was concerned that the scooter itself wasn’t
safe. He wanted to create a scooter that was more stable, and had the
maneuverability of surfing. After watching his kids fall and hurt themselves,
he gave the idea more thought until he was ready to bring it to Davison.
Davison’s team took the idea and developed it further,
thinking to join the front end of a bike with the back end of a skateboard to
enhance maneuverability and stability. They attempted to create a scooter
product that would be appealing to kids and teens while still being affordable
to build and easy for companies to add to their product lines.
The team at Davison worked on the prototype, perfecting a
model that worked beautifully—except for the fact that it was impossible to
ship. A separate issue with the handle bars in the prototype drove the team to
go back to the drawing board and re-work the idea. They worked out a new model
that included a change to the handlebars for greater safety, an alteration of
the size of the board, and a sleeker frame, to make the product easier to ship.
Inspired by another project they were working on, the team created a range of
the BikeBoards, making them accessible to everyone from young children to
adults.
The product came into an incredible surge of luck when Kraft
foods wanted to feature its design on their Macaroni & Cheese boxes and
Capri Sun pouches, including the image of the product in a national ad. Then
the BikeBoard went on to receive an Industrial Design Society of America award,
firmly cementing it in American design history. The BikeBoard has sold through
Dunham’s Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and F.A.O. Schwarz, among other
retailers, and was featured on the CBS Early Show and even appeared on ABC’s
“Extreme Makeover—Home Edition.”
The episode of “The Balancing Act” featuring George Davison
in the segment, “Dare to Invent,” can be found at http://www.thebalancingact.com/story/?id=4023
. The original Dare to Invent webisode can be found at http://www.davison.com/webisodes/bikeboard.html
A
typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a
profit.
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