By: Alexis Dishman—
Muncie, IN—In October of 2018, Lindsey and Andy Markelz pitched in front of a panel of judges in the BIG Idea Pitch Competition. Out of 40 participants, Lindsey and Andy Markelz were in the top five winners who moved on to the Excellence in Innovation Awards where they presented once more. But this time in front of over 350 people!
The Markelz pitched their invention; the Collar Keeper. The Collar Keeper (patent pending) is a pure invention – a hanger with an extension and two clips – designed to make it easy to hang collared shirts properly and keep your closet neat. Out of the top five, Collar Keeper won first place in the BIG Idea Pitch Competition. Lindsey and Andy have been working closely with the Innovation Connector team as well as the creative team from Whitinger Strategic Services in Muncie. These in-kind services are part of their winning package for winning the 2018 BIG Idea Pitch Competition.
The Collar Keeper recently started a Kickstarter campaign to assist in raising the needed funds to procure the needed production molds and the cost to manufacture their first run of products. Their goal to raise $45,000. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site that allows people who are interested in this idea/product to “pre-order” their Collar Keeper.
You can help Collar Keeper reach their goal by visiting the Kickstarter campaign and make a pledge. Every pledge over $22.00 guarantees the purchase of Collar Keepers. If the overall goal isn’t met, all pledges will be discarded, and Collar Keepers will not be sent out. Let’s make a pledge and order Collar Keepers to de-clutter our closets!
