Family believes its Gribbits earbud accessory sounds like a winner
A Batavia father of four young children is hoping a product he designed with his brother-in-law grabs on.
Dan Donohue and his family created gadgets designed to attach to the earbuds of iPods. The decorative accessories that come in the shape of soccer balls or flowers can also be attached to pencils or sunglasses.
The idea for the product, which the family started selling last week, developed when Donohue's family gave him an iPod for Father's Day. Donohue, a self-employed landscape architect, thought, "this is an expensive gift. How can we afford this?"
Donohue, a regular at the local library, is an avid reader of motivational books and stories of people who have developed successful ideas.
With the help of his wife and children, he came up with the idea of an earring or accessory to decorate his new iPod.
"I thought, 'There's got to be an opportunity here,' " he said.
For assistance, he turned to his brother-in-law, Gladden Griggs from South Bend, Ind., a mechanical engineer. The men developed the decorative pieces they call Gribbits. They are pre-fabricated decorations attached to a plastic, rubber-type tube that holds the ornament to the ear piece of the iPod.
They developed a logo of a frog and the tag line, "The Gribbits that grabs."
Donohue admits that it's not exactly coincidence that the name is so similar to Jibbitz, the little accessory that snaps into the holes of the trendy Crocs shoes. A housewife created that Jibbitz concept in the basement of her home and recently sold her company for $10 million.
"It sounds like Jibbitz. Sure, it may help with the name recognition," Donohue said. He added that he was inspired by the Oprah show that featured the woman who created the Crocs decorations.
Donohue, 45, and Griggs have about 20 designs of the Gribbits ready to go with another 40 or 50 soon to come. They sell for between $6.99 and $14.99 a pair. For now, the gadgets are selling on their Web site, www.gribbits.com.
The family has been testing the concept in the neighborhood with positive results. "The kids in the area love them. It's great on a grass roots level," Donohue said.
His children, Morgan, 9, Spencer, 6 have assisted in coming up with designs and testing the concept. Donohue's wife, Ann, assists in the operation as well. The couple has two other children, Makenna, 2, and Collin, 1.
"It has been a true family effort," Dan said. Brother-in-law Griggs, has done a great deal of the patent work while another brother-in-law, attorney Robert E. Haney, has been handling legal issues and working on licensing agreements with the NFL and other organizations.
They are starting to market to retailers as well. For more information, call (866) 683-6595.