A couple of years ago, Billy Brown's wife wanted to put a lamp on a table near a wall in their living room. The problem? There was no wall outlet.
There was, however, an outlet on the other side of that wall in the kitchen that wasn't being used. Brown looked on Amazon for a port to feed the lamp cord through the wall, but no such thing existed. He did what any good husband would do — he made it himself.
"Her need led to an idea, which led to a product that led to a business that led to a passion," Brown said. "Multiple passions, in fact, as we are manufacturing everything through additive manufacturing."
Brown, owner and operator of Wall Eye Solutions LLC, developed a patent-pending wall port solution that makes it easy to run cables, cords and wires through a wall. The Stanford, Kentucky-based company won $7,000 in the Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition held this week in conjunction with the 2021 SOAR Summit in Corbin, Kentucky.
Wall Eye Solutions, which operates debt-free, was started with a $1,500 investment from Brown and his wife and continues to be self-funded through e-commerce sales. To continue to grow, Brown said Wall Eye Solutions needs additional raw material, machine and electrical capacity, and it's looking to expand its team and marketing efforts.
"I believe we're just beginning to scrape the surface with the potential for this product," he said.
The pitch competition awarded funds to the second and third place winners too.
Ryan Montgomergy, a physical therapist and CEO of Spinning Wheel Innovations LLC, was awarded $4,000 with a second place win. Spinning Wheel Innovation's product Ridge Walk is a ridged shoe insert that aims to help alleviate plantar fasciitis, a painful condition that affects more than 2 million Americans.
Raenae Moore, founder of Community Treatment and Tracking Solutions LLC, won third place and a prize of $1,500. The Corbin-based company is providing solutions to rehabilitate substance abuse offenders through home incarceration using innovative treatment and tracking technology to ensure compliance.
Other competitors included Gitt Apparel, Kentucky Creative LLC, Rose Hollow Cabins and Lost Creek Co.
If you missed Shaping Our Appalachian Region's (SOAR) Summit, you can catch up on the action on the organization's Facebook page.
