Big Boost Even though you've got a great idea, hurdles along the way can stop you dead. Find out how this entrepreneur bashed through the barriers to create a successful product.</P>
By Don Debelak •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One hot summer day in 1998, Stephanie Heroff of Minneapolisdecided she just had to wear a top with spaghetti straps. Soundssimple enough-but, of course, there was that little problemthat women everywhere can relate to: those pesky bra straps peekingout, and no decent alternative but the one-size-fits-allcontraptions that come in cardboard boxes.
Determined to wear those spaghetti straps, Heroff decided to puther ingenuity to work and create a better solution. Her idea? Sewbra straps to the spaghetti straps so they couldn't separate,and then have small hooks in the top to hold a removable bra.Heroff was on to something: She had a tailor make about 30prototypes for her friends to try, and they all raved, commentingon how someone at last understood the problems of summerclothes. "I started taking little surveys wherever I went,asking women if they ever wore tops with spaghetti straps,"recalls Heroff, 30. "When the answer was no, the reason wasalways the same: Women didn't like their bra straps showing,and the shelf bra wasn't supportive enough."
Sound like the perfect product for a success story? Not quite.Heroff had some pretty significant problems from the get-go:
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