Snow Business
These entrepreneurs said to heck with scraping ice from their windshields in winter, and came up with a solution to the chore.
What: No2Snow Eliminator, a neoprene cover that
eliminates ice and snow buildup on car windshields
Who: Dave and Melissa Brown, co-founders of Sno-Way
Technologies LLC
Where: Indianapolis
When: Started in November 2004
Like many Americans, Dave and Melissa Brown have a two-car
garage that houses everything but their two cars. Because they park
outside during the winter, scraping ice and snow off their
windshields every morning became a burdensome chore. After fielding
numerous complaints from his wife and empathizing with her, Dave,
37, set out to find a product to eliminate the task altogether.
The selection was slim, and the few products out there were
cumbersome and ineffective, so he began experimenting with
different materials to design a solution. "I was motivated to
make my mornings easier," says Dave.
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He spent the winter of 2003 developing a windshield cover that
eventually became the No2Snow Eliminator. At three-sixteenths of an
inch thick and made from lightweight neoprene, it is impervious to
all water elements and seals itself to the windshield with one
strap to keep it in place. The cover rolls up for easy storage.
The Browns took out a business loan for over $25,000, purchased
neoprene in bulk and began manufacturing out of their garage. They
established Sno-Way Technologies LLC and their website in November
2004.
Melissa, 37, instantly sparked sales after calling in to market
the product on Tom Martino's radio show, a nationally
syndicated consumer-advocacy broadcast. Within two months, Sno-Way
Technologies brought in over $25,000.
The Browns have since partnered with a manufacturer that also
handles the marketing and distribution of the product. With the
No2Snow Eliminator available at local markets and through Amazon.com, 2006 sales
of the $24.95 product are projected at $120,000 to $150,000.