Student invents small shelf, earns 2 million USD/year

Matt Williams

In 2008, while a student at Villanova,Pennsylvania (USA),Matt Williams stopped by a bar to hang out.When he went to the toilet, because he had brought a glass of beer with him, he had to place it on the urinal, and dirty water splashed onto the glass when he pressed the flush button.

He noticed other people in the restroom also trying to balance their beer glasses by either placing them on the sink, on the floor, in their pockets, or holding them between their teeth.

"I walked out and saw everyone carrying beer, women carrying their wallets when they went to the bathroom. I thoughtThis is crazy. Why isn't there a thing for this in the bathroom?", he recalled.

So he imagined a simple shelf placed next to the toilet or urinal, where he could safely place a beer glass, phone or book.

Then he had a second idea. While in the bathroom, he noticed a newspaper stuffed on the urinal, and he read it while in there, attentively.

He needed a shelf for his beer. He also needed something to look at while he was on the toilet. “How can we combine the two?” he wondered. What if he created a shelf that displayed advertising?

Williams returned to his seat outside the bar, wrote the idea down on a napkin, then left the bar immediately, afraid he would forget it if he got too drunk.

Over the next few months, the idea kept popping into his head. He had been entrepreneurial since he was a kid. At age 10, he was buying shoes at a local store and selling them on Ebay for a profit. At 16, he was working on patenting a scratch-resistant CD. He was the type of person who saw a problem that needed a solution.

So Williams took out a $65,000 line of credit and borrowed more from his father and two other investors. He used the money to hire an engineering firm to develop a prototype shelf, and called his product the LavCup.

Matt Williams' LavCup product.

The LavCup is a small shelf with a non-stick rubber mat, containing antibacterial silver ions. There is a slot to hold advertising, which is locked to prevent theft.

He started marketing his products in 2013 at sports-related conferences.

The first person he met was Peter McLoughIin, president of the Seattle Seahawks football team in the American Football League.But things did not start off smoothly.

"He was coming down the escalator, and I called out to him.Peter! Peter! I have to show you this. You'll like it.. He repliedI'm busy, I have to get on the plane now.", Williams recalled.

But Williams persisted in following "I need you for 30 seconds only., and I showed him the product on my iPad.This is something I just invented.He was no longer angry and saidGod, this is awesome!".

Within 10 weeks, LavCup received its first big order: 1,200 units for CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks play.

LavCup now has more than 21,000 installed in 26 venues across major sports federations. Another 35 venues are awaiting approval.

His business has raised $600,000 from 10 investors, and he said his 2017 revenue hit $2 million. He’s also looking to get into new places like movie theaters and cruise ships.

Reporter next to LavCup product.

And here's how his business works: LavCups aren't sold, they're given away to stadiums and venues for free, and his company creates and sells advertising on those shelves, splitting the revenue with the venue that agrees to install the shelves.

For example, LavCup was paid to promote a product related to a Katy Perry concert at a certain stadium.

Williams is a big believer in simple, low-tech products. He built a business distributing more than 100 million cookies a month to 10,000 Chinese restaurants, selling advertising space and coupons on the back of the boxes.

The success above is very meaningful to him because he was close to failure many times. Now, with 2 million USD in revenue, he has admirers.

"When they found out I was the inventor of LavCup, they saidWe have a compliment for youI just sayOh my god, it's no big deal. I'm not solving any big problems in the world.. However, people appreciate LavCup, and that's all I can say," he proudly shared.

Thanh Hai