“I’m going all the time and carrying so much stuff, and my husband was as well,” said Crawford, whose husband, Jack, is the founder of Velocity Venture Capital, which mentors local startups from its Entrepreneurs Campus in Folsom, Calif. “That crazy juggle to get my purse just to get a gallon of milk and also grab my phone — but no matter what, I always have my phone in my hand. So I started looking on the market to see how to combine those things.”
Along with co-founder Duane Wilson, Crawford came up with a design for the “New Wallet,” which organizes credit cards, identification cards and cash inside a custom-made phone case.
The product also contains tracking technology. An app uses a low-power Bluetooth signal to connect to the user’s keys. The customers can find their phone via a button on their keys, or conversely, the keys via their phone.
“For me it’s worked because if I’m going to the gym, I just have to carry one thing, and it’s good to know that all my things are in one place that I can rely on, and I don’t have to reorganize or pull it out of my backpack,” Crawford said.
Crawford is hoping to get the initial $25,000 investment she needs from Kickstarter. As of Tuesday, backers have put in more than $13,000, with 22 days to go in the campaign. Crawford said that besides raising the seed money, she’s using Kickstarter to gauge interest in the market: The New Wallet is geared toward the busy working woman, but the product would be useful for anyone.
Ultimately Crawford hopes that more entrepreneurs, particularly women, take initiative to get the training they need to start their own business. Crawford used Velocity Venture Capital’s Accelerator Program for startups in order to get professional feedback and engage in networking. She encourages other local entrepreneurs to find programs that could help get them started.
“I’m a big advocate for startups because I think they give you freedom,” Crawford said. “It does have its risks, but as far as scheduling and being your own boss, for me personally that value outweighs the risks that are involved.”
Crawford’s introduction to New Wallet, as well as videos chronicling the Kickstarter process, are available at https://vimeo.com/roadtokickstarter/videos.
This story was originally published by TechWire.
