As published in Toledo Business Journal - February 1, 2017
An example of Grypshon Industries’ Grypmat at work
Tom Burden was studying mechanical engineering at the University of Toledo (UT) when he encountered a simple problem: he was tired of his tools slipping off the aircraft he was working on.
Burden, now an F-16 mechanic at the 180th Fighter Wing, has crafted a prototype of a non-slip Grypmat in his basement for securing tools and parts, and with help from his professors in UT’s College of Engineering, launched Grypshon Industries on Kickstarter.
“I wanted to solve the problem, and I started prototyping in my basement,” said Burden. “With the help of the Engineering College, doing a little bit of working with professors about chemistry and how to prototype, I was able to make some prototypes and test out different styles that we liked.
“It finally came to life when I found a mentor that was really experienced in manufacturing,” he continued. “He lives in Michigan, and I got an introduction to him from my college roommate. His dad knew him for years, and I went on vacation with them and they actually didn’t really know what he did, and then we just got to talking, and it turned out it was a fit, and we’ve been working together for a while. His name is Tom – we call him ‘Manufacturing’ Tom – so ‘Manufacturing’ Tom helped me get the first product through and test the response of the market. Now we’re launching three more products, and the idea from the knowledge we’ve gained is to test different styles in the market. That’s the whole goal of Kickstarter. And within the first ten hours of the Kickstarter, we were fully funded.”
Burden, with help from “Manufacturing” Tom Mansfield, asked for $10,000 and received it all within 10 hours of launching the Kickstarter – a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity.
“The original idea was that I would sell to military, which is very tough,” said Burden. “And then I was like, ‘I’ll sell to aviation’, and that was the original product. Then everyone kept telling me ‘you can sell this in the auto industry,’ or ‘when I’m fixing my drone’… all these different ideas, and I was like ‘okay.’ So we made three new styles, and I wanted to put this on Kickstarter, because there’s a lot of Do-It-Yourselfers (DIY) on Kickstarter. We would actually send them out with a survey asking how they’re going to use it, and we’ve been getting a lot of different kinds of ways to use it, like electronics, working on their computer, jewelry, working on their guitar, mold-makers, and lots of stuff like that.”
Tom Burden exhibits the Grypmat
Grypmats are made of a special silicon-polymer blend that is anti-static, to avoid damaging aircraft radar systems or electronic parts. According to Burden, the material is very durable and resistant to many harsh chemicals including gasoline, oils, aircraft fuel, Skydrol (aircraft de-icer), paint strippers, and others.
“We have small, medium, and large versions,” said Burden. “We started with the large; it was for bigger, more involved jobs, and sat perfectly on the edge of an aircraft wing. You could use it in some other places, like underneath the hood of a car. But we have a medium that, now, has been our best seller on Kickstarter. You could use that underneath a hood, on a ladder, or anything like that.
“You can have whatever color you want, as long as it’s orange,” he added.
Grypmats are manufactured in China, but for the time being Burden is allowing Mansfield to handle sourcing and foreign affairs.
“He’s manufactured globally for about 30 years now, so he’s just showing me the ropes, making sure I label things properly and stuff like that,” said Burden. “At one point the paperwork was taking a long time, and he said we’re trying to get around a 17.5% tariff, so I just leave that to him in making sure of the quality, the safety, and stuff like that.”
The company name is a combination of the words “grip” and “friction”, which Burden came up with while participating in UT’s LaunchPad Incubator. According to Burden, the college’s business start-up and entrepreneurial assistance program guided him to some early stage funding without which he would not have a company today.
“What people really like about our product is we have what some people call the ‘Insane Grip’,” he said. “If you go to the Kickstarter page, there’s a GIF of me sticking the grip mat to the wall, and then putting my cell phone on top of that, so you can see it will grip vertically. Some people really like the grip so they can sit their tools on its surface, and in the survey that we’re doing, everyone really likes the grip. The thing is it also keeps your tools accountable, so when you’re working underneath the hood of a car, you’re setting your tools everywhere, everything kind of blends in together and it’s easy to leave a wrench or a screwdriver underneath the hood. Now, if you keep everything in the bright orange tool tray and you keep that habit, you can sit it on top of your battery, underneath the car, or anywhere that you can.”
“I’ve designed about a dozen follow-up products, so I’m right now just trying to focus on the three that we feel are going to be the most valuable to the most markets,” he added. “So in the future, we’re definitely adding more products and growing.”