After winning a highly publicized invention contest early this year, a Ball State University graduate is gearing up to take his idea from the assembly line to the public.
Matt Griffin is a 1998 Ball State architecture major who currently lives in Indianapolis and works as an urban planner for the city of Carmel. He received first place honors in the entrepreneur section of the Visa "Ideas Happen" contest on January 14 with his "Baker's Edge Baking Pan" -- a baking pan that is 9 inches by 13 inches and has raised inner walls to increase surface area and enable food to cook faster and more evenly than a regular baking pan does. Because he placed first, Griffin was awarded $25,000 to further develop the pan and begin manufacturing it.
After being awarded the prize money, Griffin began the long process of outsourcing the pan's manufacture. Much of the money went toward purchasing molds for the pan, while other funds went toward gaining patents for an updated design and funding research and development efforts, along with other expenses.
"The factory is all set up," Griffin said. "Now we're at the exciting part, which is testing it in the home. ... Right now, this is just an investment for me. Hopefully within a few weeks, we might see something."
It has been six months since Griffin was named as the winner of the contest, and in that time, he has further developed an invention that was already a certified winner. By lowering the inner walls of the pan by an eighth of an inch, Griffin has been able to keep drippings from running over the edge of the Baker's Edge during baking. Another innovation that Griffin is especially proud of is the pan's new handles, which have been lowered to the middle of the pan's outer edges, allowing users to flip food out of the pans with little trouble.
"The dimensions are a little bit different," Griffin said. "I had to apply for a new patent because we changed the handle on the pan, so it's pretty unique too."
Griffin said that he is currently preparing test kits for shipping and thinks that the pans could be ready for consumer purchase as soon as August. Today, Griffin will begin meeting with various retail outlets in the hopes of getting his product out to the public via stores that carry high-end baking equipment.
"We're concentrating a lot more on wholesaling," he said. " We want to get them into retail stores."
Griffin estimates the pan will cost around $30, and there will be other accessories available for use with the pan, such as a specially made spatula.
The "Ideas Happen" contest began in August of 2004, when Visa first began running commercials featuring various people pitching ideas that ranged from exposing the world to new music to the creation of a better toilet. The contest was open to all 18- to 29-year-olds from the United States who had an original idea to pitch. Entrants were limited to submitting one pitch that was only to be used in one category. Pitches were accepted on the "Ideas Happen" Web site between Aug. 16 and Oct. 20, and entries were separated into three categories -- entrepreneur, community and self-expression.
Voting for the competition began Nov. 11, with votes being accepted on the "Ideas Happen" Web site to determine four winners from the 10 finalists in each category. The last day for voting was Dec. 1, 2004, and the 12 winners, four in each category, were announced on Jan. 14.
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