Special to Henderson County Now
When Athens resident Matt Cleaver first saw his brother’s invention, he laughed out loud.
“When he showed it to me I instantly knew that he had a great idea on his hands,” said Cleaver.
His brother Drew came up with a new design for the traditional clothes hanger while trying to create more space in his college dorm room. By lowering the hook, the hangers raise up and create more space underneath the clothes. In an average master bedroom closet, this creates eleven cubic feet of new space, enough room to fit forty-eight shoeboxes.
After receiving a patent on his invention, dubbed Higher Hangers, Drew wanted to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the popular website Kickstarter, where customers can pre-order products that are still in development. Unfortunately, Drew didn’t have the technical expertise to get the project off the ground, so he asked his brother Matt for help.
“My brother has a background in sales, and I have a background in web development and online marketing, so he asked me for some help.” Matt built a website, created an email and social media marketing strategy, and analyzed the data while Drew secured a manufacturer and worked on sales material.
Technology has made the partnership possible. Matt explains, “My brother lives in Denver, Colorado, but I can do everything I need to remotely right here in Athens. It shows how you can use technology from anywhere to make a big impact.” After a few months of preparation, the duo unveiled Higher Hangers on Kickstarter and raised their goal of $40,000 in pre-orders in 72 hours. Higher Hangers are the most successful clothes hangers in Kickstarter history, having raised over $63,000 and counting.
“It’s really gratifying to see this become so successful. It’s a great product getting the recognition it deserves,” says Cleaver.
Higher Hangers are available for preorders on Kickstarter until March 31. You can get yours at http://kck.st/1SdfGfN or learn more at www.HigherHangers.com.