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Patemm Pad

Breakthrough:
A simple solution to a messy problem. Grace Welch invented the revolutionary round diaper changing pad that allows children to be placed in any direction while having their diapers changed, making parents’ lives much easier. Within five months of having the idea her product was on sale and bringing in the big bucks.

Inventor:
Grace Welch, United States

Financial reward:
$2 million+

The Story:
Patemm Pad

Whilst struggling to change her daughter’s diaper one morning in 2004 Grace Welch was discussing with her sister, a researcher from Harvard Business School how she would love to start a home-based business. Her sister told her that if she could find a solution to a problem then she would be in an ideal position to start her own company.

During this conversation she looked down at her baby squirming all over the diaper pad, and as she struggled to keep her in position she was struck by inspiration. She recalled how her first child had also rolled off diaper pads, their rectangular shape making it difficult to align a wriggling infant. And the job of changing baby is always made more difficult by diapers and wet wipes never being within easy reach during an emergency situation.

Simple Solution and a Multimillion Dollar Idea

Her solution was simplicity in itself, make the diaper pad round so the baby can be laid anyway, and include pockets for diapers and wipes. So simple and elegant an idea in fact that you would have thought someone might have already come up with it. Not so as Welch discovered during a flurry of research activity in the days following her ‘eureka’ moment.

So she sketched some ideas and made her first prototype out of construction paper. She was gifted a sewing machine by her mum on Mother’s Day, and spent many hours, often late into the night sewing scraps of fabric together. Her sewing efforts would not have won any prizes, let alone hold something together, and so she reached for the Yellow Pages and found a pattern maker to complete her prototype.

The next step was filing a patent: “When my husband saw my prototype he immediately said, "find the best patent attorney in San Francisco!" We hired one and they filed the patent application. We now have the utility and design patents and we have patents pending worldwide.” Her invention is called Patemm (named after her first two children who inspired the product, Patrick and Emma) and each pad is 30 inches, folds easily even with one hand, and unlike other pads is not cumbersome to carry.

Challenging Times

Now that she had her solution, the next phase was to build a business around it. Welch had no prior experience of commerce, and she founded her own company Patemm Inc. and embarked on an intensive period of business study. The most challenging part during this time was finding the right balance between being a mom and raising her children and trying to launch the business.

Welch conducted her own research to determine the marketability of the product; she took her kids and some sample Patemm pads down to the park and handed out the circular pads to other moms. Their responses were extremely favorable and the comments invaluable. She was ready to launch, and had reached this stage at breathtaking speed: “I came up with my idea back in April 2004 and launched my product and website in July 2004! Anything is possible!!!”

Welch believes that one of the most important lessons for inventors is to have a clear idea of what to do with their innovations, whether that’s to start a business, license, sell to retailers or sell online. And her intention had always been to sell directly to the customer. The pads are not mass produced; they are handmade in San Francisco and when the business started the production base was her living room as this was only going to be a small home-based business. However, with the media attention and subsequent sales, the operation moved to separate premises a few blocks away.

Word of Mouth

Previously, Welch had worked in PR and branding she tapped into her experience to spread the word about the Patemm pads. Press releases and product samples were sent out to baby and parenting magazines and she emailed everyone she knew.

The curvaceous contraption caught on immediately with calls and orders coming in from all over the world. Welch has succeeded because she had shrewdly identified a need and filled it – a round pad instead of a rectangular one, and because she has a deep passion for, and belief in her product.

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