The product: Bedfan
Headquarters: Snook, Texas
Eleven years ago, Kurt Tompkins, a cattle rancher, was having a hard time dealing with Texas' sweltering nights. At first, he tried air-conditioning, but the bills got too high. Then, he tried leaving his windows open, but found himself waking up in a pool of sweat. His next solution turned out to be a cool idea, literally.
In 2001, Tompkins, 46, designed a contraption that would evolve into the Bedfan, a tall, flat device that stands at the end of a bed and sends cool air under the sheets.The invention worked well. But it was only after Tompkins saw that it worked for his mother-in-law -- she suffered from night sweats due to menopause -- that he began to think there was a market for it.
The following year, he formed Tompkins Research, Inc., found capital and made a prototype. In 2003, he only sold a couple hundred, but word-of-mouth and some high profile publicity (the ladies on The View loved it), helped boost orders to its current 10,000 a year. Revenues have been growing 100 percent a year, he said.
Today, the cooling system has found fans beyond menopausal women and Texas cattle ranchers who hate high electric bills. Chemotherapy patients, sufferers of multiple sclerosis, or just anyone who gets hot at night will benefit, Tompkins said.
Bedfan customers wind up having "the best sleep of their lives," said Tompkins.
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