Breaking through the canopy…
When I introduced TREWGrip at the Finals of the Cincy Typing Challenge, I told the crowd, “We have overcome numerous challenges to get TREWGrip to this point, but our biggest challenges still lie ahead.” At the time I spoke about “getting people to think differently,” which has definitely been a challenge, but our biggest challenge has been something unexpected…
Several years ago, I began running the Loveland Bike Trail, and on one of my first runs, I noticed this particular tree that stood out from all the others. For the most part, it was like the other trees, except that it leaned way over to one side. In fact, it leaned so far over that I was convinced it would fall at any moment.
As time passed, and to my surprise, the tree never fell. Instead, it continued to grow, and at one point straightened up and began growing towards the open sky. I often find it difficult to explain inspiration, but this little tree seemed to inspire me.
One morning this summer, as I started up the trail, my heart sank when I saw a tree had fallen at about the same spot as my leaning tree. Although my first thought was that my tree had finally fallen, somehow I just knew it would still be there…
After a failed Kickstarter campaign in September of 2013, many people wrote off TREWGrip. In January 2014, after a successful showing at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), there were still those who said, “TREWGrip will never see the light of day.” And recently, a reviewer wrote, “TREWGrip is to be congratulated for developing something different, and for continuing to develop that product even after the bright lights of CES have faded away.”
For a little over a year now, the TREWGrip Team has worked tirelessly to pursue a path to the top of the canopy. Fortunately, TREWGrip has received enough spotlight along the way to grow, but it has meant taking an unconventional path. There are many who still see TREWGrip as an inevitable failure, but some see that we’re just beginning to find our path…
R&D Kits are now available at trewgrip.com. Each R&D Kit includes a Mobile Dock unit and the accessories needed to experiment with TREWGrip using existing technology platforms. For more information, call 1-800-984-9346 or send us a note using our Contact Us page.