Throwback Thursday: Alberta Venture Shares the UTR Journey

It’s time for another Throwback Thursday, where we look back at some of the highlights from UTR’s past. If you are an inventor or a wannabe inventor you’ll want to read this story!

Bringing a product to market “is not a walk in the park” says Liette. “It is stressful. You have to be 150% committed to your invention and to your team.” A really important part of getting a product off the ground is getting support from the business community around you. One of the first pieces of publicity Under The Roof Decorating had was with Alberta Venture magazine when we appeared in their October 6, 2006 issue.

Here’s Liette posing inside of a picture frame on the magazine cover.

We were thrilled to be interviewed by such an iconic magazine — Alberta Venture is a cornerstone when it comes to the who’s who of the Alberta business community. We couldn’t believe it when we found out that not only were we going to be featured in this great publication, but that we would be on the cover of the issue!

The article is about Kelly and Liette, the owners of Under the Roof Decorating, and their journey to bring the Hang & Level to market. The article talks about where the idea for Hang & Level came from, how the company secured financial help, accomplished market research, figured out where to manufacture, made prototypes, dealt with store buyers, and made a TV commercial. It covers everything that a new entrepreneur has to do to take an idea and turn it into a real commercially available product. All of this didn’t happen overnight  — “it took us 10 years of work before getting our Hang & Level tools sold in the first national store chain in Canada” says Kelly.

The article gave the team at UTR a very much needed boost of energy and something to make family, friends, and investors proud as far as the recognition we were getting.

The road hasn’t been easy, with so many roadblocks to overcome. We tell other people with ideas that every day you will want to quit, so you need to believe in yourself and be passionate about your product no matter what happens.

You can read all about our story here.

At Under The Roof Decorating, we make picture hanging easy. Our innovative products and helpful tips make it simple to hang almost anything wherever you want – and get it right the first time!