Heroes in Business - Kimberly Schafer, Inventor of the Ring Thing ringthing.com

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

Join David Cogan on the Eliances Heroes Show as he talks with Kimberly Schafer, inventor of The Ring Thing. Discover how her innovative creation is making waves and transforming everyday convenience. Learn more at ringthing.com.

Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and find out more about Alliances, visit www.Alliances.com. That's right and we're back and thank you so much again. I really appreciate the feedback that we continue to have when I recently interviewed the CEO of Anheuser-Busch. So that's right. Make sure you check out the past interviews going to eliancer.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-R.com to check out past interviews. And again, remember that you can always listen to us live, also to IAM and FM and over 50 other outlets. So with that, are you ready for this? and over 50 other outlets. So with that, are you ready for this? I've got someone new to introduce you to. First of all, very excited.

And those of you that may never have created something from scratch, meaning actually had something go through the patent process, it is extremely difficult. Takes a tremendous amount of work. It doesn't matter what it is, having something patented is a big deal. And I'm excited to introduce you to Kimberly Schaefer. She is, are you ready for this?

The inventor of the Ring Thing. You can reach her at ringthing.com and we're going to be going into what it takes to invent something, how you go about doing it, what is the ring thing, and why you need to have one. So welcome to the show, Kimberly. Great.

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it, David. Absolutely. Okay. So the ring thing, let's first steal the thunder of that. What is the ring thing? Yeah.

So the ring thing is a personal ring holder that is a great way to keep your rings safe whenever you have to take them off. If you're at the gym or you're outside hiking, doing chores at home, we all have these situations where we need to take our rings off and instead of stuffing them into our pockets or our purses, which was my problem, that's why I invented the ring thing was to keep them safe. It's small and compact, it has a padded base and then there's divider gist,

you can stack multiple rings inside safely and they won't bang into each other. You close it and then you can clip it onto your water bottle, inside your bag, inside your purse. And the really neat thing also is that they're waterproof and float. So if you happen to be at the beach or on the lake or kayaking and it drops in the water,

it will pop right back up to the surface and you can save it. And I mean, talk to us about like, okay, so you came up with the idea and then like, what was the next thing? I mean, you know, you said this is something that's needed, see it, you know, definitely in the industry of, you know, that nobody else has it. What was the next step? Yeah, thank you. So that was a long process. I was working full time at University of California,

San Diego in an administrative role. I was the administrative director of the Center for AIDS Research. And it was a wonderful position and very science oriented. And so on the side, I was at the nail salon and taking my rings off and had nowhere to put them. And so that's what got me thinking about it. And I just thought, you know, there has to be a way. And I decided to just try, but it took some time. Like my first model was shaped out of a paper towel

like origami. I just kind of shaped what I had in mind for what I like. And then I hired an engineering student at the university to help me with the first designs. And then it was an eight year period. It was an eight year process for me to develop it, partly because I was working in a really high pressure job. And so I could just do it on evenings and weekends,

and I didn't know what I was doing. So I was learning along the way. And just to tell you how things have changed in 2014, when the engineering student helped us get the first 3D model, it was $100 for the first 3D model was 3D printing was so new that, you know, and now I think you can probably get a 3D model for a few dollars. You know, it just changed that much. But I think one thing about the long process is that it gave me time to learn. So along that way, I got three patents and a trademark and I set up the company. I didn't know anything about manufacturing or injection molding. What is that? Never heard of it. And so part of the long process

gave me time to learn about those things. Wow. All right. So once you had the prototype actually created, I kind of ask you like, what's the feeling of that? Because you know how much agony goes into it. Yes, it was just remarkable to actually hold it in my hand. right? It was a, I guess I would say a two part. First it was like, oh my gosh, it's gone from my head into my hand was incredible. And then the next thought was, okay, I think it's a little big, let's try to, you know, let's try to tweak it a little bit.

But basically that first prototype is what it is. We just changed the size a little bit. Wow. And what advice do you have, I mean, for others that have an idea, you know, they've seen something they're like, there's a need for this. I mean, where do you even like, where do you even get started? Yeah, it's a tough, I guess my first advice would be don't give up on it. Like if you can't see your way forward to figure out how to do it, that's okay, because I certainly had no clue about what I was doing or how to do it. And one thing I learned along the way

is I think my spirit animal is a woodpecker, which is why there's one behind me, because you just have to keep going at it, and don't give up. And part of it is be willing to ask questions and find the right people to ask the questions of and you have to be comfortable not knowing and taking input. So it's kind of like you have to be willing to just look like a big idiot about these things because you're asking basic

questions but people are remarkably helpful and they will help you. Excellent, excellent. And again you're listening and watching David Cobin, host of the E-Lionces Hero Show. Make sure that you go to elliances.com. You can also click on radio and hear different episodes too. In fact too, again, we've got with us Kimberly Schaeffer. She is the inventor of the Ring Thing. You can be reached at ringthing.com. In fact, Kimberly, you're part of the E-Lionces community. Why don't you share with our audience and stuff what it's been like for you to be part of the E-Lionces community? Yeah, it has been a wonderful experience. I'm a relatively new member and I have found

from the first time I attended as a guest that number one is a really impressive group of people. I mean, entrepreneurs from all walks of life and in every single area. And everyone is so interesting and motivated and has been really welcoming to me. And after every meeting, I make new connections on LinkedIn. People reach out to me. I reach out to other people. And it's really neat to hear people be introduced. And then I'll be like, oh my gosh, I've got to other people and it's really neat to like hear people be introduced and then

I'll be like, oh my gosh, I've got to talk to that person. They've got, that's an idea I want to hear more about or maybe they can help me in some way or I can help them. And so it's just been a really welcoming and energetic group. And you're also too host of TV show, and I love the name of it. In fact, I want you to steal the thunder. What is the name of your show? And it's on USA Global TV and radio and stuff. And then why did you decide to start that show? But tell us the name.

Okay, sure. Thank you. The name is The Persistence Payoff Show. And in line with my spirit animal, the woodpecker, I've just really learned so much about persistence. And I've seen that in other people. I can see that even in athletes, you hear stories about, you know, a very successful athlete might not be the most gifted physically, but they work at it and they don't leave the gym until they shoot the hundred free throws or Entrepreneurs who just keep going at it and don't give up and so that quality is something I'm so interested in

Excellent. Excellent. Well Definitely and Kimberly Schaefer again founder of the ring thing you can reach her at ring thing Com make sure you go to ring thing calm again This has been David Kogan with the alliances hero show continue to stay tuned for our next guest Thank you so much again Kimberly for being part of the show Thank you. Thank you so much. It's what an honor to be here. So thank you. You gotta dance with me too. Gotta dance with me a little bit. Yes.