I patented a simple product for dog leashes. What would you do next to actually scale it?
I’d really appreciate some honest feedback from people who have gone through this process.
I developed a small product that slides over the clip on a dog leash to prevent accidental release. It came from a real problem I had—my dog’s leash unclipped during a walk, and it honestly scared me.
I did a lot of research and found this is a surprisingly common issue without a great solution There is a whole market of "heavy duty leashes" that cost $50-$100 each. There are additional safety clips that add a second strap that are cumbersome and there are different types of closures (frog clips and locking carabiners) that are heavy, bulky and sometimes stay in the locked position (which isn't good for emergencies). I attached a photo of those other solutions at the bottom.
I ended up developing a simple solution that can retrofit existing leashes. It’s simple and inexpensive to manufacture. It protects against accidental opening, but it doesn't fully lock the leash (so if you need to unlock it in an emergency you can), it protects the spring from dirt/debris and it can even help the leash you have last longer.
I ended up going through the full process: prototyping, patenting (utility patent issued in 2022), and small batch production. I’ve been selling it on Etsy, and I’ve had consistent 5-star reviews, but only modest sales so far.
Recently, I realized I had a major gap in my setup—I was getting interest from videos (a few with 5K–10K+ views), but I didn’t have a proper funnel connecting people to actually buy. I just fixed that, so now I’m trying to see if that changes anything.
I also have a manufacturer lined up overseas with a scalable version, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
At this point, I’m trying to figure out the smartest path forward:
- Should I focus on building direct-to-consumer demand first?
- Try to license it?
- Push harder on outreach to companies?
- Or invest in scaling production and branding?
I feel like I’ve done a lot of the “hard parts,” but I’m stuck at the stage of turning it into something that actually gains traction or gets picked up by a larger company.
If you were in my position, what would you focus on next?