In the summer of 1996, 20-year-old college student Thomas E. Dent III came home from college and began working various temporary jobs to save money for the following years’ tuition. By the end of that summer an appliance delivery company hired Thomas on and he returned each summer and winter after that to save more money for college. Years Passed . . . . . One hot summer day Thomas was struggling to wrench a massive 400 lb. stainless steel refrigerator up a winding set of stairs. Those who have been in that nightmarish position understand the pain. It can be excruciating.

That’s the exact point when Thomas remembers telling himself the old saying that we are all so familiar with, “there just has to be an easier way”.

With a bachelor degree in economics and a thorough understanding of how to research new topics, Thomas devoted many of his nights and weekends to developing an easier way of lifting and moving heavy or bulky objects. He spoke with metal fabricators and spent hours researching the US Patent and Trademark website (www.uspto.gov) learning about how patents are created and studying the formula for writing a strong patent with good market breadth. Other evenings were spent making sketches and sewing together spare pieces of webbing with fishing line in a small, rented garage.

As the months passed Thomas realized that he had developed a truly revolutionary product that worked extremely well. Thomas called the new gadget the Shoulder Dolly and set out on his way to a look for a very important factor in any new invention – MONEY. To make a long story short, Thomas filed his first patent in early 2001, found investors in Colorado and they began formulating a business plan and agreement later that year.

The Shoulder Dolly began selling publicly in January, 2002. Over the first couple of years the company focused on attending trade shows and selling to large buying groups. In addition to buying groups, the Shoulder Dolly sold well to some of the largest appliance, furniture and electronics chains in the United States. While the Shoulder Dolly became well known by professionals and was already becoming a huge success, Thomas desired a larger customer base so he began developing a less expensive and more user friendly version of the Shoulder Dolly named the Light Duty. The Light Duty was introduced in January 2004 and has catapulted sales to an entirely new level. The first Shoulder Dolly patent issued in 2004. There are other applications pending.

The Shoulder Dolly brand is growing at a rapid pace, being sold by some of the largest catalog and retail companies throughout the world. The Shoulder Dolly has been featured on several nationally televised programs and will be appearing on many more in the months and years ahead. In early 2006, The Shoulder Dolly was given the honor of being inducted into the DIY Hall of Fame – an award presented by samplerewards.com