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Interview with David Rucker, Creator and CO -Inventor of KongTime
1. How did you come up with the idea?
My business partner, Sandi Thompson, & I (David Rucker) came up with the idea for KongTime a few years ago in, of all places, a pub. We were out for the evening and each of our dogs were home alone. We got to thinking after the first pint about how much time dogs must spend alone with nothing to do, especially during the week when owners are at work or school. By the third pint we had it solved.
2. How long did it take to bring your idea to market?
It took almost three years to bring KongTime to market. For the first two years we worked to prove that the concept worked, primarily by making prototypes and testing them. As soon as we started having a hard time getting our testers to return the units, we knew we had it! The last year was spent with final design, tooling, etc.
3. What makes your product unique?
While services like dog walking and day care are booming, you will find that KongTime is actually the only product that exists to feed and entertain a dog all day. That is why we call it Doggie Day Care in a Box!
4. Are you planning any enhancements/improvements to the product?
KongTime has only been out for a few months. Right now, we are listening to customer feedback to determine which direction to go with new features or enhancements. For example, there have been some requests for an outdoor version, a refrigerated version, even a crate version.
5. What is your professional background? Did that line of work or education help you in developing this product?
Absolutely. Sandi has been a professional dog trainer for nearly 20 years, and I have been a design engineer for 10 years. It ended up being the perfect combined skill set for developing KongTime, which needed an eye toward good design and how dogs (and owners) interacted with the product.
6. Throughout the entire inventive/manufacturing process what was the hardest obstacle you faced?
I think the hardest obstacle was a fundamental design challenge. Kong toys are irregularly shaped, like a rubber snowman, and we were trying to design a mechanical system that could hold and dispense three different sizes of Kong toys efficiently and reliably. It took a lot of thought and experimentation to land on the elegant solution we now use.
7. What type of pets do you own?
Sandi has a Chihuahua/Poodle cross named Tater-tot. Tater looks a little like Phylis Diller and is famous in her own right, having been on Animal Planet's Pet Stars and Ripley's Believe It or Not. My dog is a chocolate lab named Teva. She has a great attitude and not a care in the world. I refer to her as my labradork.
8. Is there anything else you'd like readers to know about you or your product?
If you have to leave your dog home alone for extended periods, give KongTime a try. It's cheaper than that new pair of shoes your bored dog may have her eye on, and it will definitely make your dog's day, every day.
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