Kelley School of Business alumni bring innovation to laundry rooms

The aversion to the laundry room, along with the distractions of everyday life, compelled Kelley School of Business graduates Ric Payne and Will Howe to create the Mister Steamy Dryer Ball, making the process of getting clothes clean and wrinkle-free easier.

The dryer ball uses an internal sponge to hold water, releasing steam evenly as the dryer heats up and causing clothes to come out with fewer wrinkles. The ball is accompanied with a Febreze-like formula called Fresh Shot, and users can add the odor eliminator to the water to give clothing a cleaner scent and softer appearance after a cycle in the dryer.

Before creating Mister Steamy, the two serial entrepreneurs opened the Wild Beaver Saloon mini-chain and invented several of their own beauty products to combat under-eye bags after late nights working at the bar.

Payne said his experiences at IU helped him become an innovator.

“Bloomington is a great town to be a free-spirited thinker,” he said.

Mister Steamy was one of nine winners of the invention development television show “Everyday Edisons,” which helped the two alumni get their product in the store.

“It’s literally like hitting the lottery almost getting your products on the shelves,” he said.

With the mutual desire for success and determination, Payne and Howe discovered the path of “being your own boss” is more than having an idea.

When putting a unique product on the market or starting a new business, entrepreneurs must deal with more than coming up with a concept and finding the money to make it happen, said Donald Kuratko, IU professor of entrepreneurship and executive director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. The challenge is facing the criticism and skepticism of something new and making someone believe in the idea.

“Everything is always impossible before it works,” he said. “That’s what entrepreneurship is all about. It’s making the impossible possible.”

For Payne and Howe, this meant creating a sense of professionalism that many individuals lack when starting out on a new venture. With personalized stationary and prototypes packaged as if they were going on the shelves, Howe said the duo learned that playing the part of the traditional businessman got people to take them seriously.
“No matter how small you are, don’t let them see you sweat,” he said.

But while playing like members of corporate America, Payne and Howe said they consider themselves far from it. As innovators, they are constantly evolving and are forced to rely on their own creativity, something that people who get stuck in the trap of the everyday grind often forget, Howe said.

“Entrepreneurship is much greater than just starting a business,” Kuratko said. “It’s an innovative way of using your talents.”

Howe and Payne said they created Mister Steamy as a way for people to avoid washing clothes that are not exactly dirty but are in need of some “freshening up.”

They said the product saves water and reduces the wear and tear on garments, discouraging consumerism and taking a more environmentally conscious approach to the household chore.

Howe said they hope the product will revolutionize the way people do laundry by offering the option to get clothes clean and conserve water simultaneously. By creating Mister Steamy, Howe said he and Payne found success doing what they love to do.

“The American Dream really can be realized,” he said. “Ric and I are proof of that.”