Mike is a do-it-yourself kind of guy and enjoys doing his own maintenance and repair work around the house.  He owns the usual portable power tools, but the quest with StayConnect™ specifically started with an electric leaf blower and hedge trimmer that he used throughout his yard. 

When Mike needed to use these yard tools, it typically required the use of a 50 or 100 ft extension cord.  The problems started as he stretched the distance of the cord and the cord almost always got hung-up on a corner, root or rock.  Mike would have to "whip" the cord in order for the cord to release from the hang up.  Unfortunately this whipping motion transcended down the line and resulted in the plug being pulled from the electrical outlet.  You can imagine the frustration that he went through as he had to trudge all the way back to the outlet to re-plug the cord.  And over time, as this process was repeated, the ground wire prong eventually broke from its mounting position and the two remaining prongs would bend and twist.  This was definitely not safe.

Then in 2006 Mike decided to make a trip to his local hardware store to see what they had to offer for a solution to the problem.  To his amazement, all of the local hardware stores in Cornelius, North Carolina (Ace, Lowes  Home Improvement and Home Depot) did not have a solution.  The electrical associate told him to essentially do what he was already doing – “…place a potted plant on the cord or wrap the cord around the railing”.  Not satisfied with what he had found, and being a Purdue graduate in Aeronautical Engineering Technology, Mike decided to put more effort into a solution that would not only help him, but potentially help millions of other electrical users. 

One night while traveling and lying awake in the middle of the night, the idea came to him.  Mike got up and wrote the solution on paper, so not to forget it.  After returning home the following day, he started to forge his prototype.  It took about an hour to build and when the prototype was complete, he took it into his living room, pulled out a vacuum cleaner, plugged it in and tugged on the cord firmly.  Mike concluded that the test and the product was a success!  Mike showed the prototype to a few close friends and one of his closest friends, Chris Moses from Cincinnati, OH, encouraged him to patent the idea.   After seeing the reactions of friends and family, Mike thought that this concept/idea needed to be protected, so he telephoned a prominent patent attorney in Charlotte, NC and patented the idea. 

Next, the name.  What do you call this new product?  It all started with plugging related names into search engines and pulling out the thesaurus.  One name stood out and was a definite match, and it just so happened that the domain name was available for purchase too.  Mike and wife – Tracey discussed the name and purchase of the domain, and decided to go for it.  It was the beginning of StayConnect™ , LLC and the StayConnect™ Outlet Cover.  Shortly after, Mike was introduced to Richard Turner, owner of AxiomID in Mooresville, NC.  Richard was intrigued by the idea and agreed to help Mike get the product off the ground.   Richard Turner is now the Vice President of Design and Manufacturing for StayConnect™.