#Lockit socket full

Merrill put the items in just under 2,000 stores, and during the recent Open Call opening session, Merrill touted Socket Lock-it as one of his favorite items to get into stores from the previous year. It got into stores in April, and sales are going well.” We learned all about the importance of that.

#Lockit socket full

“Our first big shipment to Walmart that included the items in shelf-ready cases was sent and received in full and on time. “My manufacturer got me in touch with MSL,” she said. MSL does the packing and case counts and ships to Walmart on behalf of Socket Lock-it. So far, so good,” she said.īecause Gehlhausen needed to ship to multiple fulfillment and distribution centers in Walmart’s supply chain network, she also enlisted the help of third-party logistics provider and co-packer MSL COPACK + ECOMM in Indianapolis. “We took our purchase order to our local bank and got a small-business loan that helped us fund the manufacturing, packaging and shipping costs to service Walmart. Up to that point, Gehlhausen said she and her family had bootstrapped the business, but it was going to take substantially more capital to fulfill Walmart’s big order. “He loved the product and gave us an immediate ‘yes’ at Open Call, and he put us in nearly 2,000 stores. “I was blessed with pitching the Socket Lock-It to Johnny Merrill, a merchant director at Walmart,” she said. That was her first time to pitch into big retail, but Gehlhausen said she took a shot given she had nothing to lose. She also began selling the patented phone gadget on her website and outfitting her friends and their friends and family.Īfter graduating early from college, Gehlhausen returned to Indianapolis and decided to pitch to Walmart during the 2020 virtual Open Call held in October. In 2019, Gehlhausen launched Socket Lock-It and began making promotional sales with businesses looking to spend advertising budgets on phone gadgets for giveaways. “They provided great service and treated me with respect long before I had proof of market demand.” “We met with Progressive Plastics, and they were so nice to me, even though I just needed to start with a small run of 500 items,” Caitie Gehlhausen said. With the help of her mom and business partner, Carrie Gehlhausen, she found Progressive Plastics in Elwood, Ind., which is about 25 miles from her home. Because she planned to return to Indiana after graduation, Gehlhausen looked close to central Indiana. She came up with the design, applied for and received a utility patent, and began looking for a plastic manufacturer. That’s when it hit me to try and come up with a solution.” “I began looking on Google for one product that accomplished both goals: holding my cards and supporting a grip,” she recalled. Soon after, she began looking for a phone gadget to hold her student ID, credit cards and also support a phone grip.

During her second semester, she took an entrepreneur class and declared that her major.

In 2017, Gehlhausen left for High Point University in North Carolina on a golf scholarship.

She wasn’t sure what that would be or where the journey would take her. Bitten by the entrepreneur bug, Caitie Gehlhausen of Indianapolis always wanted to run her own company.