Article

Staples debuts entrepreneurial product portfolio

The seven winners of the Crowd2Shelf tech innovation contest are within consumers' reach at Staples.com.

The Jorno, Tri-Folding Bluetooth Keyboard, Black/Gunmetal

August 12, 2015

When it comes to retail electronics, having the latest and greatest technology is clearly a beneficial sales strategy and a win-win for the retailer, the consumer and the product maker. The ability to take that one step further can provide an even better experience and that’s the goal of Staples’ newly-launched entrepreneurial storefront.

What’s on the shelves at Crowd2Shelfare the winners of the office supplier’s first-ever crowdfunded product contest. It was created by Fundable and sponsored by Staples. Thousands of start-ups competed for a chance to get crowdsourced and onto Staple’s shelves. The third partner in the effort was business strategy firm Sprosty Network.

"We’re proud to showcase our Crowd2Shelf entrepreneurs through our new online store and help them launch their ideas," said Daniel Reilly, director of product design and innovation at Staples, in a press release. "We were incredibly impressed with the caliber of startup product companies that participated and are thrilled to offer our customers these innovative new products to help them make more happen."

The seven winning products, which can be viewed by clicking here, are housed on a special Staples page. They were chosen by a panel of innovation experts, including Fundable and Staples representatives, as well as public votes, crowdfunding campaign achievement and each judge's understanding of what it takes for a start-up to be successful.

The winning products and contestants include:

Folding Bluetooth keyboard
Jorno — Los Angeles, California (exclusive to Staples)

Remote-controlled recessed LED lighting
EVA — Wilmington, Delaware (exclusive to Staples)

Outlet-mounted Bluetooth music player
The Plug Radio — Hollywood, California (exclusive to Staples)

Smartphone-controlled lighting
Plum — Austin, Texas

Secure tablet holder
nHand — Tulsa, Oklahoma