Have you ever stressed over keeping your family’s heirloom ornaments safe? Last year, Ayaan Naqvi, 12, noticed that ornaments kept falling off the Christmas tree and thought there had to be a better way to keep them safe. When a school project called for an invention the Ornament Anchor was born.
When parents and teachers swarmed his booth asking if they could buy some, Ayaan knew he was on to something. With his brother, Mika’il, 13, as his business partner, the two worked together to design the product, patent it, create an awesome website, calculate profit margins and do their own market analysis all on their own. They tested the market last December through a grassroots strategy and sold 6,500 ornament anchors at local craft and Christmas Fairs.
Ornament Anchor launched in Nov. 2019, only three months before the pandemic began. For Ayaan, it was difficult to suddenly quarantine and homeschool while launching a product. He had to completely pivot his strategy of introducing the product to major retailers this year at various trade shows and expos which all got cancelled.
The brothers didn’t let those cancellations slow them down. Ornament Anchor has sold out on QVC twice and the boys have been featured on Good Morning America. Their business has earned a net profit of over $250,000 this year. Ayaan has had a passion for animals so he donates a portion of the proceeds to local animal shelters.
Ornament Anchors come in packs of 24, 48 and 96. Each anchor can hold up to 48 ounces (3 pounds), so you can display all your favorite ornaments without worrying about them sliding off and breaking. Ayaan and Mika’il are saving Christmas, one ornament at a time.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
All photos courtesy of Ornament Anchor
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