James Smith’s entrepreneurship journey began eight years ago, when Jeff approached him with an idea for a back shaver for men. After researching the current shaving market, they discovered an unmet demand for a product like theirs. The Giraffe adds 15 to 20 inches to a razor handle, has a no slip grip with a rubberized finish, easy to use quick connect and release buttons, a pivoting head that rotates to a 30, 45, or 90-degree angle, and a wrist lanyard for convenience. The shaving accessory customizes the length and angle of premium disposable or reusable razors.
The inspiration behind the Giraffe’s unique design was to develop a shaving accessory that would assist millions of women with varying physical abilities to shave their legs safely and comfortably. James Smith, his wife Kathryn, and close friend Jeff Sacks invented the product. They were motivated to bridge the gap between dependency and self-sufficiency and improve the quality of life of those with limited flexibility and mobility. They created the product for women unable to shave their legs due to the discomfort of symptoms associated with chronic medical conditions, the postoperative phase of hip and knee replacement surgery, or the third-trimester of pregnancy.
What we have learned from this experience is quite simply something that we learned as children: How important family is! What I mean by that is, when we arrived at the HSN studio in St. Petersburg, Florida we were greeted with such a genuine feeling of being accepted into their family. All 18 semi-finalist were brothers and sisters, and we were there to celebrate our accomplishments and to support one another on our entrepreneurial journey. We are blessed and honored to be finalists of “Season One” of HSN Project American Dreams, and with our mentors, Lili Gil Valletta and Bob Circosta’s guidance we will be able to flourish and achieve our American Dream. Thank you so much for adopting us into the HSN family. It’s fun here, and we are forever grateful. What inspires us the most about Project American Dreams is the vision on which its platform was founded, an initiative to cultivate entrepreneurs and to introduce innovative new products like ours, the Giraffe Razor Extension Handle, into the marketplace. Thus, giving us the opportunity to have access to resources needed to overcome the insurmountable odds for our small business, Giraffe Bath & Body, to become successful.
James is the President and Managing Member of Giraffe Bath & Body, LLC. He was recently awarded the design patent for the Giraffe and has a utility patent pending. James is currently a professional poker player, while Kathryn works as an RN. The couple resides in Garland, Texas.
Follow James Smith @GiraffeBathBody
Follow Project American Dreams @DreamersVenture
