DEA Waging Behind-The-Scenes Hemp War
Gym Offers Beach Body Telephone Hotline
27 Million and Counting: Amy Baxter, Buzzy
Meet Amy Baxter, founder of Buzzy, an Atlanta-based company that makes a device to dull the pain of shots, bee stings or other "boo-boos" for kids.
Posted 9/ 24 10 at 4:00 PM | 27 Million and Counting, Leadership, Starting a Business, Health, Inventions & Innovations
Text Size:
A A A
Starting your own business is a noble -- not to mention exciting, rewarding and often crazy -- undertaking. The experience is an adventure, to say the least, and no two entrepreneurial paths are exactly the same, whether they result in fame and fortune or just a few hard knocks.There are an estimated 27 million small businesses in the United States. And 27 Million and Counting is our attempt to capture as many of these unique, only-in-America success stories as we can. The premise is simple -- we give entrepreneurs 60 seconds to share their stories, in their own words. We hope they will inspire, inform and maybe make you laugh. This is Amy 's story.
Name: Amy Baxter
Company: Buzzy
Location: Atlanta
Website: www.buzzy4shots.com
Getty Images
- 'Marriage Penalty' Could Make Costly Return - CNNMoney
- Oil Rises on Optimism for Cliff Deal - FOXBusiness
- Dow 2012: The Studs and Duds - InvestorPlace
- Turning the Corner: Why 2012 Wasn't as Bad as You Think - The Motley Fool
- World’s Longest High-Speed Rail Line Unveiled In China - IBTimes
- FORGET THE DEFICIT: Here's The Real Reason Liberals Want To Hike Taxes On The Rich - Business Insider
- CEOs to Fire in 2013 - 24/7 Wall St.
- DailyFinance Market Minute - DailyFinance
Comments (Page 1 of 5)
How much money did she get from NIH???? $1,000,000?!? For a vibrating ice pack? (I, too, knew that cold and vibration -- or a pinch at the injection site -- blocks pain.)
How much did she have to pay back to NIH? If the answer to the second is $0, where is the entrepreneur story here? Where is the risk?
I'm sure you did! The only difference is that you did not take the idea and run with it! Minor detail, right? What else do you know? Go capitalize instead of sitting here being envious and attempting to belittle someone's success!
this is another reply to aworkingmommy, your attitude towards other people is bothering me. All Roy was saying is that its common sense to put ice on the skin, but you have to come in thinking that you are the king of the world telling him that he is belittling someone else's invention when hes not. its not like he is in the streets protesting it or even saying its a bad invention. lets see you make something and go capitalize since you think you have the right to tell everyone else to. and who ever said he was envious? he thinks its an invention that we don't need and so much money shouldn't have been spent on it. i understand if you like the invention but some people don''t. Dont go off being rude to other people because they don't have the same opinion as you.
Way to respond...great idea... great marketing... just good luck to you... I love seeing somebody take a what seems like a trivial thing and turn it into a passion and solve the problem...Great Job Amy.....
Not so brilliant! Shots hurt - period! yes, an ice cube will freeze the outside skin surface a bit but shots still hurt in varying degrees depending on one's pain tolerance. I too wonder how much of a grant from the NIH was involved with this silly gimmick.
Silly Gimmick? Are there any entrepreneurs out there? Do you not understand capitalism? How many people will this inventor hire? Will she rent warehouse and office space? Will she purchase items to run her business? Hire an accountant? She will certainly pay taxes!! Not to mention the fact that she will be spending her profits and feeding the economy. This is CAPITALISM, people!! Doesn't anybody recognize it any more? Hats off to you, Amy for contributing to the GDP of this country. I hope you enjoy your success and laugh all the way to the bank. I hope you make obscene profits!! BTW: As a mom who has wiped away a few tears at the doctor's office, I can tell you that this is no silly gimmick. I would gladly pay whatever this item costs, if it means that it will lessen my childrens' pain in any way.
This is a reply to aworkingmommys comment. Yes i understand its capitalism and someone invented something that could be useful but i see no need for such a large grant on that, when you could simply put some ice on the skin. I think it is a gimick but that's my opinion. I'm only 14 years old but even i can see that funding on things like this are not necessary, like i said before just put a normal piece of ice on. that's what my doctor did for me when i was younger and guess what! it worked just fine!
well actually, there are several ways to reduce pain, and this is the silliest and the least effective.. so it is sort of ridiculous to get rich off of it... but you are right she will create jobs and that is good... lucky her getting rich off an obvious idea... sort of like the diaper genie creator and many others. people will buy anything
Oh BALONEY! They came out with a 30 Guage short Needle.. Can't feel a thing using them..
Been using for our kids eversince and they don't feel a thing! So much for this Brillant idea..
No they don't because they just want to sit on thier fat asses and get a free handout. FYI I have my own moving company business.
Great comments ! Kudos to the inventor! It seems that guys are responding negatively--possibly because it's usually the mom's that have to deal with terrified children! As a friend of a child that gets totally hysterical pulling up to the doctors' offices, I am so thankful for the Buzzy and for the cards that help distract a child!!! Simple, yet ingenious! My friend's daughter gets so terrified that her father and I both have to help her into to the doctor's office. I can see this becoming standard in pediatrician and dental offices, as well as hospitals--any caring medical service!
For heaven's sake, people. We don't have enough trouble with our kids growing up illiterate, never being taught to think things through, and totally incompetent at human relations, now they should be afraid of a pin prick?
That sounds like mothers (and slow thinking fathers) teaching them at a young age to be afraid and cry at every little bump and pimple they might get. For heaven's sake, dad, MAN UP!
The minimal prick of a needle is not something anyone should have fits over.
There are thousands of shrinks ready to help you wimps.
Since men rarely take their kids to the doctor they rarely 'get' the new public health threat: needle phobia. Kids now get 20 shots before they're 2 years old; even before this huge rise, 20% of adults were so needle phobic that they delayed health care, HIV diagnosis, didn't donate blood, and had decreased rates of vaccinating their kids. Moms have said they'd pay $100 to avoid their kid's shot pain. Creams take 30 minutes and cost $10/site. Buzzy costs 0.09/needle stick, is reusable, and has applications in burn relief, diabetes fingersticks, and has already increased compliance with cervical cancer and meningitis vaccines in adolescents who had swayed their parents against vaccinating. By the way, if you're a scientist and have a product that could really improve the lives of patients, the Small Business program of the NIH was set up during the Reagan era to fund start-ups that can have a big impact on public health. The next due date is December 5th, and Phase I exploratory grants are about $100K and can help you establish if your idea is feasible. Good luck! PS: Buzzy is saving about 100 hospitals in the US money over other needle pain relief options, and is selling really well abroad. Go, GDP!!
It puts a smile on my face to hear that you, and so many others have benefited from something that Ronald Reagan put in place. So many years later, and he is still contributing positively to this country! It would fill him with joy to see the lasting effects of his work. My love and understanding of what capitalism is started with him, and here we see it in action! (Oh no, why do I get a feeling that the comments are going to get political now?)
Fascinating that is actually something Reagan and other conservatives since it increases the size of gov't.
Sorry Reagan was a diaster for the country. When one bothers to actually fact check what he did one sees that the image of him is just that an image built up from a false picture.
A couple comments here really sound like sour grapes... I doubt she would have gotten this grant if 'Buzzy' didn't work. If there's something out there that makes visits to the doctor's office more pleasant, I think a one million dollar grant is well worth it... By the way, grants don't have to be repaid. If it works, this is an amazing story, and it's awesome that there's still Americans out there doing something with their lives other than complaining on a message board.
Being that I worked in a doctors office and have 3 little children. I for one am happy with anything that will help in the trauma that some children have with shots!!!! Great invention!!!! Thank You
100% agreement with Aworkingmommy! Everyone has the right and opportunity to pursue. The few people who take advantage of their creative thoughts with action, deserve the credit and the spoils of achievement! Then there are the critics... rarely successful, oftentimes pessimistic, but smarter than most of the action oriented workers...Move toward your goal, thinking about it is day dreaming!
What a joke... only in America could someone troll with such blatant ignorance. Why don't you try it before you condemn it?
what a joke.....only in this ignorant, naive, and stupid country would someone be able get a grant and successfully sell a gimmick like this.