My days often started frantically searching for keys wasting 5, 10, 15 minutes or more every morning. Yes, I’m embarrassed to say I was often LATE for work. I tried everything that promised to solve my problem but nothing worked and tech gadgets only made things worse!

One rainy night after leaving work, I headed to my car parked in a dark, open lot. As I neared my car I reached in my handbag for my keys and couldn’t find them. I fumbled and dug around my bag for what seemed like an eternity, getting rain-soaked, and cursing to myself. This wasn’t the first time it happened but that moment was when I had enough. That night I promised myself to create a product that would end my 20-year struggle with keys. With funds I put aside for my bucket list, I hired a business attorney, filed my application to start a business and began working on a product prototype. Samples were made, product testing done and in late 2009 Joyful Keyper (previously known as Fun Key Finder) was introduced to the marketplace.

Despite a boatload of mistakes and setbacks I created a product to help solve one of life’s most common problems. No more frantically searching for keys …. day or night... Every-single-day !

p.s. My dad would often say to me “If your head wasn’t attached to your body you would lose that too”. Inspiration comes to us in many different ways.

Linda Nagamine is an earth-conscious advocate dedicated to recycling, an animal enthusiast, and loves to tinker with products to make them simpler and easier to use. Friends affectionately label her as a perfectionist with a keen eye for detail, but to her, it simply means she’s naturally curious and loves to explore different approaches to problem-solving. She’s also a volunteer service dog trainer with Hawaii Fido Service Dogs, a non-profit organization.