SMARTstart
Pasco County Entrepreneur and Inventor of the Go Caddy™ Awarded Microloan
April 26, 2012
Victoria Forster, inventor, entrepreneur, and proud mom receives Pasco Economic Development Council’s next microloan to help grow her business.
Forster’s idea for her company, BVT Products, LLC, began in 2003 when she headed to work out at the Trinity YMCA. While getting out of her car with her water bottle, towel, purse, keys, and cell phone, she dropped everything on the pavement. “I got a workout just bending and picking up everything!” She said. after looking in vain for a carrier that wouldn’t be clunky, she decided to make one herself. Forster took her new invention to her next aerobics class where it was a big hit with her classmates. And so the Go Caddy™ was born. The Go Caddy™ is a compact tote that holds a water bottle, identification, money and more when you are on the go.
On February 29, a story about Pasco EDC’s microloan fund in the local newspaper caught Forster’s attention. “Knowing how difficult it is for a small business to secure a loan these days, I immediately called the number in the article, and Krista Hakes helped me get started.”
“Victoria is what the microloan fund is all about,” said Hakes, Pasco EDC Economic Development Manager. “Being a working mom myself, I have a lot of respect for her drive to get to where she is today. I’m personally excited that we are helping her business grow. Who knows, she could be Tampa Bay’s next Sara Blakely!”
(A local success story, Blakely is the world's youngest self-made female billionaire; in 2000, she founded Spanx, a multi-million dollar undergarment company.)
BVT Products, LLC, plans to use the loan to help grow the business. It will allow BVT Products, LLC, to order more inventory, update the company website, produce a direct mail campaign to add to the 145 stores that currently sell the Go Caddy™ and hire a college intern.
This past year BVT Products, LLC, licensed the Go Caddy™ to Infusion Brands, a consumer products company based in Clearwater, FL, that leverages direct response promotion on live television. Infusion Brands has secured a deal with QVC America to have the Go Caddy™ featured on the show this coming May. To find out more about the Go Caddy™ visit www.thegocaddy.com
The microloan fund was established to help local entrepreneurs who cannot obtain traditional financing like Victoria Forster and her company BVT Products to grow, expand, and create jobs in the future. Pasco EDC is urging companies who need help obtaining non-traditional financing and are headquartered in Pasco County, or planning to locate in Pasco County, to consider applying for a microloan.
Borrowers must show they have the experience and resources to be successful business operators. Proceeds may be used for working capital, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment, but not to purchase real estate or to refinance existing debt. Please visit www.pascoedc.com for more information on how to apply, or call Pasco EDC at 813-926-0827 to consider donating to the fund.
