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It’s a Sign

Jack Huang and his wife, Flora, had just purchased a new car and were trying to sell their old car. “Using plastic ‘For Sale’ signs didn’t interest me because they blocked my view while driving, and they were simply unattractive.” So Jack designed a flier to post on bulletin boards and put up on telephone poles.

Flora, a real estate agent, had several of those bulky acrylic Take One literature holders around the house. “I think somewhere between seeing those holders at home and having just shopped for a car and noticed the metal window key boxes auto dealers use, the idea for a Take It Pocket entered my head.”

Jack cut up some clear vinyl folders into a bunch of vinyl sheets. He then taped the vinyl sheets together and made four prototypes, mostly to try different materials. Jack’s Take It Pocket is a clear plastic sleeve that attaches to a car window. It has two pockets, one that can hold a message and, if you lift the message panel, a second that can hold 81⁄2-by-11 fliers.

Since the car sold right about the same time Jack made the prototypes, he didn’t get to use his product. “The idea went into my drawer of ideas. And for the next three years I didn’t do much with it.”

In late 2005, after leaving his job at Microsoft to start a new venture, Jack was digging through the drawer and found his old Take It Pocket. “I started gathering data about the number of registered cars and the various ways people use fliers, and came to the conclusion that this could become a new way to communicate. Just as Post-it Notes changed the way we communicate, so could my Take It Pockets.”

Jack says he saw his product as more than a silly way to help sell used cars. People could use their parked cars to sell a point of view. For example, his Take It Pocket could be used to elect candidates, raise money for charities, or make people aware of issues.

People he showed his invention to would say, “Are you sure this doesn’t already exist?” But Jack checked—and it didn’t. So he filed for a provisional patent.

Jack then started to look for local plastic manufacturing companies that could produce his Take It Pocket. Next, he tested many different car sleeve plastics on his back deck to see which ones could tolerate sun, wind, and rain.

Now, Jack has already manufactured about 5,000 Take It Pockets and is about to launch this product. Instead of pursuing the used car sales route, he’s teaming with KnowCancer.org to use his Take It Pockets to raise cancer awareness. “Used car sales is the obvious use for Take It Pocket, but activism is not as obvious. That’s why I’m doing it.”

Jack regards cancer awareness as a good fit for two reasons: there’s breast cancer in his family and, as it happens, Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong cancer awareness wristbands are yellow. Jack’s last name Huang means yellow. For Jack, that’s a sign.

“It’s a new way to talk about issues. I love the idea of making a difference … to leave something behind that means something is powerful for me.”

If you don’t think a few sheets of clear plastic can change the world, Jack Huang isn’t worried. He has confidence in his Take It Pocket. If you don’t agree, it’s an opinion that you can Take It or Leave It.