Inventor learns inspiration is the easy part

Mark Orton believes in the product.

Really believes.

Absolutely believes.

Believes so much that he uprooted his family and left behind a growing home construction business to develop the product.

Believes so much that he lives with his wife and three kids in a cramped apartment in South Meadows to save money for the product.

Believes so much that either he or his wife and often both of them spend 12 hours or more almost every day nurturing the product and knocking on doors to raise capital.

The product? At the moment, it's the Precision T a folding, locking carpenter's tool that would replace several of the squares and levels that craftspeople tote with them to job sites.

Orton's infant Reno-based company, Frame EZ LLC, looks to the Precision T as the starting point in a toolbox of products that make life easier for framers and builders.

Two of the products one that simplifies construction of roof trusses, another that guarantees accurate window openings in concrete walls already have patents pending.

But first Mark and Jackie Orton need to raise money $250,000 this time around and clear more hoops to get the products to market.

And like thousands of entrepreneurs before them, they've discovered the process is anything but an easy way to riches.

"It's taken more time, more money, more persistence than I ever thought," Orton said a few days ago.

"It's tough."

Working as a custom homebuilder in Silver City, N.M, for 10 years, Orton saw a need for better products for professionals and do-it-yourselfers.

Coming up with the ideas was easy.

Building prototypes fit nicely with his skills as craftsman.

Moving to Nevada which he and his wife saw as the land of opportunity was a big step, but the 43-year-old inventor knew he had the unwavering support of his wife.

The hard part, which has consumed most of the last 18 months, involved conducting patent research, filing patent applications, writing a business plan, conferring with attorneys, conferring with manufacturing experts and knocking on doors for more money after the initial $23,000 capitalization from friends and family ran out.

Orton stretched those first dollars as far he could, doing everything he could by himself.

To keep food on the table, Orton picks up occasional construction jobs.

His wife keeps the company moving in the meantime.

As he knocks on doors, both locally and at building trade shows around the country, Orton makes the same pitch.

The U.S.

market for hand tools, already estimated by The Freedonia Group to be $4.8 billion, is projected to grow by about 3 percent a year.Multi-purpose tools such as the Precision T are expected to be the fastest growing segment of the market.

At a retail price of $90 or so, the Precision T replaces tools that cost more than $200 if purchased individually.

With a $250,000 investment, Orton tells potential investors, Frame EZ LLC can manufacture 3,000 to 5,000 units of the Precision T and finance an initial marketing push.

Done right, Orton figures, Frame EZ LLC can license its products and allow him to do what he likes best inventing new tools and building the prototypes.

But to get there, he needs to raise the next $250,000.

And what if it doesn't work? "It won't break us, because I won't quit," Orton said.

"It may slow us down, but I won't quit."

Let others marvel at the sacrifices the couple have made for the product.

For Orton, there's no turning back.

"I'm never going to have a 9-to-5 job," he said.

"I don't do things like everyone else."