Photo Credit: Dustin Todd

Innovation is more than a buzzword; it is a necessity. For Missy Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of CatTongue Grips, innovation is all about intently listening to the market and instinctively responding to emerging needs. Starting in 2015, Missy let her intuition and her customer base shape her brand into a line of products that constantly evolve to serve customers in unexpected ways.

From Concept to Creation: The Founding of CatTongue Grips

A specific observation—that people need their electronic devices to be secure and slip-free—led to the birth of CatTongue Grips. The company’s first product, a phone grip inspired by Missy’s husband Matt putting skateboard tape on his phone, was a new take on an irritating problem. But what began as a simple product aimed at phones soon expanded in scope as customers reached out with unique applications.

Missy saw these interactions as opportunities to create innovative solutions serving customers across multiple industries. “We had gone into the market with just one product, a phone grip, but people began to call and say, ‘Can I put this on my tablet? What about my tools? Can I cut it to fit?'” Missy recalls. “And that type of response opened our eyes to how our product could be adapted. But listening to the market was a catalyst that helped nudge our thinking beyond phones and to the big picture.”

Intuitive Product Development: A Balance Between Data and Instinct

Missy’s philosophy on product development is equal parts data-driven and intuitive. Though much of what CatTongue Grips does stems directly from customer feedback, Missy’s gut sense of what feels right also plays a leading role in steering the brand. 

“Data is important, but intuition gives it life,” Missy says. “I use the numbers, and I also trust my gut when sensing a shift in what people need. Sometimes it’s the voice in the back of your mind telling you to take a risk, try something new, even if you don’t have all the data yet.”

The trust Missy places in her intuition has led CatTongue Grips to launch several successful products, including the Gription Roll—a customizable roll of non-slip material that can be cut to fit almost anything. This has become one of the brand’s top-sellers within a product line born from several customer requests for more flexible options. 

Real-Time Customer Needs Adaptation

From the beginning, Missy fostered a corporate culture of direct customer engagement on multiple platforms: social media, customer service, and even in-person at trade shows. It is through this direct customer contact that small, niche markets for the product have been uncovered.

Without direct customer engagement, a smaller market which Missy had given little thought to—the disability community—would have remained unknown to her. It wasn’t until she received a message from a mother using CatTongue Grips to help her son grip his hearing aids that she realized the difference her product could make.

Missy recalls, “I realized then that we had created more than a phone grip—we’d designed something that really had the potential to make a difference in people’s lives.” By staying sensitive to customer input, Missy branched out CatTongue Grips’ product offerings to further assist people with disabilities. Today, the organization collaborates closely with disability advocates in the quest to continually improve product design.

Innovating Through Co-creation

For Missy, listening to the market is a form of co-creation with her customers. 

Co-creation powered some particularly strong innovations, like when Paralympian Chris Waddell spoke of using CatTongue Grips to hold things in his chair as a wheelchair user. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without our customers sharing their stories with us,” Missy says. “Their input has been a gift that has guided us in ways we couldn’t have predicted.”

Using Market Feedback to Enter New Sectors

While many companies concentrate on a single market, CatTongue Grips’ agility has allowed it to expand across multiple sectors, including electronics, sports, safety, government, and the disability market. Every new market that opened its doors to CatTongue Grips has been guided by Missy’s openness for feedback and her knack at spotting opportunities.

For instance, after the introduction of the Gription Roll, businesses in construction, warehouse management, and healthcare—all those places where slip resistance could reduce workplace accidents—asked for CatTongue Grips. The company went on to develop specialized, heavy-duty nonslip products. “We saw a need, and we filled it,” Missy says. “The market recognized the value of the material we created and we were willing to listen and adapt.”

The Power of Listening to the Market: Lessons in Innovation

Looking back, Missy now feels that any business can be innovative as long as it stays close to its customers. In the case of CatTongue Grips, it was the willingness to listen and adapt that pulled the product through its various generations of improvement.

Missy’s philosophy carries valuable lessons for any entrepreneur: be open, be adaptable, and trust the journey. By balancing data with intuition, co-creating, and being open to emergent needs, she has created a brand that deeply resonates with her customers and provides no less than real added value across industries.

Expanding with Intention: Looking to the Future

With the continued growth of CatTongue Grips, Missy’s intuitive approach to product development has never remained as relevant. She sees the future of the company as one where much future collaboration with customers will occur along with development of new markets and search for more innovative ways to serve diverse communities.

“Our success is not just about having a fantastic product; it’s about creating something that people want and need,” says Missy. “As long as we keep listening to our customers, and trusting our intuition, I believe we can keep innovating and making a meaningful impact.”