Spring Faussett has had a childhood obsession with invention, inspired, she said, by the inventor of the Pet Rock. Her first creation, at age 12, was a TV lock designed to keep grounded kids from sneaking in cartoons. But her breakthrough came years later, when she began testing product ideas in the Amazon store.
In 2005, while watching exhausted runners cross the finish line at the Chicago Marathon, inspiration struck: What if I combined a foam roller with a rolling pin?
With just $250 to her name, she bought PVC pipe and grips from Home Depot, assembled 100 massage sticks in her garage, and took them to a trade show. They sold out on the spot. That product became the foundation for Tiger Tail USA, a leading sports recovery brand that has now sold over a million off their products in the Amazon store.
Before founding Tiger Tail, Faussett was working as a consultant. When her employer passed on her idea for digital photo frames—years before they became mainstream—she realized she was done pitching ideas that never saw the light of day. She wanted to build something of her own.
Amazon gave her the runway to do just that.
“At first, we were selling one unit a month. Then one a week. Then one a day, we are up to over 150 units per day with Amazon,” said Faussett.
As an inventor, she values tools like Amazon’s Product Opportunity Explorer, which provides data-driven insights on Amazon customer search and buying behavior—research she uses to inform new product ideas.
“I’m super excited by how fast I can bring something to market with Amazon’s product research tools,” she said.
Faussett also relies heavily on Amazon Ads, which have enabled her to reach customers as they type in keywords specific to muscle relief.
“Amazon Ads really help us target customers at the right time, in the right place,” she said. “Last quarter we saw our Amazon Ad placement grow our business 25%—that’s a serious number,” she said.
Faussett has global ambitions for the brand, and has already started selling products successfully in Canada through Amazon Global Selling.
“My big vision is for Tiger Tail to be the muscle knot authority in the U.S.—if not the world,” she said.