About HoverHandle
Our Story
HoverHandle, LLC was established as a Massachusetts corporation in March, 2013. The founders consist of a precocious eleven year old boy (at the time of filing) and his not so precocious baby boomer grandfather. Andrew’s idea was to create a handlebar for a hoverboard so that it could operate just like the “Segway “ personal transporter used in the movie “Paul Blart, Mall Cop”. Grampa was excited to establish a business venture with his grandson and also loved Andrew’s idea (especially after learning that over 10 million hoverboards had been sold and that there were no steering solutions available). Three years of intensive product development and thousands of hours of technical refinements and field tests later, HoverHandle, LLC is the proud owner of U.S. Patent # US 10,315,721B2 and represents the singular single bar steering solution for hoverboards in a marketplace believed to exceed 10 million units. The multigenerational founding partners are hopeful that their patented invention will enable users to reclaim their balance (and their pride) and use their hoverboards as a fun and functional personal transportation tool.
Inspiration Strikes
In 2015, 11 -year-old Andrew Agbay became the happy owner of a new hoverboard, courtesy of his grandfather, Al Agbay. A few months later, the pair watched the film Paul Blart, Mall Cop, which features comedic actor Kevin James as the title character patrolling his terrain on a souped-up Segway personal transporter.
The humorous concept got Andrew thinking: What if someone could create a device that would attach to a hoverboard and allow the rider to steer it just like a Segway? Al, a veteran entrepreneur, thought it was a brilliant idea, especially after his research indicated that millions had been sold and hundreds of visits to every search engine known to man indicated that there were indeed NO steering solutions. Andrew and Grampa became equal partners as a multigenerational business partnership was born.
An Invention Comes to Life
Al and Andrew first tried to prototype a device with a mish-mash of parts from hardware stores and they didn't get very far. The more that they talked, however, the more that they believed in the concept. They then called in some big guns; Ed Acciardi, an accomplished mechanical engineer with impressive credentials and accomplishments and physicist/software engineer Dave Cordella (Andrew's other grandfather) to explore the possibility of actually developing a solution. Ed and Dave became intellectually and emotionally involved and a working prototype was accomplished months later.
Our product development process commenced in March of 2016 and included multiple 3D printed parts, expected and unexpected component refinements, more 3D printed components, exacting and serendipitous field tests, a third and fourth and fifth set of 3D printed parts, a new generation of mold and tool makers, and a few more refined “refinements”. Andrew engaged his peers for feedback and suggestions, Andrew’s dad engaged his professional peers for feedback and suggestions, and Andrew’s grampa and his engineering team listened and implemented and their collective efforts resulted in their being issued United States Patent No.: 10,315,721 B2 for our HoverHandle, officially recognized as a SELF-BALANCING SCOOTER DIFFERENTIAL CONTROL APPARATUS.