MAKO Partners with Robert Herjevac & Frito-Lay for Dreamvention!

(AUSTIN, Texas) March 14, 2017 – MAKO Design + Invent is proud to announce their partnership with Robert Herjevac of ABC’s Shark Tank and PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division to bring to life the Dreamvention contest, which is inspiring young minds to dream up their own invention for a chance to win $250,000 and bring their idea to life.

From starting his own cyber technology firm to investing in emerging companies, Robert Herjevac has seen great inventions come from those who don’t put limits on their dreams. Aligning very closely with MAKO Design + Invent’s vision, the partnership is a natural fit to encourage the next generation’s exploration of innovation.

MAKO’s founder, Kevin Mako, and Herjavec helped kick off the contest at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, where they asked local Bay Area fifth graders to partake in an Invent-athon. Robert and Kevin provided inventors with expert tips, entrepreneurial advice, and some tricks to keep their ideas flowing.

“It’s an honor to partner with Robert Herjevac and Frito-Lay on the Dreamvention competition,” says Kevin Mako. “As the official product development firm for the competition, we’re the ones that bring the winning inventions to life. With every generation, children are becoming more innovative – a quality I see in successful entrepreneurs every day. Igniting the passion for entrepreneurship and innovation in youth is something very close to our hearts, and we’re thrilled we can do this across the nation over the next year.”

Families can participate by thinking up a fun invention idea, creating a simple drawing and a short explanation, and uploading both to the Dreamvention site by April 24th for a chance to win. The five finalists will be announced in September and pitch their ideas for America to vote for your favorites.

MAKO Design + Invent’s world-class industrial designers and engineers will assist with the development and production of the finalists’ ideas, with the winning invention announced in December.

MAKO Design + Invent’s logo will be on every Frito-Lay Variety Pack, joined by the Deamvention logo. The Variety Pack includes Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos tortilla chips, Fritos corn snacks, Funyun’s onion-flavored rings, Lay’s potato chips, Rold Gold pretzels, Smartfood popcorn, and SunChips multigrain snacks.

About MAKO Design + Invent

MAKO Design + Invent is North America’s leading end-to-end consumer product development firm. MAKO helps established companies and early-stage invention start-ups take their idea from a sketch on a napkin to store shelves. With a 25-person team across 3 offices (Austin, USA, London, UK, & Toronto, CAN), MAKO has complete in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and prototyping services. To assist inventors and start-ups, MAKO has a subsidiary product development firm named MAKO Invent that, in addition to the above, helps with product strategy, business strategy, marketing, patent referrals, and sales & distribution for most consumer product categories. MAKO was started by visionary entrepreneur Kevin Mako in 1999 with the dream of providing everything inventors need to turn their product ideas into successful businesses.  This vision earned MAKO Design + Invent a spot in the top 100 businesses of 2016 from Entrepreneur Magazine.

About Frito-Lay Variety Pack

Frito-Lay Variety is one of many Frito-Lay brands in North America – the $14 billion convenience foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. They generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio, which includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio encompassed a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal is to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to better-for-you snacks; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!