Brecksville Man Has ‘Bright’ Idea, Patents It

Ed Kovac never intended to become an inventor.

The Brecksville resident just had a bright idea.

Kovac, a 43-year-old real estate appraiser, came up with an idea to install LED lights on the top of ski and bike helmets during a ski excursion at Boston Mills with his two children last year.

“It was my kids’ first year of ski club,” Kovac said. “It was a great night and there were lots of kids on the slopes. But I couldn’t find my kids. It popped into my head that I needed to do something to find them. And I thought it be a good idea to put LED lights on their helmets.”

Next time out on the slopes, his children asked him to turn them off within a half-hour. 

It wasn’t that the lights weren’t working well, Kovac said. They couldn’t get any skiing in with the other children asking where they could also get the lights.

“Then I knew it’d be a good product to sell,” Kovac said.

He founded Lid Lights, with his wife, Kristen, in the garage of their Glen Eagle Drive home.

“I’ve always had ideas,” said Kovac. “But this one is the first one I’ve ever applied for a patent and brought to the market. So this is my first endeavor into this.

“So far people seem to like it.”

He started selling them in May online for $24.95, and sold a few-dozen units.

But business has been picking up. Just last month alone, he sold 50 units.

“In terms of safety, it works with helmets,” said Kovac. “Before, the kids didn’t want to wear the helmets, now they think they’re cool and want to wear their helmets.”

But he said he’s not likely to quit his day job anytime soon.

“We’re trying to do this as much as possible,” Kovac said. “There’s not a huge profit margin, so I’d have to sell a lot of them.”

For more information, visit the Lid Lights website.