Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tigra Soleil. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Tigra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My many years of experience as a river guide are what inspired my product, Helpful Handle. My coworkers, clients, and myself had lost many water bottles due to the extreme stations that rafting can be. Years of travel and hiking also proved how cumbersome the top attachments points are on water bottles can be; having the center of balance at the top crates a lot of awkward ‘bottle swing’. So, I combined tools I commonly use in my guide profession in a unique way and I invented Helpful Handle. Soon after people started using my product for a variety of utilitarian applications besides drink containers; they discovered it was perfect for portable speakers, skis, and bundling gear / bags together amongst many other things . There is no other product on the market quite like Helpful Handle. The usefulness and simplicity of my product got me very excited because, as a child, I loved staying up late to watch infomercials; I secretly wanted to be an inventor of a successful and handy product and this is my opportunity to bring that dream into fruition.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I grew up as poor kid being raised by a single mother. To have a way pay for school and to see the world; I ended up going the Air Force in 2007. After experiencing severe MST (Military Sexual Trauma), I developed PTSD. I was granted an honorable medical discharge. I faced additional challenges as I began transitioning back into the civilian sector. This was a difficult period of change. Prior to gaining an understanding of exactly what my PTSD entailed, it was confusing and challenging for me to understand the various triggers and responses I experienced in daily life. I have struggled with homelessness ever since exiting the military. I dealt with everything from suicidal thoughts to major depression, social anxiety, and over a decade of homelessness. One day in 2008, a neighbor in Colorado invited me to go rafting. This event saved my life. I quickly fell in love with the river because I found it incredibly therapeutic. I soon enrolled in a white water rafting school a to become a professional whitewater rafting guide. I’m now in my 14th year of being an international white water river guide. My adventurous life style lead to the invention of Helpful Handle. There is not another product on the market that does what this product does. Helpful Handle is a fully adjustable utilitarian tool that straps a climbing quality carabiner clip handle to a variety of objects. Its primary use is to add a convenient clip on handle to water bottles and portable coffee mugs. It can also be used on potable speakers, skis, to gather bundles of sporting gear, and many other things. It is also very helpful to people with physical disabilities; it helps them to hold objects or can be used as an attachment point for items on wheel chairs.
The potential to make huge profits and end my houselessness is not what motivates me. I am pretty happy with my simple life as a traveling river guide living in a van. What motivates me to put in the hard work required to make this business sucessful is the fact that I know the huge profits potential will give me the power to support causes I care about. I have vowed to donate 90% of my profits to social and environmental programs. I want more than anything to be able to make a difference in the world through my radical business plan. I hope to inspire other successful businesses to give larger percentages of their profits towards healing this planet and its people.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I learned to make my product by lots of experimenting, trial, and error. I got started manufacturing my products by setting up an assembly table outside the van that I live in down by the river. I used to go into the office of my rafting employer when it was closed; I would work late into the night using the electricity to power my sewing machine. After years of struggling to make this manufacturing process work and keep up with orders I finally found a company to help with the sewing portion of my process. I have learned that it is important to be persistent; I had to reach out to dozens of companies to find someone willing to take on a small scale client like Helpful Handle.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

After 10 years of tumultuous struggle with the VA claims dept I finally was granted disability compensation. Instead of using the bit backpay I received to get into comfortable housing; I chose to continue minimal living in my van down by the river so that I could use these funds to start Helpful Handle.

Contact Info:

• Website: helpful-handle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpful_handle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Whitewater.Tigress
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tigra-soleil-795b52132/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTZPwbmekt2wgomIQamcREA/videos

Image Credits
Tigra Soleil