Updated on June 26 at 9:38 a.m.
Pflugerville resident Mike Bradford battled against a ravioli rolling pin on Steve Harvey's Funderdome Sunday night. The show's premise pits two inventions against one another in a competition for crowd funding.
Bradford's waffle iron won the adoration of the crowd who awarded him $50,000 to continue the manufacturing of his product.
Original story posted on June 22 at 1:38 p.m.
One of Pflugerville's own will gain national attention Sunday night for his unique twist on a waffle iron. Mike Bradford, a software developer, will debut his Wonderffle Stuffed Waffle Iron on a new ABC TV show, "Steve Harvey's Funderdome," on Sunday at 8 p.m.
The show pits inventors and their products against one another to win funding from a live studio audience.
Bradford's invention, the Wonderffle, allows users to create a sandwich-like meal in waffle form.
Bradford said he initially thought of the idea for the invention when a coworker ordered chicken and waffles, and the plate that emerged was nowhere near portable. He mused there was no way to take waffles and their toppings on the go, so he set to putting his background in development to use.
First, he made a visit to the Tech Shop in Round Rock to learn about the process of developing a project like the one he was envisioning. He took classes to learn about fabrication techniques and eventually 3-D printed his first prototype and began cooking for his friends and family.
Then, in a stroke of luck, on the same day Bradford's job as a software developer was ending, he received an email casting contestants for the new ABC show. He followed the process through and is featured on the episode that airs Sunday night.
Bradford would not say whether he received funding for his waffle iron but did say the entire experience was exciting.
"Being on stage and being with everyone involved was great. It was a big group of people and I got to know other contestants so we’ve become friends because we are all in the same boat together, and we have products that are going to be developed," he said.
The Wonderffle is currently in production at a manufacturing plant in Frisco. Bradford said he believes the company will begin mass producing the product in September.
Consumers can already order the product
online from its initial manufacturing stint.
Bradford said he initially thought of the idea for the invention when a coworker ordered chicken and waffles, and the plate that emerged was nowhere near portable. He mused there was no way to take waffles and their toppings on the go, so he set to putting his background in development to use.
First, he made a visit to the Tech Shop in Round Rock to learn about the process of developing a project like the one he was envisioning. He took classes to learn about fabrication techniques and eventually 3-D printed his first prototype and began cooking for his friends and family.
Then, in a stroke of luck, on the same day Bradford's job as a software developer was ending, he received an email casting contestants for the new ABC show. He followed the process through and is featured on the episode that airs Sunday night.
Bradford would not say whether he received funding for his waffle iron but did say the entire experience was exciting.
"Being on stage and being with everyone involved was great. It was a big group of people and I got to know other contestants so we’ve become friends because we are all in the same boat together, and we have products that are going to be developed," he said.
The Wonderffle is currently in production at a manufacturing plant in Frisco. Bradford said he believes the company will begin mass producing the product in September.
Consumers can already order the product online from its initial manufacturing stint.
