MBA student Monica Oh thought all the good invention ideas were taken already until the day she had an epiphany. Visiting her sister in St. Louis, Monica was finishing up some school work on her laptop. For quite some time she’d been putting a pillow on her lap to keep her legs from getting too hot and then placing her laptop on the pillow.

“I thought there should be something that I could use with my laptop rather than a pillow; something that could always be right there when I pulled out my computer,” she said.

Taking inspiration from TV trays and pillow top trays, Monica fashioned a laptop bag that converts into a laptop tray. In the bag position, the item is flat on one side and contains a removable pillow on the other; the laptop sits between the tray and the pillow. Once users arrive at their destination, they simply unzip the bag and fold down the corners. The bag is flipped inside and turns into a tray, complete with a pillow for the lap and a hard, stable surface for computers to rest on. The bag tray is about four inches in height which allows for air ventilation underneath. Currently, there’s nothing on the market like this bag.

Monica had to wow two judges at the annual New Idea and Elevator Presentation Competition with this idea. In her presentation she had to explain what problem the invention solved, a description of the potential market for such an item, who the customers were likely to be, manufacturing costs and sale prices, etc. She had to demonstrate that her invention was a feasible idea and she had to do it in a mere two minutes. Why two minutes? That’s the time it takes to ride an elevator several floors. The term ‘elevator pitch’ is typically used when an entrepreneur shares an idea with a venture capitalist for funding of the project.

The judges were impressed with Monica’s ingenuity and awarded her a first place prize of $2,000. She’s using her prize money to pay for the patent as well as licensing her bag. She already has approached some bag makers and is working on setting up meetings with others.

“I’m really excited, as I’ve never won an award before. I feel honored that I was able to just participate,” she said. “I’m proud the judges liked my idea and hope I can successfully move forward with my bag.”