ChompSaw: Innovating Creativity One Cut at a Time

What started as a duct-taped prototype has become a revolution in hands-on creativity. ChompSaw, the flagship product from ChompShop, empowers families and educators to turn everyday cardboard boxes into limitless possibilities. Perfect for the holiday season, ChompSaw offers a safe, accessible way to unlock creativity for kids.

From Idea to Invention

The ChompSaw story began in a graduate course at Penn Engineering’s Integrated Product Design program (IPD), where co-founders Kausi Raman and Max Liechty met while studying. Tasked with interviewing stakeholders and prototyping solutions, Kausi discovered a common frustration among parents and educators: while kids love working with cardboard, they struggle with cutting it, often leaving adults to take over. “Cardboard is such an available resource, and everyone loves using it, but kids don’t enjoy cutting it,” Kausi explained. This challenge became the idea for their new “power tool” for children.

Safety Meets Innovation

The ChompSaw uses an oscillating cutting shaft, which chomps instead of spinning, avoiding any risk of injury. Made from heat-dissipating aluminum, the cutting head is safe to touch because of a metal guard, while its dimensions are perfect for cardboard. “It’s designed so nothing gets tangled or overheats, making it both functional and safe,” Max said.

Hands-on creativity doesn’t just spark joy—it also builds skills. “Hands-on building at a young age allows kids to think in three dimensions and helps their brain develop to focus on problem-solving,” Max added. With ChompSaw, kids can create with confidence, turning ideas into tangible designs.

Initially, Kausi’s prototype featured an off-the-shelf tool attached with duct tape to a cardboard table. Feedback from parents, kids, and educators revealed an opportunity to shift focus from the bulky table to a standalone cutting tool. Those who tried it loved the tool’s ability to make precise cuts while remaining kid-friendly. “We spent a lot of time going to maker fairs, visiting schools in person, and people’s homes to test it with their families. It’s amazing to see how quickly kids pick up how to use it,” Max shared.

Building a Community of Makers

ChompSaw is more than a power tool—it’s part of a growing movement to foster hands-on creativity and spatial reasoning. Kausi and Max have worked tirelessly to bring this vision to life. “When we first started, we interviewed experts, built prototypes, tested them with hundreds of kids, parents, and teachers, modified those prototypes, and got more feedback, over and over, before we even started planning our Kickstarter launch,” Kausi said.

The Kickstarter campaign funded the initial production and validated the concept. Today, the team is focused on scaling up and expanding into the education market. “We’ve been mostly selling to families but hope to expand our educational bundles for schools as we build inventory,” Max explained.

Leveraging Penn’s Resources for Success

Penn played a critical role in ChompShop’s early development. “Taking full advantage of Penn’s resources was absolutely key to our early success,” Kausi shared. “We applied for everything we could: Penn I-Corps, all three rounds of the Penn Wharton Innovation Fund, the Startup Challenge, and the Detkin IP Law Clinic. VIP-X was a game-changer with mentorship, funding, and some pro-bono legal help—that’s how we got our first provisional patent filed! Engineering Entrepreneurship was where we nailed down our go-to-market plan and prepped for Kickstarter. We basically lived at the Studios @ Venture Lab, where we built all of our early prototypes, including the one featured on our Kickstarter page.”

Max echoed the value of IPD, highlighting its comprehensive curriculum and connections. “If you’re an engineer, a designer, or a business person, IPD is a fantastic program that can teach you all the skills you need to learn,” he said. “I received invaluable help from JD Albert, who teaches the design for manufacture in IPD and helped with our final project. He was an excellent resource for us. He connected us with the person who manufactures ChompSaw for us. The professors have so much experience in the industry and can help guide you in the right direction.”

The Future of ChompShop

From their first duct-taped prototype to appearing on Shark Tank—where they secured deals with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner—the team has continued to grow. “Going on Shark Tank was my first time on TV, and the high-pressure environment made it both thrilling and nerve-wracking,” Kausi recalled. “The day of filming was incredible—seeing our set, meeting the Sharks, and delivering our pitch made it all worthwhile. Everyone was so kind and supportive. It’s an experience I’ll never forget!”

Reflecting on their success, Kausi added, “It feels amazing to see all our hard work pay off! I believe ChompShop is a success because of how much we love the human-centered design process. In 2023, it was just me and Max prototyping and launching our Kickstarter campaign; in 2024, we grew our team, manufactured our product, went on Shark Tank, got our first investors, and are fulfilling all our orders. Our team and business are growing, and we’ve got so many amazing things in store for 2025—I couldn’t be more proud!”

For those aspiring to innovate, Kausi and Max offer this advice: “If you’ve got an idea that you think has legs, don’t play your cards close to your chest. Put it in front of people and see what they say. Test whether people would actually buy it, and if they wouldn’t, why not? And how can you solve that? The truth is that ideas are worth very little, whereas thoughtful design is worth a lot.”

With ChompSaw, Kausi and Max have transformed an idea into a tool that empowers creativity. “The possibilities are endless, and I couldn’t be more excited,” Kausi shared. For families and educators, the ChompSaw is more than a product—it’s an invitation to build, create, and dream big. Explore more at ChompShop’s website.