Man's invention is a life saver

Mystic, Conn. (WTNH) - They say necessity is the mother of invention and for a Connecticut man his invention may just be a life saver as well.

"There's a radio signal going back and forth between this," Anthony Viggiano explained, "which goes on your body and this which goes on the boat."

Viggiano says you no longer need to be tethered to your boat's kill switch. His Autotether device, a wireless man-overboard system, makes that connection wireless and triggers the shut off if it gets wet or extends beyond a certain distance from the boat.

"We had a guy come up to me and he said you saved my kids life," Viggiano said.

Viggiano was able to come up with the initial million dollar investment himself, but is now getting help with the rest of the money to market his invention.

"We live in a state where innovative is ubiquitous," Viggiano said. "I mean everybody has ideas here. It's capital that brings those ideas to fruition."

The Angel Investor Forum provides that capital, while the state provides a 25 percent tax credit to encourage angel investments.

"Ten thousand dollar investments, they would get a $2,500 dollar tax credit on the year they invest," said Mary Anne Rooke, Angel Investor Forum.

"In these difficult times we want to take advantage of all the smart people in Connecticut and get them the money they need," said Senator Andrew Maynard.

Right now the product is available in six different countries and 150 different stores, including the West Marine in Mystic. With the added investment they hope to expand to another 400 stores over the next year.