Austin entrepreneur Thomas Marriott was trying to find a multi-function iPhone carrying case, and just didn’t see anything on the market. So what did the former GameWager co-founder do? He decided to explore the market opportunity. The result is the Pocketpack, which can be purchase at www.killthewallet.com.

Thomas and his team did some good old fashioned market research by hanging out at the Apple story for hours on end, and asking people what they would want in a multi-function iPhone accessory. “We had a vision, but each step of the way we got market feedback and validation. In the end, that allowed us to put less capital at risk, and make sure the product was more on target,” said Marriott. At one point, they were escorted out of the Apple store.

The team was constantly asking themselves, “what is the minimum viable product we can ship that can still give us customer feedback and validation” which is a hallmark of agile techniques. Asking customers what they want does not always produce a breakthough product. Thomas quotes Henry Ford who once said,  “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.”

The product aims to be a balance between functionality and size. Multi-function is great, but people really enjoy the sleekness of design of the iPhone, so you can’t add too much. Thomas and his team are going to China next month to watch the first units roll off the production line.

If you pre-purchase the product now, you’ll get free shipping. Thomas expects to design and ship more mobile accessories in the future.