Ingenious: Wharton Student Creates Backpack Leash for Adults

The backpack leash market has been an unexplored industry for far too long. It certainly took guts for someone to expand into the adult market, but it was well worth it. For Lee Schmann (W ‘18), risk was never something that could stop him from going after a great idea.

“It actually came to me when I was around 7 years old,” Schmann told us. “I was so young back then - I had yet to invest in my first stock and I’d never even heard of Goldmann Sachs. But even then I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”

In his youth, Schmann had used a backpack leash until his bar mitzvah at age 13 - at which point he became a real man. But after 13 years of leash security, he found that he missed the gentle tug on his shoulders every time he walked too close to a potential danger.

Upon entering college, Schmann found an even greater need for backpack leashes. He often observed students creating a human chain when navigating through the dense crowd of a frat party. Worse, he watched as students struggled to corral their highly intoxicated friends back home like sheep in a herd. Everywhere he looked, he saw a need for backpack leashes.

Finally, Schmann decided to capitalize on his idea the best way he knew how. After holding a professional meeting with several of his family’s close friends, he was able to form partnerships with Amazon, Patagonia, and Brookstone. 2 years later, the first prototype is ready for launch.

Available in business gray, rose gold, and sceney black, TetherPack is available in tall and grande, beginning November 1.