Our Story

How a hairstylist’s idea behind the chair became the +ONE™ Haircutting Cape.

“It came to me behind the chair.”

Some product ideas come to your mind in a flash. Others come when you’re in the middle of trying to solve a problem. They can stick with you quietly and persistently until the right moment brings them to life.

For me, Maddy Walters, the hairstylist who had the idea for the +ONE™ Haircutting Cape, it started about 10 years ago when I was standing behind a salon chair with scissors in hand, trying to give kids haircuts.

A Problem Every Stylist Knows

When I started as a stylist, I did a lot of kids’ haircuts. I’d often say to people, “You’d think we were torturing the kids with how bad they’d scream and throw a tantrum.”

Like so many stylists, I tried everything, phones, toys, and silly facial expressions. I asked parents to hold their child. I was constantly in this mode of trying anything to get through the haircut.

The best solution we had was putting the child on the parent’s lap. The parent could hold them, comfort them, and help keep them still.

But That Created a New Problem

I was draping both of them with capes. One cape on the parent, one on the child. Every time, I was thinking, “There has to be a better way.” I remember saying to myself over and over, “It would just be so nice to have a double-headed cape or a cape with two neck openings. Does that exist?”

Of course, it didn’t.

So the idea stayed with me.

For years, I just kept doing what worked. Two capes, constantly adjusting. I also didn’t do so many child haircuts because of the trouble, but kept thinking about that one simple idea.

From Idea to Action

The turning point came almost a decade later.

When my dad, Brad Walters, started Ahdept Venture Studio, he talked about helping people bring new ideas to life. I immediately told him of my idea, which I had been thinking about for years.

What felt unrealistic suddenly wasn’t.

The Ahdept team ran with it immediately. I wouldn’t have done anything without them, but they saw the potential right away.

That’s where Ahdept’s venture process began, taking a stylist’s real-world problem and moving it through structured stages: validation, funding, design, prototyping, testing, productization, marketing, and fulfillment.

Built Behind the Chair and Refined Through Process

What started as a simple concept, two head holes, quickly evolved into something much more intentional.

I didn’t think about all the details at first. But once we started prototyping, that’s where everything came together.

Working alongside the Ahdept team, every feature was tested and refined:

• Spacing between the head or neck openings: If they’re too close, you can’t cut the child’s hair properly. You need room to work.
• Full coverage design: It had to be oversized like two capes in one, so both the parent and the child are comfortable and fully protected.
• High-quality material: The +ONE cape is similar to what you’d use in a top salon, made from lightweight, static-free, durable polyester that is easy to clean.
• Hand access without losing protection: Kids hate feeling trapped. The hand openings or slits let them or a parent hold a phone or toy without pulling the cape off, while still keeping hair off them and their parent.
• Snap closures, not Velcro: I asked other stylists, and everyone said snaps. Velcro catches on clothes and irritates clients, especially kids.

The Ahdept team, led by Chandler, Caleb, and Brant, handled everything I didn’t know how to do. Everything from materials, sourcing, dimensions, manufacturing, and distribution, they took care of it. But I was involved the whole time. They constantly asked for my input, and that mattered.

That collaboration, combining real-world experience with structured product development, is at the core of Ahdept’s venture model.

I had the experience behind the chair. They had the experience building products. It worked really well together.

Tested in the Real World

From early prototypes to real salon environments, the +ONE Cape was shaped by feedback.

We tested it in salons and got great input. One stylist told me she had a client and thought, “I need that cape right now.” That’s when you knew it was solving something real.

Even unexpected use cases emerged.

A dad was getting his haircut, and his kid wanted to sit on his lap, so they used the cape for that. The kid wasn’t even getting a haircut.

The difference was immediate.

One of the first kids I used it on was my nephew, and he loved it. He was happy and calm. It was a completely different experience.

More Than a Product, A Better Experience

At its core, the +ONE Premier Haircutting Cape is about more than convenience.

It’s about changing the entire haircut experience for stylists, parents, and kids.

Kids feel safer on a parent’s lap. They’re more comfortable, less scared. And parents feel better, too. It’s stressful when your child is screaming in a salon.

By keeping parent and child together, comfortably and cleanly, the cape reduces stress, improves efficiency, and helps create better outcomes for everyone involved.

It’s something I wished I had for years. And now it’s real.

From Idea to Reality

Looking back, the moment it all clicked was simple.

Once I saw the final product used, I thought, “This is it. This is exactly how I imagined it.”

What started as a thought behind the chair became a fully realized product through the Ahdept Venture Studio process, without taking over my life or pulling me away from my career.

I could bring my idea to them, stay involved, and still keep doing what I do. That made all the difference.

A Decade in the Making

You hear about people getting some of their best ideas in the shower.

Mine came behind the chair.

And now, it’s here and ready to make haircuts better for everyone.

The +ONE Premier Haircutting Cape

Designed by me, a hairstylist. Built through experience. Brought to life with Ahdept.