Feet-tanning firm seeks investor

After eight years of plodding along, Bill Johnson finally has some sales success to support his invention, a device that can tan a person's feet with a proprietary mix of UV lights.

Now Johnson, of Sarasota-based Solafeet, is knee-deep in the next phase of his business plan — to recruit an investor or equity partner who will put in at least $500,000 into the operation. That quest is another challenge entirely.

“We're doing good,” Johnson tells Coffee Talk, “but we haven't been able to attract an investor who can support advertising.”

Johnson says the third run of the products, also called Solafeet, will ship in early May. He sold out the past two runs, 400 units, mostly at $229 apiece over the last two years. The bulk of the sales are from Internet searches, says Johnson.