Valley Stream inventors win QVC contest

If you log on to QVC.com Monday, one of the possible purchases comes from two Valley Stream inventors.

Brothers Alex and Dan Luca found out Friday that their Window Safe invention got the most votes for the week in the QVC Sprouts program. The program, which started last month, puts several inventions on the site for shoppers to vote on. The invention with the most votes Monday through Friday goes on sale on QVC.com the following Monday and has a chance to eventually appear on a network telecast.

Window Safe is a window-locking system designed to keep intruders out while allowing fresh air in, and according to the product description can be installed without tools.

Dan Luca, 46, and Alex, 35, got the call Friday from Melville’s Brian Fried, a lifelong inventor whose products have appeared on QVC in the past. Fried presented Window Safe to QVC buyers last November, and the product ended up being included in the Sprouts program.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Alex Luca said about hearing the news Friday. “It’s like I’m on Cloud 9. I just ran all the hard work through the years in my head, and it was incredible.”

As noted last week in a newsday.com story, the brothers got the idea for Window Safe back in 1997 while trying to let air into their mom’s room and keep the window secure. Fried said he’s taken Window Safe to several potential licensees who passed on the product, making the brothers even more thankful that QVC gave them a chance.

“Now that we won this, the sky’s the limit,” Alex Luca said. “To know that so many people voted for you, it’s a great confidence booster, and now we’re just praying every day that this does real well.”

Window Safe and other QVC Sprouts winners can be viewed here.

Photo: Alex Luca shows off the Window Safe system that he and brother Dan Luca, both of Valley Stream, are hoping is the next breakout product on QVC.