Forging His Own Path: Alum’s Journey as an Inventor

For Doug Bard ’94, quitting is not an option. Whether he’s advancing his sales career, surfing a massive wave off the coast of Indonesia or pursuing his 20-plus-year quest to become a successful inventor, Bard stays focused until he reaches his goal. 

“Nothing can beat persistence,” says Bard. “Everything is going to take longer than you expect, but you need to stay with it.” 

For more than 20 years, Bard, who is the director of strategic sales at ThreatMetrix, a fraud prevention software company owned by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, sets aside several hours a week to collaborate with his father, Bob, a retired aerospace engineer, on inventing consumer products. They run a bare-bones operation without investors and have not yet had a major hit. But they have created clever products—including a universal beverage holder that prevents desktop spills and a Christmas tree stand that automatically secures the tree—and have a handful of other patents currently pending. 

Developing Wave Tape 

The latest innovation — a packing tape alternative called Wave Tape, could gain traction because it addresses a genuine need that almost everyone can relate to: ending the frustration and time-wasting search for the end of the roll of the tape. Wave Tape works by incorporating a wave-patterned colored marking system along the edge that clearly indicates the location of where the packing tape was last torn—thus their tag line – Find The Break, Every Time. It’s not only a time saver, but there is less waste and because color is not a part of the Intellectual Property, Bard sees big opportunity around holidays and private labels. 

As with many entrepreneurial ventures, there have been ups and downs on the Wave Tape journey, but Bard has no plans to give up. 

He and his father came close to landing major opportunities for Wave Tape this year, including a chance at a Shark Tank appearance and promising distribution deal, but ultimately, those prospects didn’t materialize. 

Forward Momentum 

In that moment, Bard did experience doubt, but he quickly regrouped. “These last 20-plus years have taught me to punch forward,” he says.

He decided to take all operations in-house and is promoting and selling the tape through his Wave Tape website and on social media @the_wave_tape. Orders are coming in via TikTok and Facebook. “We've re-branded, have new inventory coming out and are preparing to introduce Wave Tape to the big box retailers in 2026,” says Bard.

Bard’s determination was evident decades ago when, as a student at Bentley, he opted not to pursue a finance or accounting career, even though he was naturally good with numbers. Instead, he majored in marketing and credits Philip (Perry) Lowe, then a marketing professor who is now also special assistant to the president, for encouraging him to follow his creative vision. That led him to pursue music and song writing, two pursuits he continues to this day, while building a career in the technology industry. 

Bard says surfing has kept him humble and reminds him to not give up. 

Bentley Connection 

One of his greatest sources of strength also stems from his time at Bentley. He joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity in his first year and has remained close to a core group of friends for more than three decades. The stay connected through annual vacations and robust texting. The most recent get together of more than 30 fraternity brothers took place in early November in Destin, Florida. 

They rally behind each other professionally, celebrate personal milestones and provide support through life’s toughest challenges. “Anytime something is going on, the guys are there for each other,” Bard says. 

As he moves forward with Wave Tape, Bard squeezes in time for yet another invention — a stability and transfer device for individuals who use walkers and their caregivers, that helps to prevent slip and fall accidents. 

“The tape is more on the forefront now, but I wholeheartedly believe in the walker stand too, we have a sharp and effective prototype, and I continue outreach to companies that could be interested in that as well, but there are only so many hours in the day and family always comes first,” Bard says.