Astoria High School graduate starts business to sell deviceAfter spending his college summers moving heavy furniture and appliances in Portland, Thomas Dent turned an idea "born of necessity" into a successful business.

The 1994 Astoria High School graduate invented a two-person harness system for lifting heavy, awkward objects. The Shoulder Dolly, patent pending, retails for $349. After a year of testing, it went on the market in January and in just 10 months in business, Dent has already sold more than 1,000.

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