Powering innovation: Trulaske business student invents groundbreaking tool for linemen

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of Trulaske Magazine.

Lane Osborn isn’t your typical business student at the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. 

At 28, he's a married father of one, balancing full-time work as a supervisor of distribution system operations at Evergy – a leading electric service provider in the Kansas City metro area – with his studies as a student in Trulaske’s online B.S.B.A. program. 

But Osborn’s ambitions don’t stop there. He’s also an emerging entrepreneur who recently secured a patent for a first-of-its-kind aerial mounted tooling device he invented and launched – the Pole Buddy. Inspired by his own experience working on power lines and witnessing too many tools and equipment fall to the ground, the Pole Buddy attaches to an aerial platform, bucket truck or pole, ensuring that power-line workers can keep track of their tools and materials. 

With his new invention being manufactured in St. Louis, Osborn has already sold more than 100 units across 15 states.

Osborn’s experience in the field gave him the opportunity to see firsthand the challenges linemen face. He’s hoping to use his business degree to bring solutions to the industry and hold leadership roles. Osborn is set to graduate in December 2025.

“It takes the right individual like me to look at the situation from a different point of view,” he said. “I personally tested the Pole Buddy on the job site. It was bare bones at the time, but it worked well.”

A different path

Osborn knew he wasn’t ready for college straight out of high school but always sensed the time would come. When the moment was right, he seized the opportunity to enroll in Trulaske’s online B.S.B.A. program, which has enabled him to pursue his business degree while continuing to support his family financially. This flexible approach has brought him closer to realizing his entrepreneurial dreams.

“I always have an entrepreneurial mindset and wanted to have something that was mine to sell,” he said. “School means so much more to me now because I can tailor my education to what I want to learn. I don’t want to just have a degree; I want it to mean something.”

In Spring 2024, Osborn was awarded the Darby Fellowship for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to help support his entrepreneurial efforts and enterprising spirit. He received a $1,000 scholarship as well as additional mentoring, networking opportunities and professional development funding to help cover travel costs to conferences, membership fees, training and/or small grants for startup/prototype costs.

The Darby Fellowship for Entrepreneurship and Innovation program – which is open to all students enrolled at the Trulaske College of Business – is the result of a generous gift from Scott (B.S.B.A. ’06) and Stephanie (B.S.B.A. ’06) Darby to support student entrepreneurs. Recipients are selected based on their entrepreneurial skills and capabilities, which could include starting a business, taking entrepreneurship classes, participating in entrepreneurship activities or contests, or taking on leadership roles in student organizations.

Osborn, who lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is currently working on several other inventions that could benefit other industries, including automotive and aviation manufacturers. 

“I do invest quite a bit of time in entrepreneurship, school, work and family,” he said. “But I have the right balance that works for me. It’s what I live for.”