Comment on Effingham men turn 360-degree tree stands into business

Three Effingham County men have secured a $150,000 loan and $2 million in insurance as they try to turn a good idea — a hunter’s tree stand that circles a tree — into a successful business. Minis Hillis came up with the idea for the stand that allows hunters to watch for prey from every direction and enlisted the help of his neighbor and avid hunter Dennis Kessler and a second friend, Kevin Diaz. The three men set up a limited liability company — 360 Treestands — and went after a patent. Hillis got a structural engineer to help him build a cardboard mockup of the tree stand, which is shaped like an octagon.