Doory on “Buy It Now”: we won our episode on NOVE

How “Buy It Now, Mai più senza” works

“Buy It Now, Mai più senza” is a new prime-time show on NOVE hosted by Gabriele Corsi. In each episode ten inventors present something they have made, and each has ninety seconds to win over two audiences.

The first audience is fifty potential buyers in the studio. After the pitch, they vote on whether they would buy the object. The price is then revealed, and they can confirm or withdraw their yes. Fewer than five yes votes means the inventor is out. Fifty means a place in the final.

In every other case, the three judges decide: Mara Maionchi, Giorgio Mastrota and Stefano D’Onghia. An inventor reaches the final only if all three vote Buy. The judges then choose the episode’s winner from the finalists, and Gabriele Corsi announces it at the end of the night.

Our episode

Ninety seconds isn’t much time to introduce something nobody has seen before. We went on stage together and let Dory speak.

Thomas picked up his keys and Dory greeted him with a reminder about the umbrella. He then asked it to remind me, Lorenzo, to take the trash out. I hadn’t done it once in six months of living together. When I picked up my keys, Dory reminded me in front of the whole studio. To finish, the studio lights went off. Dory connects to your smart home and can control your lights, lower the blinds or arm the alarm when you leave.

Then came the vote. Forty-five of the fifty buyers said yes and confirmed their votes after seeing the price. We moved on to the judges and all three voted Buy, which put us in the final. When Gabriele Corsi announced the winner of the episode, the name was ours.

We left the studio proud of what we’d achieved and with €10,000 to keep developing Dory. Dory isn’t on sale yet, but forty-five people out of fifty were ready to take it home, and all three judges voted Buy. It was the strongest validation we could have asked for.

Where the prize goes

Dory started in our home, with an idea we had while we were still studying. We designed and engineered it ourselves, without outside help. The prize will help us build the next prototypes.

After tax, the prize will fund thirty units for homes beyond our own. We’ll choose thirty testers soon from the waitlist and our VIP backers. They’ll live with Dory for months and tell us how it fits into their days. Thirty homes mean thirty different entryways, ways of setting down keys and people using Dory in ways we’ve probably never thought of. Get in touch if you’re interested!

What Dory is

Dory sits by the front door. You put your keys down when you get home and pick them up when you leave: two things you already do every day. Both actions trigger the information you need, spoken aloud or sent as a notification to your phone. A message from someone you live with when you get home, a reminder of what you might forget when you leave.

Dory recognises you by your set of keys, linked to your profile. Everyone receives only their own messages and reminders, with no camera and no microphone listening to the room. When the last person leaves, it can also start smart home routines.

Phone reminders go off at a set time, often when you’ve already left. Dory waits for the moment that matters: keys in hand, at the door, while you can still turn back. Everything it can do is on the Dory website. We’ve also explained why phone reminders don’t work.

It helps you leave the house with less to remember. It can be especially useful if everyday forgetfulness is a struggle, as we wrote in our piece on ADHD and everyday forgetfulness. For the full picture, read our guide to the smart key tray.

When you can get one

Dory is not on sale yet. It launches on Kickstarter in February 2027, once all the product specifications are final. We only get one chance to launch the campaign. People on the waitlist hear first and can lock in the early-backer price today with a small refundable deposit. Dory is designed and developed in Italy by Thomas David Short, Federico Zarantonello and Lorenzo Gumiero, working in Milan at Habits Design Studio.

Doory or Dory?

It is Dory, with one O. On television we used our earlier name, Doory. That’s the name on the prize envelope.

The name came from door. But the double O usually sounds like the one in moon or food; door is an exception. People seeing Doory for the first time read it as “doo-ree”. It sounded too heavy for an object meant to take things off your mind. In the studio, the judges immediately thought of the famous little fish from the animated film. That helped us see how well a short, familiar name could work. If you searched for Doory after the show, you are in the right place: same object, same people.

At a glance

Product

Dory, a smart key tray for the home entryway

Name on TV

Doory

Show

“Buy It Now, Mai più senza”, NOVE (Italy), October 8, 2026

Result

45 yes votes out of 50 after the price, three Buy votes from the judges, episode winner

Prize

€10,000, for thirty units tested in thirty homes

Testers

Thirty people chosen soon from the waitlist and our VIP backers

Availability

Kickstarter in February 2027, waitlist open now

Team

Thomas David Short, Federico Zarantonello, Lorenzo Gumiero

Website

doryhome.com