He received commercial interest from Quaker Oats but declined the company 's initial offer .
Rather than leaving the invention un patented -- then the standard practice for university inventions -- Steenbock used $300 of his own money to file for a patent .
Steenbock received commercial interest from Quaker Oats but declined the company 's initial offer .
Rather than leaving the invention un patented -- then the standard practice for university inventions -- Steenbock used $300 of his own money to file for a patent .