FAIRFIELD, N.J. — He's the man behind such clever "As Seen on TV" gadgets as the Ped Egg, the Stick Up Bulb and the Doggy Steps.

But wait, there's more!

A.J. Khubani is not only the founder and chief executive of Telebrands, one of the nation's top direct-response TV marketing companies. He's also a college lecturer, helping to inspire a new generation of inventors at Princeton University.

"A.J. has basically brought an extraordinary amount of real-world insight and talent into the course," said Daniel M. Nosenchuck, a Princeton associate engineering professor who runs the "Entrepreneurial Engineering" course.

Khubani, part of a family telemarketing dynasty, developed the course curriculum and assembled experts on industrial design, patent law, branding and direct marketing for guest lectures. He does the opening lecture and comes in periodically to guide students on group design projects.

Students produce mock infomercials, complete with familiar TV ad phrases including "Call now and we'll double your order, just pay separate shipping and handling!" and boasting that "the secret" of the invention is in a revolutionary design.

Sophomore Matthew de Jonge, a mechanical engineering major, said he loved the practical and business knowledge he gained in the class. He and two other students developed the "Clean Air Pillow," a pillow case pouch that traps allergens and dust particles to ease sleep. TeleBrands is evaluating their prototype to see if it can be made inexpensively.

Khubani, 48, said he's rejected many an idea that sounded good, but wasn't original, couldn't be made or shipped economically, or had other drawbacks.

"We look for products that have mass appeal," said Khubani. "It's got to solve a common problem."

Some examples have been big sellers, including Doggy Steps, fold-out stairs to help small pets climb onto furniture, and the Stick Up Bulb, a battery-operated lightbulb that can be stuck inside any dark, out-of-the-way place; both were Khubani's ideas. His newest product, launching soon, is "Get A Grip," a handle with suction cups to help unsteady people stand or get out of the shower.

Khubani has plenty of experience to tap for the course, having started his company 24 years ago, before the rise of Home Shopping Network, QVC and now ubiquitous half-hour and two-minute, or "short form," TV infomercials.

Growing up in Union, N.J., Khubani remembers watching direct response ads, including one for a folding fishing pole he pestered his mom into buying him at age 11.

After earning a degree in business administration from Montclair State University, Khubani worked for his father's consumer electronics importing business, then started selling some items through print ads. He was hooked on direct marketing when he broke even on the first try.

In 1987, he produced three short-form commercials, one for what he touts as the first "As Seen on TV" product: AmberVision sunglasses, which he designed after seeing how well yellow-tinted glasses sharpened vision for people practicing at a gun range.

Back then, people mailed in checks, money orders and even cash for his products. A few still do, but he says 90 percent of revenue comes from sales at major retail partners.

Most TeleBrands products are pitched by inventors, who license rights in exchange for royalties.

Among them is David Kotkin, a Dade County, Fla., high school art education teacher. More than a decade after TeleBrands started selling magnetic dusters, he started tinkering by putting one on a motor. That increased static and helped the duster flex into different shapes, and the "Go Duster" was born. It has sold 2 million units since being introduced last July.

"It's exciting to see your product, something you worked on in your garage when no one believed in it, and now it's in stores around the world," he said.

TeleBrands launches three to five new products a year, and many are replaced by a new gizmo in barely a year.

"People are interested in new products," Khubani said. "We'll sell millions of something and then we'll move on."

Some last a bit longer, like the Stick Up Bulb, which has sold 5.2 million units since 2006.

Most items sell for $10, and a few for $20, such as the Audubon Bird clock, with bird calls each hour to match pictures on the clock face. Shipping and handling fees, long a source of profit for mail order companies, can equal half the sales price.

He said the privately held company, which contracts out work ranging from manufacturing and TV commercial production to warehousing and customer service, has revenue exceeding $100 million a year.

It's a real family affair: His two younger brothers have competing telemarketing businesses, and Khubani's wife, Poonam, sells infomercial products, including his, overseas. His father is a partner with the three brothers in a Hong Kong-based business that arranges for final design work and manufacturing of their products.

Despite the successes, Khubani said many products that make it to the "test-commercial" stage turn out to be duds, attracting few customers. In those cases, initial orders are filled and the ads are yanked quickly.

"We're always looking for clues" as to what might be the next hit, said Khubani.

That's how he came up with Telebrands' current top seller, the Ped Egg. Since September, TeleBrands has sold more than a million of the palm-sized, egg-shaped device for removing foot calluses that neatly catches the dead skin.

His wife had heard that some customers at the salon she goes to were bringing in cheese graters for that part of a pedicure, amid concerns about getting infections from shared equipment.

"So we went out and bought some cheese graters," he said, and tried them on her feet. "It turns out it works great."