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Students from McAuliffe International and Kepner Beacon Middle School have been participating in YouthBiz Startup enrichment classes the last few months. This week they presented their awesome business ideas!
McAuliffe International’s business competition was one for the books! There were six business ideas being presented and everyone talked about their competition, material costs and future goals for their product:
- The Nomad-A camping survival kit that is waterproof and has a ton of unique tools.
- Insta Fresh-The sleek all gender inclusive hygiene pack so you don’t have to go anywhere without being your freshest.
- Artigami-An origami made decorative flower ball and vase to solve the problem of bare tables and boring décor.
- Garrett’s Shoe-The self-lacing and pencil picking up shoe that also tells you if you are missing homework assignments.
- Fijit-A fidget cube that helps kids with ADHD fidget quietly.
- The DJ machine-portable DJ machine that can plug into your phone, for the music novice or the professionals.
Judges David Whitcomb, Matt Bliss, and Justin Hawksley with McAuliffe International entrepreneurs.
We were so lucky to have expert judges evaluate the business pitches. The panel included Justin Hawksley from Creative Planning Inc., Matt Bliss (who got an actual deal on the show Shark Tank for his business Modern Christmas Trees!), and David Whitcomb from SM Energy . I think the judges would agree that this was a close competition as they wanted to continue deliberating about who the winner would be.
There were four business ideas presented at Kepner Beacon Middle School. Judges were impressed with the ideas and the work that went into coming up with their ideas and creating their prototypes. The following businesses presented:
- A.M-A robot active game created to help youth that are bored of games and for parents who would like their kids to be more active. This game is interactive and you can walk out with it and go on adventures.
- True Beds- New & Improved mattresses with memory foam. The bed is temperature controlled for both sides of the bed, you can also adjust the mattress AND you get a free subscription for a year when buying the mattress.
- The Snake Headphones- Created to help people whose headphones always get tangled and for those that want to cut out the noise from their environment. The headphones are one size fits all, they can stretch out. They also have Bluetooth capability, noise cancellation and volume control right on them!
- JPDBGA-Want to spice up your house a bit? Are you a lover of everything water? This business makes metal boats with colorful designs on them that can be used to decorate our home!
Judges Tom Green, Rosie Wolf, Kari Thiessen, and Ally Stickelman with YouthBiz Director Maite Wantwadi at Kepner Beacon Middle School.
Judges Rosie Wolf of Capital One, Kari Thiessen of Plante Moran, Tom Green and Ally Stickelman of Amica Mutual Insurance Company didn’t have much time to deliberate and the students couldn’t wait to hear the results!
After some great feedback the $100 winners were announced…. Matthew Layden with Artagami won from McAuliffe International and the Snake Headphones won from Kepner Beacon Middle School! The judges were impressed with these two extraordinary presentations and business plans. Congratulations to all the young entrepreneurs who presented!
