From idea spotting to the business plan and marketing strategy to the pitch, students in Beaver’s entrepreneurship elective have spent the term learning the different facets of being an entrepreneur.
Each student developed his/her own idea for a new and innovative company – one that will make a positive impact on an industry or on society and also be driven by profit. The following three ideas were voted the best in class. Led by a student CEO, these ideas will be pitched to a panel of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs on March 1.
CEO: Michael Shaich ’17
Team: Brittany Parry ’17, Lilly Caro ’17, Freddie Wilson’17
Company: Clothesline
What is Clothesline, and what problem is it solving?
Clothesline is an app that scans and stores a customer’s body measurements so that they can purchase clothes on any of our partnered sites without having to worry about choosing the right size. We are a technology company that will provide consumers with a convenient, economical, and burden-free clothes buying experience.
We started Clothesline because, in a rapidly evolving world, it is almost always easier to buy items online than in store. The $225 billion dollars clothing industry, however, is the one exception to this trend.
Online shopping is a burdensome experience. In a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, 56 percent of Americans had to return clothes ordered online within the last six months because they did not fit properly. Not only is this a burden to the consumer who must schlep out to the physical store to purchase and try on clothes, but it is also a significant financial burden to clothing companies who spend millions of dollars a year on restocking fees from returns.
What makes Clothesline the best idea to solve this problem?
Unlike competitors, Clothesline does not restrict consumers to buying from one brand or one style. Instead, Clothesline allows consumers to buy any type of clothes – be it jeans, t-shirts, shorts, or jackets – from any of our wide-selection of partnered companies.
What challenges do you think might face in developing your product?
Undoubtedly, my speciality is not coding. I can barely operate PencilCode and Clothesline requires some intricate technology. Because me and my team are not capable of developing the scanning technology ourselves, our biggest challenge will be finding the right partner to develop and execute our idea.
What strengths do you bring to the table as a CEO?
I have a clear vision of where I want Clothesline to end up. I have strong expectations but I am also a good listener. My team can always count on me to be a good role model for the conscientious work ethic I expect from them.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I see myself working in operations – be it in the hospitality industry, restaurant industry, or in sports management.
What three words do you want people to associate with Clothesline?
Convenience, economical, frictionless.
CEO: Andrew Muggia ’17
Team: Jabari Johnson ’17, Olivia Dobkin ’17, Ryan Joy ’17
Company: Reset
What is Reset, and what problem is it solving?
Reset is an app that connects your light dimmer to regular lightbulbs in your room. It does more than just turn on/off the lights and dim them – it works as a scheduled alarm system to allow the customer the perfect night sleep.
How does this work? Well, if you tend to go to sleep at 10 p.m., you set the alarm for 9:30 p.m. and the lights slowly dim until completely dark at 10. If you tend to wake up at 8 a.m., you then set the alarm for 7:30 a.m. and the lights slowly brighten until completely bright at 8. This allows you to have the most calming and relaxing night sleep possible.
With our app, we’re helping solve sleep deprivation and the difficulty for a certain audience to fall asleep in the first place. Our research shows people ages 16-30 have the most difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. After talking to lots of people, we received a clear answer that no one likes waking up abruptly to a loud alarm sound.
What makes Reset the best idea to solve this problem?
After hours of researching other competitors, no other “lighting system” related applications do anything relatively close to Reset – they all focus on the lightbulb and not on the switch. Our product does what no other product has thought of; The gradual light alarm and scheduling aspect is a completely new idea.
What challenges do you think might face in developing your product?
I think that the technology installed in the light switch dimmer will be relatively difficult, but because of other competitors, we won’t be starting from scratch.
What strengths do you bring to the table as a CEO?
I have the ability to bring my team of three others together and become passionate for Reset. I work with my team members without thinking about the CEO title, and value all opinions, thoughts, and suggestions equally. I am determined, motivated, and passionate for Reset and believe it can be very successful.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
The dream is to start an entrepreneurial company in Southern California where I have the resources and many brilliant people in Silicon Valley to collaborate with in Northern California.
What three words do you want people to associate with Reset?
Creative, Beneficial, Smart
CEO: Will Ferguson ’17
Team: Carter McDivitt ’17, Keziah Hoyt ’17, Ian Von Schroeter ’17
Company: RoadTrip
What is RoadTrip, and what problem is it solving?
RoadTrip is an application that provides the user with customized events, restaurants, hotels, and more. The app starts with a customized profile for each user, and then recommends places along your location based off of your profile and other users with similar profiles. The app will also use artificial intelligence to recommend events that are similar to events the user previously liked.
Why? Because road trips are boring. Our goal is to change that and make road trips about more than just getting from “a” to “b”. We want people to enjoy the journey of getting to their destination. After all, “Life is about the journey, not the destination”. And we want to make that journey as fun as the destination.
What makes RoadTrip the best idea to solve this problem?
RoadTrip is the best idea to solve this issue because no two individual’s profiles will look the same. They will each be customized based off of a user’s preferences. This is a quality our competitors lack.
What challenges do you think might face in developing your product?
One main challenge I will face is trying to be different and better than the competition.
What strengths do you bring to the table as a CEO?
As a CEO, I bring my creativity, financial management skills, and love/desire for the product to succeed to the table.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years I see RoadTrip as the best app for doing what it does. This will be due to its customization ability.
What three words do you want people to associate with RoadTrip?
Customization, convenience, creative
Check out student CEOs from past terms: