Leo Krueger talks to Startup Showcase judges Corey Ferengul, Sarah Gilege, Scott Nancarrow, and Mike Shannon about his snack mix/protein bar business.
NORMAL — Joi Strickland wants to help more students succeed. Thanks to an event at Illinois State University, she receives her $10,000 to help support it.
Strickland is a 2022 Startup Showcase winner at Illinois State University and a sophomore majoring in International Business and Accounting. She also keeps busy with other activities such as student associations.
That rush led her to ‘Studenttivity’, an app suite aimed at helping students manage their time and energy and develop productive habits. She presented the app to a panel of business people in the area at a showcase on Friday.
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“We’re not just students. We work, we volunteer, we do a lot,” she told the panel.
Strickland wants to work with colleges and universities that want their students to use the app to reduce stress and ideally improve their memory.
The annual Startup Showcase is hosted by the George R. and Martha Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, part of the College of Business. Modeled after the TV show Shark Tank. More than 25 students entered the competition and 10 finalists gave presentations on Friday to her panel of four businessmen with ties to the ISU.
Illinois State University senior Joi Strickland unveiled plans for a student productivity application, Studenttivity, at the 2022 Startup Showcase at the Aaron Leech Club on Friday. Strickland won the competition.
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Second place went to Nya Gibbs of Divine Passion Art, which makes satin-lined hoodies that allow the wearer to express themselves and protect their hair.
Zach Camacho’s Axyes, an app that provides users with accessibility information about businesses and events, takes third place.
Gibbs will receive $6,000, Camacho $4,000, and the other finalists $500.
This is the first year the event has been able to offer five-figure first-place prizes, said Terry Rowe, assistant professor of management and quantitative methods. The funds will be used for the student’s business expenses, not for prize money.
“We pay the bills to grow their business,” says Lowe.
Past winners include Open Source Classroom, which helps teachers develop professional uses for 3D printing and other emerging technologies, and BizzBaits, a bass fishing lure company. Last year’s winner was her Curlave, launched by Ashley Garrett, for selling curly hair extensions for black women.
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One of this year’s judges, Mike Shannon, was part of the team that won Packback in 2011, helping high school and college students practice writing. As someone who works in the education field, he used the question-and-answer portion on Friday to give Strickland a feel for the kinds of challenges she could face.
This year’s other finalist ideas include Destini Anderson’s “Any Bars” app, which helps members of the military check if cell service is available, and was inspired by Leo Krueger’s time zone. Mezcla Mix/Bocado Bars were included.
A Startup Showcase panel, consisting of Corey Ferengul, Sarah Gilege, Scott Nancarrow, and Mike Shannon from left to right, asked Illinois State University senior Joi Strickland about the company’s proposal, “Studentivity,” at the Aaron Leech Club at Hancock Stadium on Friday. I’m here.
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This year’s entries tended toward technology businesses such as apps, along with some consumable entries, Lowe said. Students were admitted from faculties across the university.
“It is our goal to recognize that student entrepreneurs are in every field academically,” he said.
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In addition to students, the event will also present two entrepreneurial awards. The Illinois State University Economic Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award is given to local business owners and the Illinois State University Entrepreneur of the Year Award is given to college graduates.
This year’s business winners were Tim and Vicky Tilton, owners of the Monroe Center in Bloomington. The building houses the Fox & Hounds Day Spa and other commercial spaces. We are also actively involved in local charitable activities.
Destiny Anderson, a graduate student at Illinois State University and an Illinois National Guard officer, has come up with the idea for an app, Any Bars, during a startup period in 2022 that would allow servicemen to see if there is cell reception at the base they are deployed to. did. Aaron Leach will perform a showcase at his club on Friday.
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The alumni award went to Mike Kasaba, an investor and former CEO of Artisan Vehicles, an electric mining vehicle company. Kasaba said he graduated from the ISU in 1988. Prior to Artisan, he founded Quiet Energy, an alternative energy utility company.
Lowe said it’s nice to have students in the evenings to meet members of the community as well.
“We have people from all these communities here, and we want them to support and recognize these students,” Lowe said.
5 product failures that led to success
How 5 Famous Consumer Goods Evolved Beyond Their Inventor’s Original Ideas
As any would-be inventor knows, coming up with a great idea is only the first step to developing a successful product. Without the technical skills to design a great idea and a partner to bring it to life, your invention will remain a figment of your imagination.
And that doesn’t take into account inventions that turn into prototypes but never develop into full-fledged consumer products.
There is also a third product category. An idea that became a viable invention, not what the creator intended. Think of prescription drugs with amazing off-label benefits, like the high blood pressure drugs some doctors prescribe to treat her PTSD-related nightmares. Or think of Play-Doh. The infinitely stretchable, moldable clay we all know and love was originally intended as a wallpaper cleaner.
To highlight the creativity and flexibility that lead to successful product development, ClickUp has compiled a list of successful products that were not originally intended from a collection of news and expert sources.
Keep reading to find out how these five famous consumer products evolved far beyond their inventors’ original ideas.
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pacemaker
In 1956, inventor Wilson Greatbatch accidentally installed the wrong size resistor while trying to build a machine that could record the sound of the human heart. Instead of the intended result, the machine started emitting its own pulses.
The pulses were irregular at first, but Greatbatch continued working the device until it produced regular pulses with very little battery power.
After further testing in dogs, Greatbatch prepared the pacemaker for humans. By 1961, about 100 patients were using new pacemakers. It is estimated that as many as 3 million Americans have implanted pacemakers today.
Birgit Leitz-Hoffmann // Shutterstock
sticky note
The story behind today’s ubiquitous sticky notes began in 1968 when Minnesota-based chemists at 3M were trying to develop a new adhesive. Spencer Silver wanted to create an adhesive that was even stronger and tougher than what the company already had and came up with the idea of microspheres. Silver initially couldn’t find a use for them, but in 1974 a colleague named Art Frye had an “epiphany moment.”
Fry, while fiddling with a hymnbook during church choir practice, realized that bookmarks would be much more useful if they could prevent them from sticking to the pages when the book was opened.
When the 3M team developed a prototype of the Post-it, it also proved useful for handing out notes in the office. In 1980, 3M released its first Post-It product, which was a huge success.
Indypendenz // Shutterstock
bubble wrap
Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes created bubble wrap in 1957 as a textured wallpaper that appealed to the beat generation. Two plastic shower curtains were run through a heat-sealing machine and he had a film with air bubbles trapped inside.
Fielding and Chavannes were unsure about the best use for their invention, but they knew they had created something interesting and applied for a patent for the process. After the two inventors brainstormed over 400 potential uses, he stumbled upon one: packaging materials.
Today, Sealed Air, founded by Fielding and Chavannes, is a Fortune 500 company with 2021 revenues of over $5.5 billion.
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Listerine
Do you know the word bad breath? You may not realize that Listerine actually coined the term to market mouthwash.In 1879, Joseph his Dr. Lawrence developed a unique formula for Listerine as a surgical antiseptic. He even named his creation after Dr. Joseph Lister, the first surgeon to operate in a sterile room and the father of antiseptics.
By 1895, Lawrence transferred ownership of Listerine to the Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, who discovered that Listerine also killed bacteria in the mouth and sold it to dentists. In the 1920s, the company began marketing Listerine as a treatment for “halitosis” (formerly known as halitosis), and sales increased dramatically.
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Youtube
YouTube’s 2.5 billion active users wouldn’t have been aware of the first version of the popular video app. In 2005, co-founders Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Joad Karim created YouTube as a video dating site where users could upload videos talking about their dream partner.
In less than a week, no one has uploaded a video. The co-founder even offered the woman her $20 to upload a video of herself on the site.
When the co-founders realized that their initial plan hadn’t worked out, they opened up the platform to any video and YouTube was born. In 2006 Google acquired YouTube for his $1.65 billion, and in the second quarter of 2022 YouTube reported his $7.34 billion in revenue.
This story was originally published on ClickUp and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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Contact Connor Wood at (309) 820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood
