A lot like my last post, a whole new idea of making sure kids get exercise. A soccer ball that can charge your cell phone in just 30 minutes allows kids to still enjoy fun and games outside, yet still be able to use their phone at full battery. What a great idea! Kick a soccer ball around for 30 minutes, and you’ve got three hours’ worth of electricity that can charge a cell phone and small appliances.

The Soccket Energy Ball, which comes with an LED lamp, was designed by Harvard students Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman with countries that rely on toxic kerosene lamps in mind. Each ball can be preordered for $99 as well. Jessica Matthews and Julia Silvermann got their idea while at Harvard. They decided that they wanted to pick something that could benefit kids by improving health; however they understand the increase in technology use. They did the best thing and combined the two things to create this ball. They took advantage of the liquid network!

To watch a video on this product, click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeb2fyHKirQ

Phone batteries don’t last forever. In fact, it becomes a major inconvenience when it dies and you are not around an outlet to charge it. When Matthew Stanton was a sophomore at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, he often found himself walking around with a dead cell phone and no charger, or nowhere to plug in a charger. That annoying experience came back to him later when, as a mechanical engineering major in his senior year, he was on a design class team working to create something that would help students. After thinking back to all of his issues with his dead phone, Matt instantly thought of his new idea:

Stanton and a teammate from that class, Hahna Alexander, are now the proud co-founders of SolePower, a company based on the resulting device: an insole weighing less than five ounces that uses the energy created by walking to charge a cell phone. So now, hikers will no longer have to worry about dead phones; the same for people living without a reliable source of power.

This invention proves to be an example of young individuals finding problems in society and innovating to solve the issues. Not only did he solve a problem with a dead phone, but he improved on an issue involving lack of exercise. In order for the phone to charge, walking is needed. This idea can help individuals stay in better shape and stay healthy.

To read more on Matthew Stanton and learn more about him, please click on this link:

Founder Profile: Matthew Stanton of SolePower

Want to be more like a Dolphin? Well here is your chance! Inspired by the way dolphins navigate the ocean (aka echolocation), a group of Ph.D. candidates from Japan’s Tsukuba University recently developed an innovative sonar glove that allows the wearer to feel what’s underwater without actually grabbing something. Designed and tested by Aisen Carolina Chacin and Takeshi Ozu, the IrukaTact glove (iruka means dolphin in Japanese) uses a variety of pulsating water jets to create haptic feedback to any wearer. After the glove’s sonar detects objects under water, it sends a signal back to the glove which then begins applying pressure to necessary fingers via these water jets. If the glove gets closer to an object, the pressure intensifies, alerting the wearer of its proximity.

The main goal of their design was to expand haptics since vibration alone is not enough for most people to sense the depth or feel the various textures of an object not being touched. Their drive to invent this came based on their love for dolphins. When people find something they are passionate about, it is much easier to find ideas to improve upon something or to find new ideas for new inventions. These two entrepreneurs are prime examples of finding their passion, and implementing it to everyone else.  So there you have it all you dolphin lovers! Now you can find out what it is like with these haptic sonar gloves!

For a video on what the gloves look like and do, click on this link:

Attention all teachers… wouldn’t it be nice to have an easier way to keep track of everything in a classroom? Well thanks to William Zhou, now you can. Before the age of 23, Zhou came up with a brilliant idea to make life easier on teachers. William came up with Chalk.com, a mobile platform that allows teachers to manage their daily workload (lesson plans, assessments, attendance etc.) more efficiently. The idea has become very successful; being used in over 20,000 schools. Even at a young age, William was able to be innovative.

William Zhou was born in Beijing and raised in Vancouver.William has been passionate about entrepreneurship from a young age; he found his first company while still in high school. He launched his first internet business in 2010, which he sold at the age 18 during his first year at the University of Waterloo. While still in college, William spoke with his teachers from high school about their professional experiences. He found that teaching was not very easy and began thinking of a way to change education for the better. This was the beginning of his masterful idea.

In anything you do in life, you must work hard at it. Nothing will come easy. If you have the passion and you have the drive, anything is possible. This is basically what Zhou was telling us in an interview with KidBacker magazine; He states that if you find something you are truly passionate about, you can change the world. Start young and do not be afraid to take chances.

There you have it teachers! Check out Chalk.com to make your lives easier!

If you would like to see learn more and read up on his interview, click on this link:

https://kidbacker.com/entrepreneur-spotlight-william-zhou/

Future lawyers, pay close attention!! Did you know that you can now find more government information? The new start up, called FiscalNote, was designed for organizations facing government impact. FiscalNote is the platform for professionals to plan and execute their organization’s government risk strategy. Organizations rely on FiscalNote, because of its accurate and relevant information, cutting-edge analytics, and ease of use. This unique company is taking off at a high rate with no signs of slowing down; FiscalNote has made over $18 million in funding since its launch back in 2013. They have also grown to some 100 employees. The only question remaining now is, who came up with this brilliant idea?

Timothy Hwang, a Princeton graduate, founded the company at the age of 21. His entrepreneurial mind started at a must younger age however. At the age of 14, he founded Operation Fly, Inc., which he founded after a trip to Guatemala. He quickly gained national prominence and eventually won the Ernst and Young Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Greater Washington Area at the age of 17. The organization was best known for its “Sheets for Streets” program that handed out blankets to the homeless and “Packs for Backs” programs that handed out backpacks filled with school supplies to underprivileged children.

Being an entrepreneur his whole life, Timothy knew what it took to get the job done. In a recent interview with “Business Rockstars,” Timothy sat down and explained his 4 insights to developing a successful start up company. The first insight was to pick the right people. “You are the average of the five people that you hang out with,” is one of the biggest pieces of advice that Tim has received from his personal mentors. As a result, the people who Tim surround himself with are all driven, motivated and passionate about what they do. His second insight was to build the right culture. FiscalNote emphasizes a flat and transparent organizational structure. Management and workers alike strive toward the best solutions every day. This gives employees the best chance to be successful. Timothy’s third insight is that it is about the customer, and no one else. “Business fundamentally comes down to one thing — solving one problem for one person over and over again,” Hwang said. In startups, where there are new issues and strategies appearing every day, it’s easy to lose sight of what is most important — the customers. This is the vision that the company lives by and believes is a must to be the best they can be. The final insight that Hwang discusses is to pick the right venture capital partners. He states that Venture capital partners do more than just finance your startup. Investors also help to expand a company’s growth by providing guidance and expertise. Without the help of them, the company would be nowhere close to where it is now.

Order in the Court!! This new company is so unique that everyone is going crazy about it. Go check it out. Who knows, it may save you from legal troubles one day.

If you would like to get a closer look at Timothy Hwang’s 4 insights, check out this link:

https://www.fiscalnote.com/2016/04/26/four-insights-launching-company-ceo-tim-hwang/

By: Brett Pinson

What were you doing at the age of 15? Well, for Philip Hartman, this question seems easy to answer. Philip Hartman, a Colorado native, was on road trip with his family when he realized how dirty the windshield was on their car. It was at that very moment when Philip came up with the idea for steam-powered wiper blades. He called it “Steam Viper.” Thought process seems so simple, yet so genius. Philip wanted to eliminate the need to get out of the car and clean bugs off the windshield during a long road trip. However, Philip’s invention also covers the problem of icy windows during the winter time; “There should be a way that we don’t need to scrape our windows when they’re icy,” Hartman said. This invention demonstrated the ability to defrost a frost-covered windshield in about 15 seconds. This lead to Philip being the 2008 Young Inventor of the Year winner.

Now you never have to get out of the car to scrape your windows again in the freezing cold thanks to a 15 year old boy who used his knowledge to think of something so sufficient and helpful. Being home schooled his whole life was said to be very helpful to Philip, “I could never learn what I’m learning at college. They don’t teach it there, because it can’t be learned in that way.” Philip continues to work very hard at trying to find new ways to improve society. He says that in order to be successful, you must always be passionate about something. he states,  “It’s not easy. You’ve got to have a huge passion for it, along with a passion for helping out the world. If you’re just doing it for the money, then it doesn’t really work. You won’t end up being successful.”

Finding an opportunity to improve the world can happen anytime and anywhere. Think about that, this young man came up with this idea on a family vacation. Always be open to new thoughts, and when opportunity arises, take advantage of it.

If you would like to view a Q/A session with Philip, check out this link:

http://juniorbiz.com/interview-philip-hartman