Author Archive for YoungLB18

Soap to Hope

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Tuesday, November 20th, 2018 
· 1 Comment

Homelessness is extremely prominent all over the US but especially in New Mexico, no one knows this quite as well as teenager Donovan Smith who, with his Mom, was homeless. Now, Donovan is selling soap to raise money for homeless people in Albequerqe NM.

The TV show Returning the Favor with Mike Rowe surprised Donovan with a store of his own. It was colorful, stocked with ingredients, and had a place for him to create and relax. This gift was a huge step in the success of his company. He has been learning how to manage a business and how to fulfill the demand that is increasing on the daily. His entrepreneurial endeavors has created a business that has donated 20,000 bars of soap to the homeless community in 2017.

Because of his altruistic endeavors Donovan has received a generous donation of $30K for his college fund. This way he is able to go to school while focusing on his business that is helping a community that desperately needs it.

Entrepreneurs can learn from Donovan by turning tragic life experiences into ways to better the community around them. Instead of letting his family’s homelessness be a mark of shame upon himself he decided to turn it into a business that helps prevent others from going through the same struggle.

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Gomez, Adrian. “Teen Soap-Maker Gets $30K for College Fund.” Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Journal, 9 Jan. 2018, www.abqjournal.com/1116714/tv-series-gives-back-to-abq-teen.html.

1 Comment
Categories : Social Entrepreneur

ReThink to End Cyberbullying

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Tuesday, November 20th, 2018 
· 3 Comments

High school is a scary place, a time full of exploration and fun, but also a time of insecurity and anxiety. In today’s technologically led world, cyber bullying has become more and more prominent. 9/10 High Schoolers that are being cyber bullied do not report it, thus leading to higher suicide and depression rates. That is why 17 year old Trisha Prabhu started ReThink,”A patented technology that effectively detects and stops online hate before the damage is done” (ReThink).

Trisha Prabhu, creator of Rethink, an app to stop cyberbullying

Trisha who has been coding since she was 10 has always wanted to make a difference. She wanted to leave her footprint in the world by creating something that can make life better for people. “This app is now used in over 1,000 schools worldwide, the app been downloaded thousands of times on Google Play and the App store, and has been introduced to over 1.3 million students in Michigan as a part of their OK2SAY cyberbullying awareness program” (Chicagoinno). This app uses an algorithm that can trace hurtful speech and will ask the writer if they want to Rethink their post due to the potential harm.

This Chicago-born student has made a difference for so many people. After launching the app in 2014 she has found that 93% of the time users notified will change their post before putting it out into the web. This kind of an impact is huge, especially in a time where social media plays a key role in the formation of children’s lives.

Entrepreneurs can learn from Trisha by taking the talents they have and combining it with the passions they have to better the world around them. Trisha received $100,000 from the Shark Tank investors and is stopping cyber bullying one post at a time.

Trisha Prabhu, creator of Rethink, an app to stop cyberbullying

Beebe, Lisa. “ReThink: How Trisha Prabhu Created an App to Stop Cyberbullying.” Like A Boss Girls, 16 July 2018, likeabossgirls.com/rethink-how-trisha-prabhu-stops-cyberbullying-at-its-source-and-gets-100k-on-shark-tank/.

Hustad, Karis. “14 Illinois Teen Entrepreneurs To Watch.” Americaninno.com, www.americaninno.com/chicago/chicago-and-illinois-teen-entrepreneurs-to-know/.

Inc. “ReThink -.” ReThink – Before the Damage Is Done, www.rethinkwords.com/.

3 Comments
Categories : App, Shark Tank, Social Entrepreneur, Social Media, Technology, Women Entrepreneurs

Braigo Labs

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Tuesday, November 20th, 2018 
· 1 Comment

Meet Shubham Banerjee, a 17 year old boy who decided to solve a problem that has hindered a community for years. The Blind community has struggled with having access to braille, “the tactile writing system used by the visually impaired”, thus creating everyday life a challenge difficult to overcome. Banerjee decided that it was time for a change and took matters into his own hands.

Braigo Labs CEO Shubham Banerjee

Before starting Braigo Labs, Banerjee had no idea what braille even was. He came across it one day and talked to his parents about it. After doing some research and realizing that Braille printers can cost upwards of $2,000 he decided to do something about it. He told business insider, “When I found out the cost of a Braille printer, I was shocked, I just wanted to help the visually impaired. I had a Lego Robotics kit, so I asked, ‘Why not just try that?'” (Business Insider).  The small step of creating a printer with his legos grew into a full blown company able to help the 285 million visually impaired people in the world.

After a few prototypes he became recognized in outlets such as The Tech Awards 2014 and The White House Maker Faire. The reason his product is so influential is because a Braigo Labs printer will cost under $500 thus making it more affordable for the visually impaired around the world. He wants the visually impaired even in developing countries to have access to Braille.

Braigo Labs

The First Braigo Labs Prototype.

Entrepreneurs can learn from Shubham Banerjee because he came across a niche community that had a huge gap and decided to fill it in a new and cost-effective way. One thing I found super interesting about Banerjee’s story is that he did not know anything about braille or the blind community before wanting to make a change. You do not have to be an expert on a topic or have worked with an organization for 20 years to make a change, all you need is a compassionate heart and a lego kit.

 

Kim, Eugene. “This 13-Year-Old Is So Impressive, Intel Is Investing Hundreds Of Thousands In His Startup.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Nov. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/shubham-banerjee-braigo-labs-2014-11.

1 Comment
Categories : Robotics, Social Entrepreneur, Technology

Social Media and the Impact on Small Businesses

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Wednesday, November 7th, 2018 
· 3 Comments

Have you ever been scrolling through your Instagram or Twitter feed and see that celebrity you love posing with a new trendy clothing item, advertising a hot new company? Do you ever wonder if those endorsements actually help the company?

Amanda Thomas. Founder of Luv Aj.

Well, Amanda Thomas, founder of Luv Aj, says it does. Luv Aj is a company that sells trendy, edgy Jewelry. Thomas had the idea for this company at age 16. Now 25 years old her 21,000 Instagram followers can attest to the success of her company. How she has gotten her success is through partnerning with celebrities such as Gigi Hadid, Beyonce, and Emily Ratajkowski. These celebrities are sent items from Thomas and are asked to post pictures of them and the product on their social media platforms.

However, not all of her success is solely from social media, Bloggers are a key influence to the market. Thomas says this about the influence of the Blogosphere, “I’ve also learned that my number one source of traffic are bloggers who wear Luv Aj and link to my site, so it’s not necessarily via Instagram where you can’t click to buy. And some of the top tier bloggers that post about me are not as great for traffic as some of the more random or niche ones” (Bender). As entrepreneurs try to launch small businesses and get the ball rolling for their company, using people of influence to promote your product on a large platform is an incredibly successful tactic.

Creating connections and networking with people in high places, celebrities, and people of influence creates the space for your company booming. Advertising and marketing yourself is super important for your company but small business starters need to consider the impact of using others success to bring you success, and social media is a great outlet for that.

 

Bender, Melanie. “Luv Aj Designer Amanda Thomas Sold Her First Collection at Age 16.” Fashionista, 27 Sept. 2013, fashionista.com/2013/09/luv-aj-designer-amanda-thomas-sold-her-first-collection-at-age-16.

Talbot, Kate. “Meet The Millennial Entrepreneurs Slaying The ECommerce Game.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 Apr. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/katetalbot/2018/04/26/meet-the-millennial-entrepreneurs-slaying-the-ecommerce-game/.

3 Comments
Categories : Celebrities, Jewelry, Social Media, Women Entrepreneurs

From Fruit Flies to Saving Lives

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Thursday, October 11th, 2018 
· 1 Comment

Meet Mihir Garimella, a college student at Stanford University who is passionate about all things robotics. 

Garimella’s passion for robotics came from when he was just two years old and his parents brought home a pet robotic dog. This led to an infatuation and amazement with how technology could bring something so inanimate to life. Now a Sophomore at one of the country’s most prestigious universities, Mihir Garimella is using this passion to save lives.

FlyBot is a small, lightweight drone that can respond to threats almost instantly. This drone is designed to be flown into emergency situations (such as fires) to search for people in the building that first responders might not be able to see.  The drone is aware of the surroundings and can detect obstructions while responding in real time. The idea of a quick responding flying object was not a completely original idea on Garimella’s part. The fruit fly has the same characteristics.

Mihir and his family were greeted after a family vacation to a home swarming with fruit flies after the family had left bananas on the counter. Mihir noticed the flies quick instincts and speedy escape routines and began to question how a creature with such terrible eyesight and little brains could possibly outwit a fly swatter. Thus began a process of learning about the fruit fly and their instinctive nature.

If Mihir Garimella was able to create a product through his curiosity of the common fruit fly, what type of products could we create from observations of the world around us? Garimella is an innovator and an entrepreneur combining his skills and passions to solve problems that compromise the safety of people all over the world. He has not let his age be a factor in his entrepreneurial endeavors by participating in competitions and using the resources available to him at Stanford.

I believe that Grove City students can learn from Mihir Garimella by observing the world around them, actively searching for problems, and using the skills and interests they have to develop products or services that can make the world a better place.

 

This Inspiring Teenager Wants to Save Lives With His Flying Robots. (2018, March 19). Retrieved from https://singularityhub.com/2017/08/25/this-inspiring-teenager-wants-to-save-lives-with-his-flying-robots/#sm.0001m2nbtu14xuetfuvaso3rrxsin

 

1 Comment
Categories : Uncategorized

Pain turned Innovation: The Story of Diapack

Posted by YoungLB18 
· Tuesday, October 9th, 2018 
· 2 Comments

John Jones and Elliot Young were just freshman at Wheaton College, located just outside of Chicago, IL, when they decided to start a company benefiting diabetics around the globe.

Jones, a Type 1 diabetic himself, was all too familiar with the day in day out struggle of protecting his supplies and the shame that was brought upon by carrying a large medicine bag. Diapack is a product that refrigerates and stores medicine for diabetics in a safe, functional, non-eye catching way.

John Jones ’21.

These two students brought their idea to Wheaton College’s Shark Tank competition and Elevator Pitch competition. They won Shark Tank and was mentored by some of the world’s biggest medical startups. After the Elevator Pitch competition Jones and Young were offered $30,000 by a VC, which would fund 30% of their company.

However, the boys said “No thank you.”

They said “by declining the offer we believe we gave ourselves the opportunity to rethink what it means for us to be entrepreneurs. I also suppose, deep in our hearts, we did not feel prepared to be full-time entrepreneurs while going into our sophomore years at Wheaton” (Wheaton College).

Even though the boys turned down a once-in-a-lifetime offer, they had their priorities straightened out. And who knows, Diapack might start up after the young men graduate. However, I admire Jones and his ability to see an issue, and instead of sitting back, to act upon it. The innovation that came from a problem affecting thousands of people because one college freshman was fed up, is deeply inspiring. I personally struggle with letting the fear of the unknown get in the way of innovation. But Jones and Young did not let the fear of the grandeur of the medical world stop them from creating a product that could reinvent how diabetics live everywhere.

I believe that college students here at Grove City College, and around the world, could take a few notes of what these young men have done. There are problems all around us, we just need to develop the ability to see them, feel the pain, and make a change. I think another thing we can learn from Jones and Young is to not let our potential future fog what is right in front of us. The men had a great idea that can make a huge difference in the medical world, but they believe God has them where they are right now for a specific purpose and decided to embrace that.

Am I saying their decision to turn down the VC funding was the right one? Not necessarily, however, I am saying that we have been called to live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow. God has given these men a talent and a passion that could turn into a successful career, but He has also blessed them with the opportunity to go to a well respected College, to learn, and to grow, and they are taking a hold of that.

Seek out pain, make a difference, but do not forget where you are and what you are being called to right now.

 

Wheaton College. (2018, September 17). A Different Kind of Growth. Retrieved October 9, 2018, from https://www.wheaton.edu/news/recent-news/2018/september/a-different-kind-of-growth/#.W50lUHq2Fqw.facebook

2 Comments
Categories : Medical, Social Entrepreneur