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Archive for Great Ideas – Page 20

Dream Closet?

Posted by Elaina Kimpel

· Saturday, November 15th, 2014

· 5 Comments

Now ladies, how many times have you seen a dress watching the VMA’s, Red Carpet Awards, Counrty Music Awards, or any other awards show that you wish you could just wear it for one night? Are you jealous of the guys being able to rent their tuxes for one night and returning it the next day while you have to buy a dress that you probably won’t even wear again? Would you love the idea of getting expensive dresses for cheap by only renting them for a night? Well Jennifer Hyman was thinking the exact same thing and thought of a way to fix that. She created Rent the Runway. On the website it says:

“Rent the Runway is a fashion company with a technology soul. Powered by a transformative business model, proprietary technology, a unique reverse-logistics operation and some of the smartest people on earth, we’re in a position to challenge old systems and rewrite new rules. By giving people access to remarkable luxury experiences, we’re changing the meaning of ownership — and revolutionizing retail in the process.”

Hyman compares her business to one of your best friends, only with a much bigger closet. I don’t know about you but I always love borrowing my friends clothes. Once you get online the overall all process is really simple. You can start by setting up the date for which you need the dress, accessories if you would like too, then look through their collection for your rental day. Next narrow it down by designer, price, length, or whatever you like to find the perfect outfit. After that you book the outfit for a 4 or 8 day rental period and it should come in 1 or 2 days before your event. For that one night you can feel like a princess and return it the next day in their pre-paid envelope they already provided you with. You don’t even have to dry clean it or anything because they will take care of that for you. The only thing Rent the Runway asks you to do is to upload a photo online and review the dress on their website so others can see how fabulous the dress was.

When Hyman first suggested her idea of Rent the Runway to a boardroom full of partners at a big-time Boston venture capital firm, one of the of the men interrupted her and said, “You are just too cute. You get this big closet and get to play with all these dresses and can wear whatever you want. This must be so much fun!” Thinking that comment would stop her from making Rent the Runway, this only made her want to pursue the idea even more and I’m glad she did. Rent the Runway is such a creative and innovative idea because no one has done this before. I have always been interested in the idea of clothing and fashion for starting my own business so it is an inspiration for myself that even though she was shut down at first, she kept going and created something amazing. I will for sure be using Rent the Runway for different special occasions in the up coming future and suggesting it to all the girls I know. Thanks for reading and happy blogging!

5 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Great Ideas, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Technology, Uncategorized

ManCan

Posted by Kate Albers

· Friday, October 31st, 2014

· 2 Comments

Hart Main is a 14-year old that came up with the idea of manly scented candles when he was teasing his sister about the girly scented ones she was selling for a school fundraiser. Although she didn’t expect him to fully pursue the manly scented candles idea himself, he did, and the idea has turned into a nationwide success. Main put in an initial investment of $100, his parents put in $200, and they all worked together to develop the candles as a group. The available scents include: Campfire, Bacon, Sawdust, Fresh Cut Grass, Grandpa’s Pipe and more. Today, ManCans candles are in over 60 stores across the country and have sold about 9,000 units. Main will stick with selling ManCans’ inventory until he has to shift his focus back into school in the fall. I mean, he is only 14 after all. I think this is a cute and inspiring story of a young entrepreneur. It just goes to show that you can never be too young to begin a business on your own. Also this story is an example of the random moments that life changing ideas can pop into your head. Go ManCan!

2 Comments

Categories : Decor, Great Ideas, Uncategorized, Youngest Entrepreneurs

The Forager

Posted by Rebekah Fry

· Wednesday, October 29th, 2014

· No Comments

(V.) to wander in search of. Growing up as an architect’s daughter, I gained an early appreciation and love for aesthetically pleasing composition, form, etc – a simple joy in beautifully crafted design. In a recent conversation with Grove City College past student Delaney Kochan, I was made aware of a new publication venture, with which she is currently working, The Forager. Officially launching this fall, The Forager is a self-proclaimed “lifestyle brand dedicated to creativity, art, & design. Based upon the concept of foraging & rooted in communal creativity.”

Upon further research, I discovered that The Forager is an online publication looking to future print endeavors. With its minimalist, elegant, and clean branding, it offers a beautiful viewing space with thought provoking content.

Daniel Pink, in his book A Whole New Mind, addresses the importance of good design stating, “Cultivating a design sensibility can make our small planet a better place for us all.” The Forager not only grasps this concept but puts great effort into effectively communicating it to its readers.

The publication world is littered with countless periodicals; many of them not worth a second glace. The Forager, however, seems to combat the clutter by appealing to our design sense and society’s need for substantial subject matter. It also understands the technological age and is publishing first via the internet before moving into print form.

The publication’s focus on “communal creativity” is another innovative aspect as it understands the millennial generation’s need for community and participation. Our individualistic society is becoming more and more integrated as people realize the benefit of collaboration; or as Steven Johnson writes, “high-density liquid networks makes it easier for innovation to happen.”

The Forager, and those working to ensure its success, inspire me as I look toward future career options. It combines multiple communicative forms in one beautifully crafted package- appealing to my interests and passions. In a world where left brained professions often garner the most profit, I find it hard to justify my dreams. But when individuals like those who work for The Forager break through those barriers, my hope is renewed.

I am sincerely looking forward to the first publication and I hope you spend a moment discovering The Forager as well!

http://www.theforagr.com/

http://instagram.com/theforagr

No Comments

Categories : Art, Great Ideas, Online Companies, Uncategorized, Websites

Sweaters Anonymous

Posted by Kate Albers

· Saturday, October 11th, 2014

· 4 Comments

This is a really cool story about a young entrepreneur that I wanted to share with everybody. Sarah Gehman, a good friend who I grew up knowing in high school, and ALSO my roommate’s sister, began this business in 2012. Sarah is a missionary with the world’s biggest Christian mission organization, YWAM. Her job title is “Social media/marketing manager and photographer for the Ekballo Project. She is currently based out of the YWAM base is Kona, Hawaii. Sarah raises all her own money and one of the biggest things that she did to do this was through Sweaters Anonymous. It all began with her love of shopping at thrift stores. One day she realized that that she should try to turn this small obsession into something practical and decided that this could be a way to raise money for her YWAM trips. How this business works is that Sarah travels to various thrift stores and purchases used and sometimes new sweaters. Instead of regularly pricing the sweaters, she lists them on her website; http://sweatersanonymous.com/ and instead of pricing each sweater individually, she asks for a donation, so whatever a person is willing to give she will take. It is definitely a unique way to run a business. Sarah has been extremely successful, and she gives all of the credit to the Lord. Sarah quotes: “God is such a good God, and he doesn’t call us to do something that he won’t provide for”. To give an example of Sarah’s success, she has sold over 100 sweaters and has made 3,000 thousand dollars. Sarah has her own personal website, as well as a facebook page that she advertises these sweaters on. Check out Sarah’s Sweaters!

4 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Fashion, Great Ideas, Vintage, Vintage Clothing

Stinky Feet Gurlz?

Posted by Elaina Kimpel

· Friday, October 3rd, 2014

· 4 Comments

When I first came across the name “Stinky Feet Gurlz” I was like “Yes! Something that I can put in my track shoes for when it rains and they are smelly”. Little did I know that this company had nothing at all to do with smelly shoes or feet at all. Stinky Feet Gurlz is a business that was created by Asya Gonzalez at the 14 that involves apparel and accessory items. These items are fun, simple, and cute clothes and accessories is designs based off of the 1940’s. These clothes and accessories include t-shirts and a different variety of knitted hats.

Aside from the clothing and accessories, Gonzalez reaches out to people all over the country. She speaks to large groups of students and teachers about following their dreams with Independent Youth; a peer-to-peer mentorship program that empowers today’s teens to become tomorrow’s business leaders. She also is actively involved in being a teen radio host that gives teens advice and talks about almost anything.

Other than running her own business at a young age, talking to people about following their dreams, and speaking on a radio show, another thing that makes Gonzalez unique is that she donates a little bit from ever sale to her charity She Is Worth It!. This charity is about bringing people aware of child sex slavery. She Is Worth It’s goal is to “have an educational program in EVERY school across America exposing the dangers of trafficking, warning girls that these Pimps are calling themselves “boyfriends” and what our youth and our public MUST know to alert to the issues.” I think this is so awesome because after recently watching that video about this topic last week, it is a true motivation to see that someone so young is supporting such a great cause.

If you think any of Asya Gonzalez items are cute, I think you should definitely invest in her products! Not only are you supporting her growing business and getting cute items, you are supporting to the cause of raising awareness about human trafficking. Happy Blogging!

4 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Great Ideas, Jewelry, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Uncategorized

The Rewarding Advertisement – Kiip

Posted by Wesley Suplit

· Friday, September 19th, 2014

· 2 Comments

Founder of Kiip (pr. KEEP), Brian Wong skipped 4 grades and started college at age 14. Graduated in 4 years at age 18 and

Kiip_logo_image

immediately had a desire to discover Silicon Valley in order to understand “Nerdland”. During his trip he got a job offer to work at Digg (online news website) in Business Development. Since Wong, a Canadian from birth, wanted to work at Digg he got a working visa tied to Digg, but this proved complicated when he got laid off shortly thereafter. This forced Wong back home and forced him to forge a new path.

Wong got the idea for Kiip while walking up and down the isle of a long flight to Singapore. He observed many illuminated faces with games buzzing on the screens of smartphones. He thought their must be a huge advertising opportunity in the gaming medium – and he found there was, however, it was basically the same format as the web (banner advertisements), just smaller. That’s when the epiphany hit. Revolutionize advertising during in app experiences.

The mission of Kiip is to reward moments of achievement in apps and games. The rewards range from free samples to coupons to virtual currency. They are dedicated to connecting brands to consumers at a time when the consumer is most receptive. (i.e. this is when they level up, complete an achievement or surpass a personal record)

Kiip is particularly inspiring to me because Wong challenged typical advertisement mediums by designing a new, better way to engage consumers. Even though Wong hasn’t been forced to pivot or make new iterations of his original plan he has been able to scale the idea much larger than he previously anticipated and is now helping to change the world, one advertisement at a time.

2 Comments

Categories : Great Ideas, Millennial Entrepreneurs

More than Conquerors Clothing

Posted by Kate Albers

· Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

· 2 Comments

This is a story about a young Entrepreneur who has impacted my life personally. Samuel Bernhardt, a friend I went to high school with and the founder and designer of More than Conquerors Clothing, always had a passion and a talent for Digital Design. Growing up he was involved in yearbook and was greatly interested in photography and editing photos. He also designed the advertisement posters for our high school’s musicals. Back in the spring of 2013, my father was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Another parent of a girl I went to high school with was also diagnosed with cancer. Samuel designed four different styles of T-shirts that were inspired by the “More than Conquerors” passage in Romans 8:31-39. Along with two other of his close friends, they began to sell T-shirts to fundraise money for my family and the other girl’s family. Now, a year and 3 months later, More than Conquerors has turned into a Non-Profit Organization that has partnered with Urban Hope, a Christian Organization dedicated to providing believers with cross-cultural training and experience in urban ministry. More than Conquerors now has an official website and face book page. Along with selling T-shirts they also now sell hats and sweatshirts. This story has inspired me not only because this organization directly impacted my family during a time of need but it has also warmed my heart to watch how Samuel has grown up and is beginning to use his talents in the business world and most importantly is impacting many people through the gifts that God has obviously given him.

2 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Fashion, Great Ideas, Uncategorized

Kiip Them ads Coming

Posted by Noah Stewart

· Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

· 5 Comments

Brian Wong CEO of Kiip

At the age of 18 Brian Wong had skipped 4 grades and graduated from college. At 20 he was listed in Forbes 30 under 30 , named one of the top 5 young entrepreneurs by Mashables, and is one of the youngest people to have ever received money from a venture capital firm. Wong was on the fast track and after losing his job after only 5 months after graduating Wong turned this misfortune into a multi-million dollar idea. In 2010 Wong founded Kiip, a marketing company that gives tangible rewards for virtual success. Wong’s brilliant plan hit him while in an airport while people watching. What he noticed was that everyone was either “pretending to work” or playing a game on their phone. What he realized was that ads had been appearing at the worst possible time. As one reaches pure ecstasy as they win that baseball game or feels so smart after debunking a challenging candy crush level these ads were appearing! Its as if their prize for finally conquering the pesky boss was the opportunity to be bombarded by ads. What Wong saw was an opportunity to turn that thrill of virtual success and capitalize off of it. Wong’s company Kiip, (pronounced “keep’), partners with companies, such as Disney, Gatorade, and Pepsi, as well as apps and app developers to create in game achievements that allow for real world rewards. For example a runner who just completes a 5 mile run and records it in RunKeeper may receive a free bottle of Propel. Or maybe you finally eclipse level 1oo in candy crush and you may have just been rewarded with a free bag of sour patch kids. In essence Wong has joined together some of our favorite things in life, winning and free stuff, and has launched the marketing and advertising business in a whole new direction. I believe that this idea of Kiip is going to become the new way of advertising as the digital age becomes more and more prevalent. Wong makes his money on a cost-per-engagement (CPE) basis, such as when a user submits an e-mail address to claim a reward (as 25 million have done so far). Kiip typically earns 30 cents to $3 per CPE, depending on targeting criteria, and splits the fee 50-50 with developers. The company reaches 10 million active users daily, up from 4 million last year; annual revenue is between $10 million and $20 million. At the ripe old age of 23 Brian Wong has forever changed the way we advertise and has made a nice little chunk of change doing it. In the mean time be on the look out for those kiip rewards who knows your mad candy crush skills may finally pay off!

5 Comments

Categories : App, eCommerce, Great Ideas, Smartphone, Technology

Pennsylvania Outdoors Unlimited

Posted by Herschel Miller

· Tuesday, September 16th, 2014

· 2 Comments

Back in high school, my cousin Brandon, and my friends Brady and Grant Forney and I would spend countless weekends outdoors. We were always thinking about fishing and gunning trips, chasing a variety of different species of game and fish, as well as perusing a variety of outdoor sport activities. Our fathers and grandfathers owned many diverse and beautiful properties across Pennsylvania which facilitated our desire for exploration and sport.

Brady’s younger brother Grant was a little young to come along on all our our adventures as a participator, but in order to stay in on the fun he asked if he would be allowed to take his parents Sony HandyCam and film our expeditions. Immediately, he started a YouTube channel and posted the film. Grant was really the innovator for this idea. Without him, we probably would have never put in the effort to film and capture our experiences. The rest of us jumped on board with his idea and we came up with the name Pennsylvania Outdoors Unlimited, a state specific outdoors channel. Since then, we have become oudtoorsmen with a focus on photography and videography. Three years and 100 videos later, the page boasts over 600,000 views and 2,100 subscribers.

With these numbers, the dividends from YouTube have been starting to slowly accrue. More recently, we have teamed with Pennsylvania Whitetail Pursuit to create a marketable outdoors DVD for the 2014 season, and this past May, our organization won a Gopro Hero 3 camera in a video entry contest from Hunteos.com. Even though we are all college age now, we are still excited to spend time outdoors in any facet we can find or experience. This adventure filming idea is really just fun for us, and if it never pays off, we would have no regrets. However, as time goes on, we see more and more potential to find some sort of niche market for our brand and put together a sustainable business model.

In the meantime, check it out!

Instagram: paoutdoorsunlimited on Instagram

Facebook: Pennsylvania Outdoors Unlimited

Youtube: Pennsylvania Outdoors Unlimited – YouTube

– Herschel Miller

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2 Comments

Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Great Ideas, Outdoors