In InnovatED this year we started a project called $20 Boss. $20 Boss is a project where every person in a group gets an allowance of $20 to make an innovative product to sell. You created groups of 3-5 to create a business where you sold a product outside of school.
At the very start of our InnovatED, I was in a group with just Charlie A and Me. We were together for about two weeks and we had multiple of ideas. Our first idea was environmentally friendly bracelet.
These were recycled bracelets that would catch a readers attention because people these days tend to buy more environmentally friendly goods.
Our other idea was scented sprays. These sprays were scented and people would spray these on their faces at night time for skincare. DIY sprays were going to be scented with flavours like strawberry.
About three weeks in, Charlie A and I merged in a group with Thenuk, Charlie M and Shray. We made a couple of ideas from then. Our main one was for phone stands were we made a wooden phone stand to hold up phones while people does other things.
These wooden phone stands would be environmentally friendly and they would be made from strong plywood. There would be a spot in the stand for a charger cable so it could be charged while on the stand. We decided not to pursue this idea because our feedback from students and our supervisors were saying about how this idea won’t work out. We decided not to waste any more time and change our idea.
Our new idea was to make wooden coasters.
These wooden coaster were made from plywood from Bunnings. We were going to sell these in a 4 pack of coasters. These coasters were going to have designs laser cut into the wood of the coasters. These can be used for formal dinners and day-to-day use of cold/hot drinks. As a group we have gotten multiple reviews and most people liked our coaster ideas. Our group name is Go Coastal because we like the idea these coasters being able to be used anywhere. We decided to pick the coaster idea and we got the approval from our supervisor. Sadly, half of our group have decided to stop $20 Boss next term and we will be quitting our group idea.
By Adam Charlton