Taking a teenage craze and turning it into a family fun game was made possible through Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement is a non-profit youth organization that prepares young people to succeed in a global economy.
Kimball?Äôs Business Communications class participated in Junior Achievement?Äôs Company Program. With help from Rachael Sogge, a JA volunteer and owner of Eyecon Graphics, and Nancy Bonnifield, the Business Communication?Äôs teacher, students started a company, manufactured a product, developed a sales plan, and then liquidated the company.
Early stages
We began by brainstorming about how to get kids off of their phones and spending more time with their families. We agreed upon Flip., a bottle-flipping game. Flip. is a competitive yard game in which you flip a water bottle across the board and land it upright to earn points. After much deliberation, Flip. moved from our imaginations to reality.
Getting a loan From Harvest Bank
We worked with Barry Belknap at Harvest Bank to secure a loan of $350. Getting a loan and having to pay it off made the whole experience more real. We were able to pay off the loan as we sold all 12 of our Flip. games for $25 each. With our profits we had an employee appreciation breakfast.
Manufacturing product
Manufacturing took place in Kimball?Äôs shop room. The process began with development of a prototype. We used the prototype to see how players reacted to the game. Our final product came in four colors, vinyl logos were added, then boards were topped with a clear coat to make them weather resistant.
Marketing and social media
Our Sales and Marketing team used many platforms to market Flip. We used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the school?Äôs televisions to communicate our product. When it came to selling our product, students had four major sales locations: Kimball Area High School, the St. Cloud Home Show, the Annandale Swappers Meet, and the Kimball Business Expo. Although we didn?Äôt sell any units at the Annandale Swappers Meet, we were able to reflect on our target market and realize that Swappers customers were primarily adults without kids present. We had a much greater success at the Kimball Business Expo as kids enjoyed playing our game and parents were close by with their
checkbook.
Competition
Thursday, April 20, a group of four students, including Scott Laudenbach, Aeron Ashbrook, Hope Hartwig, and Emma Kuechle, participated in Junior Achievement?Äôs Company of the Year competition at Carlson School of Management on the University of Minnesota Campus. Upon arriving, there was a brief expo to showcase all companies?Äô products and services. Students then spoke with four entrepreneurs, gave a presentation on Flip. to a panel of judges, and then had a 10-minute interview. We were pleased to find out that we placed fourth out of sixty eligible teams in the state of Minnesota.
Through this experience, we were taught valuable skills such as how to take out a loan, market a product, prepare an ?Äúelevator pitch?Äù, and the importance of teamwork. Our company also fulfilled their mission by getting kids off their electronics and spending more time with friends and family.
At KAHS, Scott Laudenbach showcases the game Flip. Kimball students launched their own company and manufactured the games in Business Communications class. Submitted photo.