EPD: Advice for Next Year’s Class

To those who will be in the entrepreneurial development class for the 2019–2020 school year: the best advice I can give you is to come in with something you are passionate about. If you do not enter into your project with the fire to see it through, then you will end up stumbling right at the gate.

The next bit of advice is simply to be prepared for mishaps. There will inevitably be technical/manufactural/time related difficulties, and it is going to take a couple of tries to calculate everything out properly. That’s okay! You will get the hang of it.

Finally, remember to have fun with the project you choose to pursue. Go outside of the conventional if you wish to do so! This is genuinely the best class I have been a part of here at UIC, and you will have everyone at your beck to help you keep your head up throughout the year.

Good luck!

EPD Week Twenty-Nine: File Updates and Plan Progressions

4/25/19

I had received my sample of the Spectris Rings, and it had turned out well on the wax model. However, the manufacturer suggested I increase the thickness from 1mm to 1.67mm, and I have sent in the new 3D models with that update in turn. Today is also the day I am scheduled to laser cut all of the bases for my tags, and continue to chip away at the business plan.

EPD Week Twenty-Eight: Model Feedback and Layouts

4/18/19

Everything has been set into place for the tags, rings, and cards in terms of layouts. All that is left is the execution, which shall be chipped away at over the next few weeks. As far as the rings are concerned, I still not have received a sample of the final model, so I will have to wait until next week for an update in that regard.

Meanwhile, it is time to get cracking on a potential business plan for the future regarding this project.

EPD Week Twenty-Seven: Kicking it into Gear

4/11/19

All of the size models for the Spectris Rings have been made and sent out, and the acrylic has been acquired for the Spectris Tags. Spectris Stickers and thank you cards have rough layouts in need of refinement, and everything is going smoothly thus far.

EPD Week Twenty-Six: Back from Break

4/4/19

Back from spring break! Surveys had been sent out, and almost all of them are back. So, I can get to work! I’ll start getting the materials I do not already have at the end of this week/ beginning of next, as well as working on the ring size files for my manufacturer.

EPD Week Twenty-Five: Work Break

3/21/19

There is not much to post at this time. I am still waiting on a few pending payments, but the surveys are all drafted and ready to go. Spring break is just around the corner, and I am also starting to work on a price breakdown for the future business plans we are to formulate for the end of the year.

EPD Week Twenty-Four: FUNDED!!!

3/14/19

Heck yeah!! Spectris made its funding goal with a few days to spare! I’ll have to work on the surveys so that I can get started on making everything to fulfill the rewards. Hopefully everyone will have paid within the next week or so, as I still have a few people on pending according to the backer report.

Until then, it’s also time to start thinking about the future of what I can do here…

EPD Week Twenty-Three: Spreading the Word—Deadline Approaching

3/7/19

Spectris is currently 83% funded! I went to a local shop by my house, spreading the word about my project and showing off the prototypes to everyone. The people I know who haven’t backed it yet are sure to kick in soon, and that should cover the remainder of what’s left to earn!

EPD Week Twenty-Two: Two Thirds and Proto Posts

2/28/19

At this point, Spectris is over 2/3 of the way towards the campaign goal! I also finally was able to take some good shots of my ring prototype, so those are up for orderly posting as I attempt to keep up to a post a day.

EPD Week Twenty-One: 40% and a Quarter Through

2/21/19

One week down, three weeks to go! Forty percent progress within the first seven days. Not a bad start, but I suspect that the progress will drastically slow after this honeymoon period, and that of course makes me kind of nervous. I’ve been reassured that the project will succeed, but I cannot exactly help refreshing the page every so often, hoping for the numbers to increase as time slowly winds down. I just have to keep up my social media posts and keep going.

EPD Week Twenty: LAUNCH

2/14/19

Today was the pitch day and the launch of our campaigns! I did an interpretation of my favorite character to cosplay [Logan from Sanders Sides] in order to pull to gather an outfit that made me look the part and also have a bit more confidence in the matter. When we launched, I blasted all social media at the same time.

The actual 90 second pitch was absolutely nerve wracking. I had arrived to class late due to having finished up the video for the campaign just beforehand, and I had not known that on top of making the slides and giving the small banter, it was a competition to see who in our class had the best pitch. Somehow… I won. It was a blur, but perhaps the glasses I wore prevented the audience and judges from seeing just how much of an anxious mess I was. Either way, I’m grateful, as $50 was put towards my campaign as a prize, as well as some cool bottle openers we all received from Ted.

EPD Week Nineteen: Plans for Assisted Backup

2/7/19

So, due to a complete lack of clear communication from my manufacturer, I have been dropped a possible MOQ at the last minute that does not accommodate with my goals. Not to worry, as I had scoped out another half dozen manufacturers as soon as this setback was relayed to me, and I do have someone who will be able to produce the rings at a much smaller scale for a reasonable price out of the group. I will use that quote as reference, and with that goal calculated, I can finally send my project in for review!

Less than a week until launch!!

EPD Week Eighteen: All Aboard the Polar Vortex Express!

1/31/19

Class was cancelled due to the polar vortex, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done!

The brief meeting with Ted centered around business models for after the campaign ends, as well as looking over the rough Kickstarter draft itself. Most of the content is already set, apart from the financial details of the end goal [because of multiple rewards] and having to postpone meeting with my manufacturer due to the weather. I am to meet with him next week and see what’s up.

EPD Week Seventeen: Spreading the Word

1/24/19

I spent a good half of my class time at the GSC for a small open house event, having some flyers on hand for the upcoming Spectris campaign. It seemed to interest some people, so I will take that as a good sign! The website page for the campaign has also been refined for people to view, and I am waiting to hear from my ring manufacturer before I start setting up the Kickstarter draft page with all rewards so I can map out the breakeven. 

EPD Week Sixteen: Back to Business

1/17/19

Winter break comes to a close, and the first Spectris Ring prototype is in hand! Modifications will include thinning it out from 2mm thick to 1mm, and some chamfering is to be added to the inside for a more comfortable fit. All other prototype photos have been edited, and the mailing list has just been set up. I also made contact with the GSC [Gender and Sexuality Center] to see how they can help with promotion.

EPD Week Fifteen: Prototypes and Actual Progress!

12/6/18

The 2.0 Spectris Tag test models have been put together for the presentation at hand, as well as 3D printed models for the rings [unfilled and in size 7]. The critiques seemed to go well, despite my own minor errors in making the prototypes along the way. I thought I was far behind, but it turns out I am right on track with my progress! I also went back to my ring manufacturer twice during the italicized date of the week fourteen post and the italicized date on this one. He was impressed that I was able to turn out the STL files so quickly, and I have sent him both sizes seven and eleven for sample molding [which turns out he wanted originally… but he did not make that explicitly clear]. Regardless, it has once again been remedied, and I am to visit once more come the first week of January [once the holiday chaos is all over].

Quickstarter progress: Letters have been written, and first deliveries have been made [to those who backed the campaign from school].

EPD Week Fourteen: Manufacturer Duds and Change of Plans

11/29/18

So, the pins are now officially out the window as of this time frame. Brian, unfortunately, has dropped off and I have made the executive decision to scrap that premise entirely. Instead, I’m going to make the designs into stickers! It would be a heck of a lot easier to manufacture this way, and I can just increase the design size dimensions accordingly. As for the rings, I had gone back to Jeweler’s Row, and it turned out that there was an error in receiving my files that I sent that I was not informed of. This has now been fixed.

Quickstarter progress: All tags have been assembled! Now, I have to make out all the thank you letters to run alongside them and address all of the envelopes.

EPD Week Thirteen: Productivity Before the Holiday Break

11/21/18

I printed out some samples of the potential pin designs to show to Sharon, and she helped me to narrow down the design to that of a lighter background scheme and to the final pattern for the backdrop. At least now, I shall have a final direction to partake in before I attempt to contact Brian again on the manufacturer’s end. I have also decided that the best move for me to make with the rings manufacturer is to head back to Jeweler’s Row after the Thanksgiving holiday break in order to get some answers and possibly make the down payment for the molds [if that is the next step at that time]. Meanwhile, I will need to work on the financial breakdowns with the information I currently have at hand.

As for the Quickstarter, I have all materials cut and all storage/mailing materials set in place. All that is left is final assembly and for the last stragglers to fill out their backer surveys.

EPD Week Twelve: Fulfillment Time

11/15/18

All materials have been ordered and/or are already at hand for fulfilling the Spectris Tags orders from the Quickstarter. The appointments to cut all of the acrylic have been made as well, so that is all on its way to completion. While I was at Petersen Brothers, I also received information as to the future costs for the 2.0 designs of the Spectris Tags for the bigger campaign to keep in mind.

As for the new designs, I had been advised by the class to try new patterns for the flag diamonds themselves… and I have executively chosen to keep the original grid I had. Anything outside of it creates to much of a disconnect between all iterations that have different numbers, and overall just looks like a complete mess. It may be stubborn, but at the end of the day, this is a pursuit I will need to discuss with more people on the graphic design end.

EPD Week Eleven: More Design Choices

11/8/18

This week, the way to narrow down my choices all came down to six different patterns and four different color variations for each. The iterations received mixed reviews, though through the class I have it at least narrowed down to two patterns for the mirrored lambda backdrops.

I am still waiting for responses from both the manufacturers for the pins and those for the rings, and I am getting a bit anxious as to why I have not at least received an email confirmation for the draft templates. Should this continue, I shall likely have to travel to these locations myself in the upcoming weeks.