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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI was super proud of what we accomplished and was super shocked because we\u2019ve been working really hard,\u201d Mulkey said. Teammate MacLeod shared the same feeling and added that \u201cit felt too good to be true.\u201d<\/p>\n
They developed their concept in the school\u2019s INCubatoredu class, which is in the academy\u2019s entrepreneurship and innovation strand. Two other strands, business information technology and corporate finance round out the academy which launched in fall 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom is a school teacher and she would always talk about how much money she would spend on supplies, and I really wanted to alleviate the problem for her and her community of teachers,\u201d Bracy said.<\/p>\n
With that, the concept was launched \u2013 but not before doing some initial market research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went through multiple ideas and did a lot of surveys and testing to find out what we needed to do to solve the problem and help teachers,\u201d according to Mulkey.<\/p>\n
Then, the team launched a professional-looking Supply Hut website<\/a> for potential customers to choose from three ordering options: a gift box ranging from $10 to $20; a standard monthly supply box costing between $20 and $30; and a \u201cMake Your Own Box\u201d where customers could change the delivery frequency as well as customize it to contain more or less of a particular item.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was market research to see if people outside of their friends and families would be willing to do pre-orders,\u201d Meghan Timlin, EBA coordinator, said. \u201cIf so, that would be an indicator that there is a need for the product and it should move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n All of the boxes could be ordered by anyone to assist teachers, according to Mulkey. In fact, she indicated that in the team\u2019s initial research \u201ca lot of teachers wanted to be able to give other teachers a box\u201d so they added a gifting option.<\/p>\n But interest is not enough to cover the start-up costs of a new business so the team also launched a GoFundMe<\/a> page that garnered $170 of their $300 goal. And to get the word out, they marketed their business by launching a Twitter site, @HutSupply<\/a>.<\/p>\n In early spring, EBA teacher Ashley Houchins, who teaches the INCubatoredu class, encouraged teams to submit their concepts to the competition.<\/p>\n Only 12 teams from across the nation were chosen to do a five-minute pitch at the World Series of Entrepreneurship before a panel of judges \u2013 similar to the television show Shark Tank.<\/p>\n A select few other teams also were selected, not for the live pitch, but rather to display their work at the event\u2019s Venture Exhibition where they could meet potential investors and business mentors, many who earned their success by opening their own businesses.<\/p>\n Kempsville had eight teams selected \u2013 three teams to do the live pitch and five to be part of the Venture Exhibition.<\/p>\n When asked about their team\u2019s live pitch, Mulkey said they \u201cwere supposed to talk about the problem that you were trying to solve, your customer, your solution and financials \u2013 all before six judges. I think we did a really good job.\u201d<\/p>\n They did more than good \u2013 they won first place which earned them $10,000. Of that amount, $5,000 was for start-up funding for their business and $5,000 in scholarships was for team members to share.<\/p>\n In addition to winning the event\u2019s top prize, two other EBA teams in the INCubatoredu class who displayed their products in the Venture Exhibition hall won Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n The Cupllabsible team of sophomores Ryle Lancaster, Olivia Smith and Kenedee Cassidy was recognized for their prototype mug that can be collapsed after use and neatly stored rather than carrying around a mug all day.<\/p>\n