 For these five entrepreneur teams, it started with a dream to launch a business. After a year of research, presentation, development, and mentorship, their dream may become a reality. Today, they'll have five minutes to pitch their business plan to a panel of experts ready to invest in their futures. From the Fairfield University, Charles F. Dolan School of Business, this is Fairfield Startup. After private discussion and deliberation, the panel of investors is ready to make suggestions and award the pledges. Hey, Christian, how are you? Pretty good. How are you? Pretty good. Thanks so much for being patient while we worked our way through. We do have some feedback. We very much enjoyed your presentation. We think you've got something that could be really cool. We want you to do a bit more work as far as the technology and finding some people to test it out and bootstrap it. I addressed it when we first spoke. The upfront cost is a concern to me, but as Joe mentioned, if that upfront cost, you could come to me and say, Mr. Garvey, I've got something that you've got to spend 50 grand on. I'm like, well, 50,000 a lot of money goes, but you're going to save 500,000. And I'm like, well, let's sit down for half an hour an hour. I want to hear about it. So I think you need to get an understanding of what you can actually save them. The other thing that I'd like you to do is to do a little bit more research with understanding. If I was a what I thought of when I saw your plan and your writing is if I was a manufacturer of dumpsters, even though it would cost me $500 to replace the dumpsters, I would make sure that all my future dumpsters for sale had some sort of camera embedded in the metal. I don't know what scale. I'm not sure if that's possible. And if it's not, let's talk about doing that. And but if you can make some sort of device that attaches on the inside of these dumpsters that can determine, you know, whether it's full or empty, I think there's something there. I think one of the things you'll find out about the hauling business is that there are pickup fees. So it actually is economically beneficial when they go out and they get a dumpster that's empty or quarter empty, they charge you for the pickup and they get they get their 400, 500,000 dollars, whatever it is, but then they don't pay that tonnage to actually get rid of themselves as haulers. So there's a couple of things that that I want you to do. The other one is I want you to look at RTS.com. That's Recycle Track Systems. They're kind of like the Uber of garbage. If you're if you're going through construction and you're not on cycle to get picked up for another nine days and your company wants to charge you six, two grand to do it, you can call these guys and for like two grand or a grand or whatever, they'll come and empty it out. And I have a very high level contact there that you'd like to have a conversation with them. I called him on this break. He'd be happy to talk to you. So before we get to your word, I just want to see Marion or Joe. Do you have any anything you want to add there? You know, the purpose of this short period is to give you a takeaway that you can remember because there's a lot of materials going back and forth here. The only thing that I want to dovetail on Mike's comments are really the importance of quantifying your cost savings to the customer. It's not enough to say, you know, we're going to save you gas. We're going to save you efficiency. We're going to save labor, et cetera. You actually got to put pencil to paper as you propose to these customers because I think $30,000 is a lot of money for these medium size firms. And you're going to need to show immediate paybacks in order for them to invest. And that will also serve you very well as you scale, as you try to scale the business, because you'll get certain customer experiences that will add to your learning and your ability to tweak your estimates. And they may even impact your pricing as you go forward. Marianne? Yes. So I wanted to share with you, you know, good presentation, and I know that you guys are, it's probably rough working with a big team of people, too, right? It could be a challenge. So I did want to share a little bit about your route optimization process and offer to you. There's a startup company that came out of Yukon several years ago called Dashride, and basically they developed some very interesting, they focus on a different industry, basically similar to Uber and Lyft, but they really, they're, they did a little bit of a pivot and move towards working with a lot of taxi companies, et cetera. But through that process, their route optimization information might be really helpful to you. So I'll offer to do with those entrepreneurs. They're in New York. They've done really, really well in their business. And I think that, you know, having a SaaS platform, it would be very, very helpful for you to understand some of the challenges they went through and some of the pivots that they had to make in order to meet the customer's needs. And Christian, I want you to know we're awarding you to continue along the path of hopefully the technology to try and get some people to use the dumpster, the idea that you have, I like, I like the idea. I do. We all like the idea. The question is the ability to implement it. So we're awarding you $1,500. I correct, Joe, Marianne, $1,500 to. Correct. So and then we've also gotten you into the fuel program, which will allow you some more advisors and more experience. I know that I've told Chris that, you know, I want to talk to you off site after all this, Christian, I'm going to have Chris share my email. I'm just going to ask that you're not distributed. I'll give you my email and we'll talk. But great job. You should be very proud of yourself. Thank you very much, everyone. And Christian, I also would love to talk with you. I used to work for Browning Ferris Industries, which was a large garbage company many years ago. They used to be go neck and neck with lease management. So glad to talk with you and kind of share with you a little bit what I know about the industry. Would be more than happy to. Thank you. Great. You're a sophomore, right? Yes. Okay. We were, I was blown away by you. And then when I heard you were a sophomore, I was more blown away. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. You're getting off on me for some time. These Zoom calls, you know, you say something, but it was, it was all very positive. I think it was something along the lines of you're going to be a FinTech startup, either yourself or founder or a dream. Okay. Your knowledge, your passion towards the crypto and applying it to the cannabis space and finding that value and trying to create something for both the dispensary and then saying, Hey, I got a trader that's interested in it. I want you to know that you got, I expect to see you many more times. Okay. Thank you. I want to hear more from you. My, my thoughts regarding the business model, I think I shared with that earlier. I think there's going to be a sea change in the cannabis space that may make your current business model. And again, you gave great feedback. I was like, wow, he might be right. I, that's where the rubber meets the road, but your ability to pivot is going to be important in case if we do find out that it's going to accelerate across the country, you pivot your business plan. Um, I personally want to talk to you about your crypto. I'm a volatility fiend. I love trading volatility. I have a certain amount of money I trade volatility and you know, from the crypto space, volatility is just, if you have some sort of secret sauce, we could head down to, you know, Wall Street and get taken out for a hundred million. And I'm willing to experiment with you with that. I'm willing to experiment with that. So that's kind of my feedback. You did great. Um, I think you're, you're definitely cutting edge ahead of what I know in the world of crypto and blockchain, et cetera. So I'm really impressed with that. So, thank you. Oh, Marianne. John, I won't pile on here. I tried to give you some, I think you did a terrific job with the business model aspects of, of your business. I personally going to be very surprised. Uh, if you don't find a different fintech platform to work off, um, because I think I'm not, I'm not sure about this one, but what I am sure is that I think you have the skills and capability of building a platform in this fintech space. And the amount of creativity and thought that is going into this is, uh, you know, quite substantial. So, um, we expect to see you back, uh, in the next couple of years. So, uh, Marianne. Yes. Thank you. So, um, just to, uh, follow on what Joe just said, uh, there are a lot of great opportunities for fintech, um, entrepreneurs like yourself. And if, um, as you are, um, progressing down the path, there's a company that would love to connect you with, um, it's a student-led company over at Sacred Heart University, which is on the other side of town, Fintron. Yeah. So, um, they have, um, uh, they have entered into, uh, this, not the same kind of space, but really some, um, uh, some cutting edge, uh, thought process on how to approach, uh, the business from a different, uh, angle just as you are. And I think it would be great for you to talk with this group of, uh, I think several of them are seniors that have graduated or graduating now. Um, and you never know their, you know, this would be a great opportunity to do some, uh, synergistic, um, um, building a synergistic relationship with Sacred Heart, uh, entrepreneurs as well. And I think that, uh, they'd be, they'd love to help you, um, and talk with you. And maybe even, um, um, there might be some synergies with the company. Yeah, great. That sounds awesome. Great. So, John, we're pleased to tell you that we're going to award you $3,000 and, and this looks to you for, uh, the fuel, uh, as I lean forward in the camera for giving me my, I can't read, so I'll put it here. We're going to, uh, $3,000. And, and if you should, should you wish to take up, uh, Chris, we're going to put you into the fuel program so you can further, uh, refine what you're doing and reach out to some of the contacts we talked about. I've asked you to share my email with you. Just please keep it among yourself. I don't want to be in a date with everybody in the world, but I've been happy to set up a time to speak and talk to you. Um, again, I'm, I'm interested in your, uh, crypto trading platform. The fact that you connected directly to exchanges and did some algorithm training, um, there's, I'm excited about that. Awesome. Thank you. And one, one final thing, John, you did better today, one-on-one, the few times we've spoken out twice today, then you actually did on the recording where you could edit and stop. So trust yourself, comfortable and slowly you've got, uh, you got a lot going on, man. You really do. All right. Awesome. Thank you so much. Hey, Winston, welcome back. Thanks. So we, uh, very much enjoyed talking to you earlier. Um, each one of us has a, uh, a few comments we'd like to talk to you about and talk about your award. I like what you've done. I think there's a huge opportunity. My concern is, as I said earlier, you're, you're, you're going up against some major players, uh, you know, the, the, the under armors, the Nikes, the Apple watches, both from an apparel and a text perspective. But that being said, your, your niche focus and your value creation inside the physical therapy world. Um, and then I think it was Joe's idea to kind of move towards sports teams that maybe a physical trainer or a physical therapist for a sports team can keep his athletes in, you know, as D one athletes are paid professional athletes to be doing the exercise to rehab their different body parts. I'm intrigued by it. I like it a lot. I really do. Um, so I would continue. I would suggest that you keep doing what you're doing and just keep in mind, stay on top of as best you can. The technology that's being rolled out there in other areas. Okay. Thank you. So, so Winston, I, I, um, really like what you're doing. I think that in the face, I think what you added today, which was an important factor is the idea that you're going to essentially eventually license this solution. And I think you should use that word more and more. Uh, you are really selling a solution, uh, with your software and your shirt. It's not a, you're not selling a shirt that has sensors that does stuff. You're selling a solution, uh, to a physical therapist community. And, uh, it just turns out that that's the kind of technology that essentially can lead itself to different applications. But, but getting focused on one aspect of it, which proves the solution and provides the value is something you should stay focused on, um, and, and carry it through. And then you'd be able to get this thing licensed to one of these big guys, uh, which would be very interesting. So, uh, you may have, you know, depending on how it goes, you may have to pivot along the way. You just have to see because at some point you want to make sure that you're, if you have your solution developed and the market is, you know, uh, stuttering or sputtering and doesn't move fast enough, you may have to pivot down the road. But, you know, I think you address that, you know, as it comes. But I would stick, uh, stick to what you're, uh, doing, but think about the aspect of some, you know, these guys may not move. You're, you're going to take them from paper to, uh, a much different, uh, scenario. And that's, uh, for some, hopefully it works. Thank you. So Winston, you know, I, I really, um, really like what you're doing. I think this is, uh, uh, well needed, been through physical therapy myself and, uh, like everybody else on the call. And, uh, we, we certainly understand, uh, all the, the challenges and the pitfalls in, in that, and along those lines and just what Joe had said to, um, you are selling a solution to the physical therapy community. And along, um, and through that process, there's probably so much to learn how to really, uh, get connected into that network. So there is a, um, a, a team, um, of four folks, the Feel Good Labs, uh, they are a Connecticut based company. Uh, they all graduated from Yukon like 10 years ago and got together 10 years later and they, um, they are selling a product into the physical therapy space. And one of their customers is the Select Physical Therapy, which is, as you know, is a very large physical therapy network. So I would love to introduce you to them so that you can talk with them, understand, uh, all the issues, uh, trying to, um, sell into this space and also hopefully, you know, they'll be able to give you some guidance and, uh, maybe make some introductions for you as well. Um, that would be awesome. Yeah. I think that would be very helpful, um, for you as, uh, the stage that you're at right now. And good luck to you. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Winston, to keep you moving on the, uh, path that you are, we're, we're gonna award you, uh, $3,000 to continue forward. And if you want to take, uh, because up for it, there's going to be an opening in the fuel program for you to continue moving forward. So we want to congratulate you on that. Awesome. Thank you so much. I really appreciate everything. Hi, Diana. How are you? Hi, how are you? We're thrilled to have you back here for a feedback section. And each one of us has a few comments and thoughts about, uh, their successes. And, uh, we're definitely going to, uh, give you an award towards the end here. Um, I was going to defer to Joe or Mary, and if you don't want to, you want to kick off, uh, a comment for, uh, or? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Um, Diana, I think you've done a terrific job. You've, you've created a concept. You're demonstrating that the concept works. Uh, my advice, uh, going forward is to start creating a business plan. And I'm sure you may have already done this, but creating a business plan and a business model that figures out, uh, what do you want to do with this business? You know, I think you could do, take it to a fairly significant level, but you have to stick, uh, on a strategy and be flexible enough to change that strategy if conditions weren't. Uh, and to do that, you probably need an organizational structure, uh, moving forward. And you can do this gradually. You don't have to just, you know, it's not something you can do tomorrow. Uh, and you're certainly going about it the right way by going after a big designer, uh, at a time in these, uh, developing countries or in Latin America, South America, I would suggest, uh, Asia is a tremendous fertile, uh, opportunity. I spent a lot of time, I used to spend a lot of time in Asia before the last few months. Uh, I was in China seven times last year and three times in Japan. So, uh, there's a tremendous opportunity there. But I, I guess, you know, the idea is to look at, to do, have the opportunity to do some planning, sit back, uh, it's great that you, I think you're really on a firm, uh, firm foundation, a firm base. So it's a matter of holding what you have and then expanding at a rate that you can handle, uh, but it will require an organization. And when you get into that dynamic, then you got to start to, uh, uh, deal with different disciplines and that's where your learning is going to come through as an executive. Diana, my couple of comments for number one, you, you, you've done something tremendous. You, you turned, uh, um, a situation that could have caused some people just to collapse and shrink up and, and, and you turn it around and turn it into not just a good business idea, but something you're passionate about, you turn it into something that became not just an idea, but a business that generates a profit. Uh, I mean, huge kudos to you. That's a tenacity grit, all the things we want to see in everybody around us. Never mind our, our fellow stags and future, uh, alumni. Um, I, I, I kind of, um, uh, working off of what Joe had said. I believe you've got to decide what you're going to be. I believe you are a creative person. Your Drew is beautiful. As I mentioned, my wife, uh, I thought was eyeing it up, but I think we'll be, um, looking forward to hear more from you. Um, I want you to know that you, you, you could have a beautiful lifestyle business that just does really well for yourself and other artists around the world. But as Joe said, if you want to scale this into an enterprise, you've got to be able to surround yourself with some other business people to kind of take that role on and allow you to focus on identifying those artists and developing those channels and doing creation of art and finding the raw materials to have it handed off to be created. Maybe you're designing it along those lines. I actually have an affiliate and affiliation and a love for the country of Nicaragua. I invested in it, uh, some, uh, nice beach crunch condo and a nice development over the coast of Costa Rica. I am personal friends with the one of the largest, um, not-for-profits down there that does micro loans and small businesses. If there's a jewelry connection there, um, I will reach out to him after we talk. I told Chris to please share with you my email and we'll set up some time to talk afterwards. Just don't distribute my email or cell phone number widely. I'd like to keep between you and I. Um, but I think you've done amazing thing here. Marianne, I know you had some thoughts as well before we, uh, give you a reward, right? Yes. Yes. Um, yeah, I really, um, commend you for what you're, you're doing with this, uh, and making such a big social impact. And, uh, so one of the things I suggest, you know, you start to really look at and again, uh, following along with both, both what Mike and Joe have said is you've got to decide if you're a lifestyle business or you're going to scale it. And if you are going to scale it, then, uh, I would suggest that you look at, um, connecting with impact investors. There are a lot of angels out there that, um, really look for types of investments like this, um, and especially for, um, women led businesses as you, as you are. Uh, and, uh, there's a gal in, uh, New York that I'd like to, uh, connect you with. She, um, is a, um, a leading impact investor. And I think even with her, uh, connections, uh, that might be very helpful because she's got a lot of worldwide connections also. So, um, I'll look to do that introduction for you. And good luck. And I guess, you know, as both, uh, Joe and Mike's wives have, uh, purchased jewelry, it looks like I'm going to have to get on your website today. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Then I'll tell you, I speak for all three of the, the, the panelists, judges, uh, um, we, we're very impressed with you and we're thrilled to tell you that to continue on with what you're doing, we're going to award you with $10,000 and we're also going to, uh, sponsor you into the fuel program. Uh, if Chris, if you want to take him up on that, Chris can discuss with the fuel program in. It's an opportunity to continue doing what you're doing with, uh, you know, professionals and advisors. Um, I, uh, I want you to know that, um, we're, we're expecting to see great things from you. I can't wait to see more as well. Thank you so much. I have a gal. Welcome back. How are you? I'm doing well. Thank you. The three of us are thrilled to have you back for the feedback session. And then we each have some thoughts and comments we'd like to share with you. And then, uh, we'll tell you what the award is. Um, I don't know if anyone wants to hop on first. Yeah, I will. I will. I'll go first. Um, first of all, Abby, you know, fantastic presentation. Um, he did just an outstanding job, um, and, uh, uh, and I also understand we just learned that, uh, you want a competition yesterday, the Connecticut business conference. Thank you very much. Yes, very excited in your consumer products division, right? So you got top slot there and you're going on to the final. So, um, that's fantastic. We're really thrilled. Um, so, you know, congratulations on that. And I bet that they all saw the same things that we saw as well, that, um, that you've got a really interesting business, uh, your passion for this area, um, is, uh, basically, um, uh, we're just amazed at, uh, how you are petite gal and you just are taking, uh, this full by the horns and you're running with it and you're making it happen. And, uh, we're really thrilled with that. And, you know, over the last three years, I've watched you grow from this 18 year old young entrepreneur with these great ideas and, um, but I've watched you build and deepen your entrepreneurial skills and really proud of the smart and savvy, confident, uh, young business woman that you are becoming. So, you know, we're just, uh, uh, thrilled that you've been part of our startup program for, I guess this is the third year, is that correct? Or, or maybe even the fourth year to some degree because you were a mentor in a program. So, you know, congratulations and thank you for, um, sticking with it. So we, we think you, you've got great promise as an entrepreneur in, um, coming out of Fairfield. You're making us all proud. Stags, right? Thank you very much. Yes. We have, um, you know, a couple of areas in your business that we, uh, wanted to give some feedback on. One is we really like your business model. Um, certainly, uh, the social, um, problem that you're trying to solve. We definitely see that that is a problem there. Um, we know that you're gonna have some challenges on the inventory side. So really look closely at what you can do to minimize your inventory build so that you can, um, uh, keep your costs low. Um, uh, we suggest that you look at, uh, what kind of 3D apps can be used on the phone for people that are trying to size themselves, um, whether they're in the dance, uh, uh, studio there or maybe they're at home and they're trying to do it with their child. Um, uh, we, um, we also, um, uh, think that, uh, there might be opportunities for you to, um, to get connected into some dancer, um, uh, distribution networks. Uh, so look at, look at that, how you can make contacts there. Uh, and also, uh, maybe have some sort of a, um, uh, celebrity. You know, you can see if there's some dance and, and because you've been a dancer with Disney, I mean, you spent a semester at Disney doing dance, you probably have made some really great contacts there. So, uh, so see if you, um, might be able to enlist one of them to help endorse, uh, what your product is. That would be, um, I think really helpful. And, you know, getting connected into all the influencers in the space, um, really, uh, get, uh, a network. And I don't know if there's like a, a dance, uh, um, dance, uh, costume, um, conference or things like that, uh, that you should look at, uh, trying to attend so that you can build your network. Um, and then the other aspect is, can you take this concept and bring it to a different industry? There are, um, there might be some other industries other than dance, uh, that you might be able to apply your whole concept to. So, um, so we do believe, you know, that this is a promising business. And, uh, we're looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in the future. And, um, being that you're a woman-led business, um, you also have the opportunity to get connected in. And I will help to introduce you and connect you into, uh, uh, some of the, um, woman-led investors that like invest, uh, like to invest in impact investing and you fit perfectly into this space. Um, so, um, so we'll definitely talk afterwards. And, you know, congratulations again. We're, we're really proud of what you've accomplished, um, as an entrepreneur in the last four years. Thank you very much, Mary Ann. Thanks, Joe. I had a couple of comments. If you wanted to mention or you want me to go, whatever works for you. Uh, I can't add much after, after Mary Ann's, um, comments. Um, the, the only thing I would add just as advice more than anything else, and maybe it's intuitive, but, um, watch your cash. Cash is a very precious commodity in a, in a business like you're about to, uh, get into. And so inventory control, uh, controlling the channel, uh, that you're selling into is going to be, you know, extremely, uh, extremely important. And, um, I'm probably, uh, good. The reason why I say these things, your financial projections were, uh, pretty aggressive, uh, understood. Uh, I would imagine the cash, uh, that matches those projections, uh, might, uh, be daunting. And you, you'd want to take a look at what that really means. Good. And a terrific, terrific job. Yeah, Miguel, I'll, I'll pray you. And just to, to don't tell off Mary Ann and Joe, we were, we were all incredibly impressed with your, the word that came to mind, forgive me, I hope this isn't like an insult, but then gingerly effervescence, the, you know, the, your, your, I don't know how to put words on it, but you, you came through and there's a saying in when you're investing in businesses and then investing your own money and helping startups. Um, there's a saying bet on jockeys, not horses. I bet on jockeys, not horses. You are somebody I would bet on. I just, it came across so obviously not just in the recording, but in the, uh, two live sessions we've had now today. So, uh, I think that's, um, very, very, uh, good for you. And then continue believing what you're doing. I would strongly recommend there's so, there's so many sites out there right now that are doing clothing. And we've mentioned a bunch of them earlier. I would suggest you or somebody in your team scour the internet, identify how those people are getting the 12 measurements, the 16 measurements. Please reach out to me. I know for a fact I saw a startup that I was intrigued in by the technology. You stood nine feet, six feet, three feet. You spun around. I was intrigued by it. I didn't invest in it. It was a smaller company, but I know I can find it and put you in touch with them. Maybe they're still in business. Maybe they're not. You can adopt the technology. Um, and then as Joe said, there's, there's some issues here with how you're targeting. If 50% of the people are in a different size, you want to dirt an hour down to the 20% that are willing to pay a premium for your premium product to be comfortable. And that's something, you know, when you have a, you may have to have certain things available at these studios with front offices that sell product. And, you know, Joe wants to walk in and get a custom made, you know, ballerina outfit for himself to have one for him would be challenging, you know, so, um, you have to have the ability to do that. And I'm not 100% trying to do it yet, but continue on the path that you're on. Um, my other thought was, I love the fact that you identified a need from your personal space and you didn't just think it was a good idea. You took, there's thousands, millions of great ideas. Those that turn into good businesses are ones that do exactly what you've done and said, hey, there may be a chance for the meat of market for myself. So I'm, I'm blown away by that. Um, and with that, we would like to tell you, we're thrilled to tell you that we're going to award you $10,000 to continue on your path. And there's an opening in the fuel program for you. Should you wish to capitalize on that, that allows you to continue doing what you're doing. But across the board, great job. Well, thank you very, very much. I very much appreciate it. I want to say in closing, I want to thank all the teams. We want to thank all the teams for all their hard work. And as I mentioned earlier, in addition to your rigorous Fairfield, uh, academic caseload, you guys found time to, to do some pretty impressive stuff. Um, want to thank all the mentors. We want to thank all the sponsors for allowing the event to be possible. And of course, everyone behind the scenes. Uh, uh, Tom, you've been great. Jasmine, you've been fantastic. And I know you guys have a team to work with. Chris Huntley, helping us keep us all organized. Um, really made it a success. I think it's great that considering the really unique, unprecedented situation we are since the founding of this country, since the founding of capitalism to be able to pull this off and, and actually keep the annual Fairfield startup showcase going is something that we should all be proud of. And, uh, congratulations to all of you. Fairfield startup would like to thank our sponsors for continuing to make the annual startup showcase possible. Thank you. Visit fairfield.edu slash startup to watch all of the 2020 Fairfield startup team episodes. Vote for your favorite and tune in next week to see the winner of the CT Next Connecticut Innovations Audience Favorite Award. Thanks for watching Fairfield startup. This has been a presentation of Fairfield University and the Dolan School of Business.