Startup Project
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Defining the Problem
Necessity is the mother of invention, which is why our group decided to look into different issues that impact us in our local community, as well as people further than that. We discussed different issues such as misc energy consumption, light pollution and single-use plastic waste. We ended up settling with the single-use plastics issue, as it resonated with our group's values the most. Single-use plastic waste happens all around the world, making it easier to narrow down into our community and brainstorm solutions.
We then reflected on our brainstorming and submitted our issue. We discussed potentially replacing everyday household items with something more sustainable, but we were not fully sure at that point.
Defining the Solution
After having discussed and decided our focus: single-use plastic waste in households, we were tasked with creating a solution for the issue. We were initially thinking about services and method of reducing households' energy consumption, or replacing them with more renewable sources. We were slighly drifting from our original problem of plastics, so we ended up on the idea of creating a replacement idea: A subscription box that contains a bi-monthly delivery of sustainable products which aim at reducing or replacing items that would typically be produced with single-use plastics.
As before, we also reflected and submitted our idea to solve our problem. After doing so, we had to create a proper brand identity to advertise and share our company. We created the name "Zero-Waste Subscription Box" and styled it as Z3R0-W45T3-SUB5CR1PT10N-B0X. Moving into what our company were to provide, we started to brainstorm what the box would include in it. We planned to include ziplock bags, recycling/compost bags, toilet paper, straws and toothbrushes. We would later narrow this down and exclude a few of these items due to the inability to realistically make the prototype before the due pitch date.
Creating the Prototype
After deciding on what we could include in our pitch, we settled on creating toothbrushes and a roll of toilet paper to demonstrate the practicality of our idea. In order to do this, we created detailed instructions on how this would be possible, and tried to use the reasources we had at school, with some minor purchases within a budget of $50. We ended up purchasing bamboo sticks, boar hair and mesh sheets. After budgeting and calculating costs for the production and the sale pricing, we decided to start production. The image below is not the cost for what we purchased, however it is the purchase amount including factory costs.
Toilet Paper
This was arguably the most tiring part of this project, where we had to go through the process of boiling a stick of bamboo in sodium hydroxide for the entire school day. There were another 24 hours of waiting for the paper to dry, but the result was definitely worth it.
Toothbrush
The toothbrush was relatively simple, we cut the bamboo sticks into small pieces, and used glue to attach boar hair to our stem. We plan to use vegan-friendly bristle alternatives in the future, such as agave.
Creating the Pitch
When creating the pitch, we had to adapt to our audiences. We chose a bold design language with green accents to convey our company's message: promoting more sustainable living. We used facts, relevant info and vibrant visuals in order to improve the quality of our pitch as well. We also broke down our budgeting in this presentation helping us display full transparency and gain the interest of our potential investors.
