LAKE FOREST/LAKE BLUFF — As juniors, members of the Lake Forest High School business incubator class scrambled to get funded on pitch night in May, believing only one of 11 groups would have an opportunity to obtain capital to start their venture as seniors.
Fast Froward to early 2017. Two of those businesses — Peach Academics and Safe & Sound Spray — will soon put their product or service in the hands of customers after spending the summer and fall getting ready.
Though they spend time on their own outside school developing their businesses, they are part of the second year incubator class devoted solely to making their business dream a reality, according to Joe Pulio, who teaches the class. They meet during regular class time.
Peach Academics, which offers real time, online tutoring services by students for students will go live at the high school next semester. Safe & Sound is awaiting its first inventory of a security device to help ward off would-be attackers to fill 75 preorders, according to their founders.
Both groups started with $20,000 from a combination of the Lake Forest High School Foundation and private investors who were sold on the groups’ ideas from their pitch before a live audience in a Shark Tank atmosphere.
One of the first things they were required to do after funding was form a limited liability corporation, which among other things sets out the relationship between entrepreneur and investor, according to Annabelle Capstick, one of Peach’s founders. Peach did more. It raised additional money, changing the investor group.
Peach Academics’ Leo Spano, Cameron Litzsinger, Annabelle Capstick, Jon Day, and Brandon Rancap during the Lake Forest High School business incubator class. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER/JWC MEDIA
Peach Obtains More Funding
Peach started with $1,000 from the foundation and another $19,000 from private investors. Safe & Sound got $10,000 from the foundation, according to Brandon Rancap, another of Peach’s founders, along with Capstick, Leo Spano, Jon Day and Cameron Litzsinger.
“For giving us only $1,000 we thought the foundation was getting too much,” said Rancap.
“We found other owners for more funding,” Capstick added.
When the LLC was officially formed over the summer, the foundation and two other investors who collectively infused $3,000 dropped out, according to Capstick. She said eight more were added to the remaining four, bringing the initial capitalization to more than $42,000. The three departing funders got their money back.
When the Peach site goes live for Lake Forest students second semester, Spano said, students seeking tutoring help can log on, make the necessary input and be connected with a peer for online tutoring.
Spano said the tutors are rewarded with either cash or student service hours, depending on the arrangement the school makes once it purchases the software from Peach. Rancap made it clear under Peach’s business model the school customer purchases the software and sets the parameters between student and tutor.
Once Peach is comfortable with the live effort at Lake Forest, it will market its product to other schools “pretty soon after that,” according to Capstick. For now the young entrepreneurs want to assure themselves there are no bugs in the software.
“We want to open here at Lake Forest and make sure everything is working right,” Capstick said. “Then we’re going to talk to schools in the (Chicago) area and southern Wisconsin.”
Jenelle Frevert and Gwen Driscoll work on their product, Safe & Sound, at LFHS. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER/JWC MEDIA
Safe & Sound Awaits Inventory
Safe & Sound will soon be receiving its first shipment of inventory to fill the 75 preorders it already has and begin a more extensive marketing campaign, according to Gwen Driscoll, who runs the company along with partner Jenelle Frevert.
The primary target market for the company’s spray device is college students who feel they need protection against a would-be attacker, according to Frevert. She said they have approached companies that operate college book stores to post signs and offer the product for $25. Driscoll said it does more than emit pepper spray, which sells for less.
“It sprays a blue dye that stays for 48 hours so they can’t hide from law enforcement,” said Driscoll. “It sounds an alarm so people around you know what is going on.
“It makes you feel safe and sound,” Frevert added.
Like Peach, the primary marketing effort will take place second semester. They too had to take care of nuts and bolts like forming their LLC and making sure all legal protections were in place before venturing out.
“Oh my gosh it took a lot longer that we thought,” said Driscoll. “There were just a lot of procedures.”
Frevert and Driscoll see a market beyond college campuses. Frevert said the container is small enough a runner on a local trail could carry it in their hand. Initially they said it needed to be small enough to fit in a purse. They have met that goal.
High School Hired Continues
There is a third group that meets with in the second-year class. Katie Nyland, Jared Rule and Blair Nanis wanted to continue even though their business was not funded. They said they got the opportunity from the owners of High School Hired.
High School Hired was part of the initial incubator class three years ago, which was funded on pitch night in 2015. Pulio said the founders, who are now college freshmen, hired Nyland, Rule and Nanis to continue to develop the enterprise, which connects local businesses with teens looking for work.
Nyland said there is a lot of cold calling on businesses though they have also worked through local chambers of commerce. She said the primary focus has been in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood but there are also efforts in North Chicago and Highland Park.
Generation Integration’s mentor, Bob Gariano of Lake Forest, makes a point during the Lake Forest High School year-one business incubator class.
Junior James Buckardt of Lake Forest discusses plans for Generation Integration.
Lightning Bug Babysitters’ Madison Davalle, John Norkus and Clayton Wilbur during the Lake Forest High School business incubator class.
Lightning Bug Babysitters’ Landon Edwards and Grace Geraghty.
Lightning Bug Babysitters’ Madison Davalle targets for customer retention and growth during the Lake Forest High School business incubator class.