Regrouping for Our Focus Group

We met for the first time today since summer, and also put our games to the test by having our first focus group with elementary school children- our target market! Six new people joined us from Stuyvesant High School as we took a short trip to the Manhattan Youth Community Center in Tribeca. Everyone was quite nervous and antsy as we broke up into groups of two and headed to meet the kids. All of the kids were extremely enthusiastic about our activity book, and some even fought with one another to do them first, which we took as a good sign. As we tested the games, we found common complaints and confusions among the kids that we wrote down, as well as their reactions to each of the puzzles. The kids were very focused on the puzzles, and we got positive feedback from one of the teachers, who said that Flip 'N' Check was a brilliant idea due to its reusability, and that “the game calmed the kids down, even on a Friday, which was amazing.” All of the kids found the artwork to be great, and we even hosted a mini meet and greet to one kid who requested an audience with our graphic designer William Yen. By the end we were exhausted but exuberant that we obtained so much feedback to continue and improve our games.

Fist Full Of Orders

Pam arrives back from Canada with a fist full of orders and no time to waste placing our 1st order with the factory. First, we must make tweaks to our product after discovering a few glitches in the sample. Talking back and forth to China and waiting for a revised sample just added two more weeks to our pre- production schedule- grrr.

To speed things up we send a purchase order to the factory to begin talks, it’s inevitable they will have changes since we have never worked together before. Next, we rush our sample to a forensic lab in Texas to have the raw materials used in our product tested to make sure they meet US toy safety standards. 

Phew. We just got word from Armstrong Forensic Laboratory that all the raw materials used to construct our product meet US toy safety standards!

The last piece to this puzzle is to wire transfer money to the factory.

We are officially in production for our first product, FLIP N’ CHECK!

Flip 'N' Check Day 14: Start Spreading the News

Today we set out to spread the word about our upcoming event at the Frying Pan! We're in the process of contacting Stuyvesant's alumni association as well as other organizations in the high school. You can check out our event on Facebook -- and like our page -- at https://www.facebook.com/ToysByTeens!

We researched on raffles and silent auctions and brainstormed some ways to get the word out to the public. You can help by sharing this with your family and friends! Thanks!

Flip 'N' Check Day 13: Don't Stop Me Now

Believe it or not, the gift show is less than a week away! In just a few days, Ms. Chmiel will be flying off to Toronto, ready to promote Flip 'N' Check to the Canadian world. In the meantime, we had to make some final touches to ensure that her trip will be a success. We began sending out our new press release about World Wonders and the gift show to a line of Canadian and New York press outlets to spread the word.

Also in preparation for the show, we finished making the appropriate changes to our product demo video to be shown on a loop at Booth #5230. The video was originally made by Stuyvesant's video production class under the guidance of Ms. Elka Gould, but as you know, the name of the product has since been changed to Flip 'N' Check.

And here's some more exciting news! We're hosting an event on August 20th at the Frying Pan! All are invited to this fundraising and networking event. We are proud to announce that current candidate for Manhattan Borough President (and Stuyvesant alumnus) Jessica Lappin will be in attendance to kick off our elevator pitch open mic. We'll have a raffle and exciting prizes. Please come and join us for food, drinks, networking, and a good cause. We appreciate your support!

Flip 'N' Check Day 12: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Happy first day of August! Today saw no time for the stormy weather to put a damper on our moods. With Canada practically a week away, we had to get to work on preparing for our international debut! World Wonders will be setting up a booth at the gift show, so it is only appropriate that we provide them with booth materials to promote our product. We made changes to our product demo video and press release to accommodate for the updated version of Flip 'N' Check. There was also discussion of a possible future fundraising event, and of course, game development and revision are always underway!

It's always so nice to see you, Natasha!

We had a pleasant mini reunion when Natasha stopped by the Frying Pan! Being a Toronto native, she advised Ms. Chmiel on her upcoming trip to the Toronto Gift Show. She also conducted a short interview on the importance of mentorship and our own experiences being mentored. Though we had a little trouble filming outdoors on the barge with the helicopters and rain overhead, we managed to find a quiet spot inside the caboose. There, we reflected on our summer and the many skills we've learned.

Flip 'N' Check Day 11: No News Is Good News

Back at the Queens Public Library, we further attempted to research alternative manufacturing options and continue game development. While we currently have a sufficient amount for a full set of Under the Sea activities, it is always good to have options. And options, we have! We're exploring a variety of different exercises in different subjects -- even our fill-in-the-blank activity is turning out better! As we said in a previous post, we are greatly looking forward to the feedback our focus groups will provide. Ms. Chmiel is in the process of organizing our first one with the Manhattan Youth Group.

Flip 'N' Check Day 10: Surprises, Good and Bad

Let's give you the good news first. Today, we welcomed a new member of the team, back from his trip to Cambodia! The thousands of miles in between and twelve hour time difference meant close to nothing -- it was like he was here from the start. We quickly brought Mark up to date on our project. We now have more than enough activities to fill the Under the Sea version of our book, and after days of trial and error, we are finally satisfied with our fill-in-the-blank activity. With Mark's fresh perspective, we gathered more insight on the possible response we might receive. Of course, we still have to conduct the focus groups for our target audience in the imminent future.

And now, for the not so good news. We've heard back from our manufacturer. Our sample, unfortunately, is not exactly the way we envisioned it... but fingers crossed that it'll be fixed in time for the Canadian toy fair! Ms. Chmiel is contemplating flying to Toronto herself to meet with our distributor and to help sell our product.

Serious business. Ready to work!

Flip 'N' Check Day 9: Cloudy With A Chance of Success

Back to the Frying Pan. On a cool, cloudy day, we resumed our activities.  Besides the usual brainstorming and development, we further researched our prospective affair with World Wonders. They will be present at the Toronto Gift Show, beginning on August 11^th, at the International Centre. They will have a sizeable booth set up, so if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out!

Our first impromptu focus group! Thanks for the feedback!

Our activities are still in their revision stage, but today we were lucky enough to entertain an impromptu focus group! They tested out some activities from both the original Flip ‘N’ Check and our new Under the Sea version. Though they were not exactly in our target age range, they provided good insight into how people might approach our product and offered some suggestions and constructive feedback.

Flip 'N' Check Day 8: Glass Half Full

We continued to move forward with our project today at the Queens Public Library. Our activity count went up several notches as we are slowly, but surely, reaching our goal. It turns out that writing children’s stories? More difficult than it seems! Perhaps the hardest thing being keeping it simple, while keeping it fun. We expect that we will end up with more activities than we will have room to fit in the actual book! This is a good thing. Of course, we will remember and try to account for the focus groups that we have yet to conduct. Reactions from our target audience may vary. Until then, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. Stay tuned.

Flip 'N' Check Day 7: A Day With Patience and Fortitude

Patience and fortitude. Two attributes that are crucial in taking an idea and making it a reality. They’re also the names of the two majestic marble lions that stand guard in front of the famed New York Public Library, which is where we continued our work. We attempted to secure a place in the Children’s Center without success. But that was okay, since we found an alternative under the high ceilings of the Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor.

Game development underwent more progress, and we are close to completing the activities for our Under the Sea version. We began discussing the possibility of press opportunities, and hope to have a press release ready in the coming week. We also have some focus groups planned for once we’ve finished making the activities. We are looking for feedback from our target audience: kids. Will they find Flip ‘N’ Check too easy? Too hard? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon enough!

Flip 'N' Check Day 6: Go With the Flow

We began our morning in Battery Park amidst laughing children playing in the sprinklers as we waited for the local library to open its doors. Finding an empty picnic bench to sit around, we brought everyone up to date.  When we got inside the library, we found a quiet place to work and split into groups.  Half of us continued working on game development, including an activity about compound words in pictures. 

The rest of us did research on foreign distribution. We referenced Global Toy News and the Harvard Business Review to learn about deal making with distributors. Elizabeth Carpenter, author of the popular children’s activity book Dino Mazes, was kind enough to help us evaluate our possible partnership with World Wonders.  Her experience in the field makes her advice invaluable to us.  

Flip 'N' Check Day 5: A _____ (Wail/Whale) of a Time

The _______ (son/sun) continued shining, and we continued _______ (hour/our) brainstorming. At the Queens Public Library, we resumed activity development for Flip ‘N’ Check’s Under the Sea version. Coming up with and elaborating on _______ (some/sum) of the ideas for the games proved to be no easy _______ (feat/feet) – we ourselves learned a thing or two about sharks! We got our creative juices flowing as we crafted a story about a young whale on his first day of school.  We focused on homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently), like the ones you see _______ (hear/here)!

Flip 'N' Check Day 4: Full Speed Ahead!

At the New York Public Library in Battery Park.

Today we continued our project in the cool refuge of the New York Public Library in Battery Park City (we are in an intense heat wave here on the East Coast). We settled down amongst the youngsters in the children’s section where we took suggestions from our target audience. What are kids into these days? Minnows, crabs, whales, giant squids, blue whales, and not eels, according to a helpful young intellectual, his eyes twinkling as he listed these off the top of his head. With this in mind, we explored and voted on topics to include in our “Under the Sea” themed version of Flip ‘N’ Check. Soon after, game development was really in full swing, and we began crafting a list of possible activities.

Sitting in the children's section for maximum exposure 
to the minds of young intellectuals...
and also because everywhere else was full.

We also discussed our manufacturing progress (currently, we are debating between two manufacturers). There is also the possibility that we will work with World Wonders, a Canadian distributor. This division of MCM Group Ltd. will be debuting our product as part of their line-up at an upcoming toy show in Canada. Hopefully, we can expect to see our new samples within the next week to push the process along.

Flip 'N' Check Day 3: Out in the Field

Today's meeting had a change of scenery: the lovely, air-conditioned (!) Barnes and Noble. We scanned the shelves of the bookstore, looking for inspiration and ideas for our project. We poked around in the section for children's workbooks, where we quickly thumbed through several of the books. They provided good insight into some common and popular themes for kids of our target age. We checked out the games section as well, where we started taking notes on the manufacturers and some of the awards won by the games. We will definitely be working toward that goal ourselves in the future, so that's something to keep on the back burner!

Flip 'N' Check Day 2: Refreshed and Revamped

We returned to the Frying Pan to continue our work as stormy clouds approached on New Jersey's horizon. After everyone had arrived and settled in, we had our daily group meeting.  We discussed how we could improve our presence in social media and determined that we would use Blogspot and Facebook to keep everyone updated on our project and to build brand recognition for Flip 'N' Check.  

Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp had an existing blog before Toys by Teens was founded.  After rummaging for the login information, we got to work on revamping the blog.  We redesigned the look and style and introduced Flip 'N' Check to our readers.  We also gained access to the Toys by Teens Facebook page, so look forward to new posts!  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToysByTeens.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group continued compiling a database outlining the appropriate topics of discussion for grade school students.  We have three main categories thus far: the basic curriculum, under the sea and the New-York Historical Society.  Soon, we will take a vote as a group on which topics to include in our product. 

Flip 'N' Check Day 1: All Aboard!

All aboard the Frying Pan! Our summer apprenticeship with Pam Chmiel and the teen toy company set sail at the restaurant at Chelsea's Pier 66 on a bright, sunny Monday. We began our day getting acquainted with the project begun by Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp.  The toy company, Toys By Teens, LLC, is out to develop and bring the innovative product Flip 'N' Check to market. Created by the inventor of Connect Four, it is a new approach to the traditional activity book.

The team hard at work at our first meeting.

The first item on our to-do list was to review the agenda and delegate tasks. We discussed possible partnerships with experienced entrepreneurs and renowned institutions across New York City, including the New-York Historical Society. After splitting up into small groups, we tackled research on the market and on appropriate curriculums in various subjects for grade schoolers. Research on the NY Aquarium's school programs gave additional insight into our product development. We made significant progress, and it was only our first day! Excited for what Day Two will bring.

Teen Toy Company presents their first product: Flip 'N' Check

In 2011, Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp (TEBC) piloted the teen toy company program at the acclaimed Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan. The goal is to expose young people to business and to teach them about entrepreneurship by creating a real world business model. Stuyvesant alumnus Ray Lent has a philosophy: do well, while doing good. This summer, he is sponsoring Stuyvesant students to bring Toys by Teens’s first product to market.  Dr. Howard Wexler, inventor of the game Connect Four, donated an innovative idea to the project, a twist to the traditional educational activity book. It is now up to the young entrepreneurs to develop and spread the new Flip 'N' Check.

The Jumping Bean Day 4

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Originally uploaded by Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp

Day four of The Jumping Bean mainly focused on the appearance of the store and the press release. To kick off the process, after splitting into groups, students began write paragraphs of the press release. This basically took half of the day, after a delayed start, and much coaxing by Pam and Shireen.

Then, after a short lunch break, some of the teen entrepreneurs started to work off an original equipment list, and comparison-shopped on the web to find what we need and the sizes that the items are going to be. Some other students took another computer and found southern drinks, such as the “Virgin Mint Julep” and
“Good Ol’ Alabama Sweet Tea”. The timing was perfect, because just as the equipment list was being printed, the architect was ready to speak. He helped us measure the store, using a long tape measure; essentially supervising the entire planning process.

To top off all of the day’s activities, we were able to taste the cakeballs from Sage American Bakery! Most of the students thought they were excellent! In my opinion (Donovan) they were quite good. They will surely be a great success!

Day 3 of The Jumping Bean

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Originally uploaded by Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp

Today’s events of The Jumping Bean saga were particularly special. The students ventured out into the field, uptown to 260 Madison Ave, to sit through a presentation by Julia Gaynor, a publicist for Affect Strategy, a public relations firm. In this hour-and-a-half presentation, she talked about how to make the press interested in a story, in our case, our espresso bar. She clearly conveyed what to include in a press release and informed us about a journalist’s deadlines and other technical terms related to the subject matter. We thank Julia Gaynor very much and hope her advice makes or breaks our experience with the press.

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Soon after a short train ride back down to Fulton Street, and a brief lunch break, we practiced an art called “spitballing”, which is a very reliable form of brainstorming. After breaking into groups, we finally met our goal of creating an opening sentence that would hook the mind to our press release. Tomorrow, we are going to write the press release and hopefully send it out in a few days.

Day Two of "The Jumping Bean"

As the sun rose and business people flooded the streets of lower Manhattan, the planning of “The Jumping Bean” continued with ease. Day two started off with group brainstorming for a main sales product. Soon after some creation of ideas, the group stumbled upon a great new idea: cake balls! As opposed to previous sessions, “The Jumping Bean’s” specialty item will be a baked good instead of a drink. Cake balls are balls made of a variety of cakes combined with frosting and dipped in a candy-like liquid, such as fondue or caramel, which are mere examples of the vast league of baked goods we’ve entered.

In addition of contacting many vendors of various items, Pam, the Director contacted our baker, Jen from “This Chick Bakes”, to propose the cake ball idea. We sincerely hope that the baker’s plan works out and our cake balls work out well. Pam also took the students out into the South Street Seaport Pier area to cross-market, or collaborate with other vendors to promote our espresso bar. We inquired from a representative from Circle Line and gather brochures from the many NYC tour buses, such as Gray Line or Coach USA.

The day went on and after splitting into several groups; we started to pull some crucial aspects of our espresso bar together. One group contacted some rubber stamp and paper goods vendors and printers. Another filtered which celebrities we should invite to our opening. Finally, a last group thought of ideas of an apparent theme. We brainstormed those ideas, overlooking many themes of different natures. The theme went from vintage to vintage New York to Mexican to southern to Americana to "South of the Border" to Aztec. After much arguing and suspense the theme of "Jumping Around the World" came to mind, since many people in the area are tourists.

The afternoon flew by and it was 3:30 and "The Jumping Bean" didn't have a tag line. We brainstormed, using the thesaurus and the base word - travel (which is the basis of our theme). After coming up with words such as voyage, globetrotting, and other words not commonly used in everyday speech, the slogan literally floated into the brain of one of the students.

After a long day of work, we are now officially working with "The Jumping Bean - Your destination is just a sip away!"