Students in the Entrepreneurship and Business Management (EBM) course have the unique opportunity to not only run a small business, but donate thousands of dollars to a charity of their choice.
Each year, students are assigned four main projects, one of which is to create a student-run business. Most businesses sell small, Wayland-themed items around campus. All profits are then donated to charity.
Many past products have been quite successful in the Wayland community.
“There was the company 508Hydrate that sold Way20, which was bottled water. They made over five-thousand dollars,” said business teacher James Page.
“The tattoos are memorable because that was freshman year,” said junior Nico Pascual-Leone. “That was the first thing that I saw them selling.”
“Last year’s socks (“Wocks”) were really good. I heard a lot of people bought those, and I definitely put them to use,” said sophomore Cori Gold.
This year students are planning on selling new products. But before they can sell them, there is a long process towards choosing a product.
“In each class there are around 24 kids, and each student makes a business pitch,” said Page. “The students then narrow it down to four leading business pitches. Each of those groups makes a group presentation, and then we have members of the Wayland Business Association come in and evaluate their business plan.”
“(The product) needs to have a ‘want’, and specific ‘want’, and it has to be a product that will be successful and have a large market,” said senior R.J. Bolivar, a member of one of the EBM classes.
“The marketability, product projections, and buyer reliability are some key things we look for,” said junior Mike MacLean, another EBM student.
This year, three products made the final cut. Each class has a product and a company name to go with it.
The company Sticky Business will sell dashboard mats. This rectangular mat is a sticky surface that can be placed in a car on a dashboard that holds items in place (I-Pod, cell phones, etc.) without leaving any sticky residue on the item. The mats are also eco-friendly.
The company Below the Belt will sell Wonder Wear Boxers. Made out of bamboo, these unisex boxers are eco-friendly.
Dub Buds Inc will sell headphones in a variety of colors with standard sound quality.
Although not the focus of the project, there is some competition between classes to raises the most money.
“There is definitely a competition aspect to it,” said MacLean. “I know I want my class to raise the most money.”
“I try to remind them that it’s about charity, not about the competition,” said Page.
