*UPDATE (12/14/2015): The results are in, and the Menehune Hat Clip tied for 1st Runner Up in the Global Startup Battle! Such an accomplishment for these hardworking students. Way to go!
**UPDATE (12/7/2015): The Menehune Hat Clip is a Champions Track Finalist in the Global Startup Battle 2015! The Championship Track judges will now be scoring the 12 remaining teams and a winner will be announced later this week.
Last weekend our President and Chief 3D Officer, Collin Kobayashi, had the honor of participating as a team mentor at Startup Weekend Honolulu. This was the eighth Startup Weekend Honolulu event but the first time 3D Innovations was involved.
Before the event Collin was approached by entrepreneurs Evan and Kari Leong and asked about participating as an additional mentor for their two oldest children, 12-year-old Buddy and 10-year-old Koko, who were eager to test out an idea at Startup Weekend. Their children had the idea to develop a new camera hat clip that was both durable and secure, from this idea the Menehune Hat Clip was born. Both children are avid sports enthusiasts and found that current hat straps for camera mounts were flimsy, which did not provide for a stable and secure mounting system. Both boys experienced this problem first hand while trying to capture ‘POV’ (point-of-view) shots while surfing and knew that there had to be a better way.
One of the children had seen a 3D printer at school, but had never used it before. He was intrigued by the idea that you can design something with software and in a very short time, be able to produce the part into a physical prototype. Collin was able to teach them software basics while educating them about additive manufacturing technology.
“This was my first Startup Weekend event and wasn’t really sure what to expect other than having two days to not only come up with a design, but get as much market research conducted as possible and develop a prototype that met the needs of users. Combining my expertise in product development and their parents vast knowledge in business/entrepreneurship, we equipped the kids with a toolkit to get the project completed. This was not only an educational experience for them, but for us as well. It was rewarding to see them learn and ask questions about why we needed to do things a certain way,” said Collin.
In the end, these hardworking students were satisfied with both the design and prototypes, and turned their focus on presenting the idea to a panel of judges and audience members. The Menehune Hat Clip was the first prize winner and the brothers were quite possibly the youngest participants across Global Startup Battle 2015, which connect Startup Weekend events in over 250 cities around the world. We can’t wait to see the Menehune Hat Clip push forward and into stores one day.
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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