It’s Shark Tank with a Tiger twist — featuring Eberhardt School of Business students! The participants of last week’s “Tiger Tank,” were students from BUSI 143. The experiential learning course covers each step of the product innovation process, from idea generation to prototype building.
The Cube, an innovative technology center in the William Holt Knox Memorial Library and Learning Center hosted Tiger Tank. The students divided into four groups that then pitched their products to “sharks” (and any interested Pacifican who stopped by) through poster presentations. After visiting each group, attendees cast their vote for their favorite product.
“It was really cool to start from just an idea and have it build,” said Business analytics and marketing major Nathan Yep ’22. “And then, all of the sudden, we had a prototype that we designed ourselves.”
Yep and his teammates designed a toothbrush for individuals who struggle with hand tremors due to Parkinson’s disease. They called it the SteadyBrush and used The Cube’s 3D printer to create a prototype.
“It was really cool to see it go from the design to seeing it in 3D. I took a class that involved 3D printing in the past, but this was the first time I used 3D printing to create my own product, so it was pretty cool,” said Yep.
Innovation and social impact
Beyond innovation and revenue potential, each group also aimed to make a positive impact on the world with their projects. They each identified a community they could assist and worked to design products to help their targeted demographics.
“In the beginning of the semester, we had a guest speaker who came in, and she talked to our entire class about her experiences with product innovation,” said Ranier Sadang, a fourth-year marketing student, who worked on FitSync, a yoga instruction app for those who are hard of hearing. “She’s somebody who works very closely with people who have disabilities, and she said that they’re definitely a great start for us to start thinking about, if we were to actually create a product, how can we be more inclusive towards people who have disabilities.”
Tiger Tank projects
Tiger Tank product innovations included:
- SteadyBrush, a toothbrush with features designed to help people with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions that cause hand tremors;
- O2 Backpacks, oxygen tank carriers strategically designed for school children with respiratory issues;
- FitSynch, a fitness app that aims to bring yoga to the deaf community;
- Senior Tech Care App, connects users from the elderly community to tech assistance.
Check out the Eberhardt School of Business’s Instagram for an inside look at the poster presentations.