It’s Working Beyond the Classroom
E CITY is blessed with generous community volunteers who join our outstanding teachers in helping our students grow and mature during and after our program. Our Business Plan Coaches and Business Plan Judges are particularly helpful to students as they build their business plans. On occasion, we have volunteers who also go one step further and help our students get their businesses off the ground.
John Rampe, President of Torque Transmission, has been one such volunteer. John has been a committed coach and judge since E CITY’s inception in 2002. He recently extended a helping hand to E CITY graduate Tim Sigler (John F. Kennedy High School junior).
Tim’s E CITY business plan was for the development of an automatic cleat wrench- the tool that athletes use to tighten the cleats in their shoes. Tim’s plan was for a speedier wrench than the classic manual models on the market today, and envisioned it being shared by teammates and compatible for all varieties of athletic cleats. Tim presented his plan in his E CITY class competition, where Chuck VerMerris, President and CEO of Radix Wire, was volunteering as a judge. Chuck relayed his enthusiasm for Tim’s idea to his friend, John Rampe, who has a manufacturing plant. Chuck and John began exploring the possibility of providing space and volunteers to build Tim’s vision.
John met with Tim and his mother in late December to outline steps required to determine if they could help the idea take flight. They determined that technology exists for making a battery powered cleat wrench inexpensively, but John suggested that Tim do a little more market research to determine if it could be produced in quantities large enough to keep manufacturing costs low. They calculated the cost to produce the wrench, and it ranged between $19.99 and $39.99, compared with the low cost of a manual cleat wrench- about $4.99. With John’s help, Tim is thinking more carefully about the market, including where a niche exists, what that niche needs and what price that market might be willing to pay for this product. Tim is refining his thinking about his marketing opportunity- a concept E CITY students outline in their business plans.
For now, Tim is working to build some capital. He has been working his side job at a local market and selling candy and sports drinks at school to build some savings. He’s made $300 so far on his sales at school, and he’s put all of his paychecks from his side job into a union savings account he opened while he was in the E CITY program. He plans to open a personal banking account soon. Tim continues to attend E CITY classes at JFK to continue working on his plan. Tim says, “I don’t think of there being a deadline. I just don’t want to miss opportunities.” John’s encouragement and Tim’s passion for his plan make them a winning team. Their commitment to pursuing Tim’s vision keeps the plan alive!