The product our team is commercializing is a NASA designed technology designed to store waste in space. This product works on Earth as well and has applicable multi-use capabilities. Throughout the last several months, the team has identified different markets to determine which of them would experience the most value from this product. The team conducted 25 interviews to grasp the landscape of the different markets related to this product. After a thorough analysis, it was found that vendors who support the disposal of different types of waste and sludge would be the best fit for this product. Vendors like Waste Management, Sharps, Stericycle, Sludge USA, etc.,” have large contracts with hospitals, biotech firms, labs, and cities to manage a wide spectrum of waste. The companies bring value to their clients by making a difficult process easier. However, the process is not seamless and, with certain types of waste, there are significant costs associated with not following an exact process. Throughout this process and interviews with companies like Sludge USA and Waste Management, the team identified a niche market in supporting sludge processes. Caked: Sludge Management is designed to bring value to this market by making their waste disposal process seamless, and saving these institutions significant costs in the long run, while creating additional value.

Human beings have long sought to conquer the unconquerable and to push the boundaries of human endurance. There are few such endeavors more challenging than venturing into the coldest and harshest environments on the planet. The challenges these adventurers face are nearly countless, but one that is often underestimated is the massive risk of dehydration in high mountains and the lack of sufficient technology to meet this important need. Astronauts and mountaineers of NASA's Johnson Space Center have created a technology that solves this problem: a freeze-resistant hydration system that helps stop water from freezing at sub-zero temperatures by using cutting-edge technology and materials science to insulate and heat enough water to prevent dehydration over the course of the day, so that adventurers no longer need to worry about their equipment stopping them. This patented technology is the basis of the founding of Aeropak, an advanced outdoor hydration brand developed by three ASU students (Kendall Robinson, Derek Stein, and Thomas Goers) in collaboration with W.P. Carey’s Founder’s Lab. The primary goal was to develop traction among winter sport enthusiasts to create a robust customer base and evaluate the potential for partnership with hydration solution companies as well as direct sales through online and brick-and-mortar retail avenues. To this end, the Aeropak team performed market research to determine the usefulness and need for the product through a survey sent out to a number of outdoor sporting clubs on Arizona State University’s campus. After determining an interest in a potential product, the team developed a marketing strategy and business model which was executed through Instagram as well as a standalone website, with the goal of garnering interest and traction for a future product. Future goals of the project will be to bring a product to market and expand Aeropak’s reach into a variety of winter sport subcommunities, as well as evaluate the potential for further expansion into large-scale retailers and collaboration with established companies.

This thesis creative project details my experience as an entrepreneur in the fitness industry. More specifically, I detail the process of creating my online fitness coaching business. A few of the topics covered in my thesis include my process for creating leads and acquiring clients, the scaling of my social media, and the future direction of my business. For the future direction of my business, I overview how I want to scale and improve my content. This is important to the longevity of my business as it helps me find women interested in my services. Additionally, I detail how I have developed the coaching program to provide the best service possible to the women within it. Overall, this thesis project allowed me the opportunity to formally write out the development of my business so far, and detail my goals in the future.

Through Entrepreneurship at ASU, I became passionate about venture creation and the behind the scenes work that comes with creating a startup company. This allowed me to create my own venture in the realm of travel called "OverLay", where I learned that entrepreneurship is much more than coming up with a solution and solving it. I went into the community and had informational interviews with founders of startups and successful entrepreneurs to collect qualitative analysis of what must be done to have a successful venture. Through this analysis, I continued working on my own personal venture and was able to reassess some of the initial problems that I was having. I learned the importance of being customer oriented and of creating a successful team. I am continuing to progress my venture "OverLay" and am working on an official prototype to be released. With unyielding determination and a relentless pursuit of excellence, I am excited to bring my vision to life and make a meaningful impact in the travel industry.