By David Benda
Redding Record Searchlight, Calif.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) If the ninth annual Young Entrepreneurship Program competition in Redding is any indication, women entrepreneurship is in good hands. Several female owned business ideas made it into the final round of the “Shark Tank” like competition. The Winner, Alleyna Milligan and her idea for “The DipStick”, a straw that can detect date-rape drugs in a drink.
Redding Record Searchlight, Calif.
What started as an idea in her high school business class turned into a $1,000 payday for Alleyna Milligan.
Milligan’s business proposal, The DipStick, a nontoxic straw that can detect date-rape drugs in a drink, won the ninth annual Young Entrepreneurship Program competition Thursday.
Milligan, 16, a junior at Shasta High, pitched her idea to a panel of five judges in front of her peers, who practically filled up the main floor of the Cascade Theatre in downtown Redding.
“I feel amazing right now. I can’t believe it,” Milligan said afterward. “It was only yesterday I was practicing this in the classroom.”
China Milligan, Alleyna’s stepmother, said the competition was the culmination of hard work and determination.
“I’m so proud of her,” she said. “When she sets her mind to something, she gets it done. She literally did this on her own. This was all her.”
The event was put on by Shasta College and the California Community College’s Doing What Matters initiative. U.S. Bank provided the prize money, which totaled $2,500.
“I think it just gives students an opportunity to dream big for what they would want for their future,” said Chelsea Hendershot, small business industry deputy sector navigator at Shasta College. “It’s important for here in the North State because a lot of our businesses are made up of small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
The competition kicked off with 80 teams submitting ideas to Shasta College’s Youth Entrepreneurship Program, YEP, in February. Competitors had to be between 14 and 18 years old.
The entries were pared to 40 contestants, who were then told to complete a business plan that included, among other things, the product’s purpose, its niche, how the team would protect the idea, the target market and cost to produce.
From 40, five finalists were chosen to compete Thursday.
Tricia McLain, a junior at Enterprise High School, admitted she was nervous about their product, Shhh Undies, designed to soundproof flatulence and get rid of the smell. Shhh Undies finished second in the competition and won $550.
“I figured they would kind of not take us seriously and I was so embarrassed at first about just going up there,” McLain said about presenting. “But I mean, you just gotta be comfortable.”
McLain’s classmate, Maisee Yang, came up with idea for the underwear. Faith Cooper, also a junior at Enterprise, was the third person on the Shhh Undies team.
The other three finalists were Eco-Fresh (Shasta High), a tablet that dissolves into shampoo and conditioner, removing the need for plastic bottles; Mass Fusion Energy (Enterprise High), a fusion-fission reactor that creates electricity that can be used to power a home; and Un-Furable (Quincy High), a combination dog door and grooming tool.
Mass Fusion Energy and Drew Johns won the “crowd favorite” award, generating the most smart phone votes from the audience. Johns won $300 plus $150 for finishing honorable mention. Eco-Fresh, the team of Becca White and McKenna Chadwick, also was named honorable mention.
Maya Belsher-Howe and Jennifer Mathes, of Un-Furable, finished third and won $350.
Meanwhile, Alleyna Milligan said the inspiration for DipStick came from the mother of one her friends. The mom had been drugged.
“She had a horrible time and I was wondering how we can fix this,” Milligan said.
Milligan envisions DipStick coming in packs of five that would sell for $5. Her target market is men and women 18 to 35 and the tagline would be: “Know what is really in your drink.” She also wants to develop a tablet that would change the color of the drink if it is contaminated with drugs.
“This whole process, I learned exactly how public speaking works, how people respond to things and just how to handle and talk to people,” Milligan said.
Jake Mangas, CEO of the Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce and one of the five judges, thought DipStick clearly stood out.
“When we deliberated downstairs, we thought the business plan made sense,” Mangas. “I think it was also providing a very meaningful service. There is a potential benefit for a product of that kind.”
