Frequent flyers know the importance of a good suitcase. It needs to hold all of your stuff, roll smoothly along a variety of surfaces and fit into the coveted overhead bin space onboard.
But, no matter which ones he tried, avid traveler Gaston Blanchet, 麻豆精品 S�09, realized the perfect suitcase for his needs just didn 麻豆精品 S檛 exist 麻豆精品 S� so he invented it.
Inspired by the roll-top doors for meal storage on airplanes, the Trunkster was born. It 麻豆精品 S檚 the world 麻豆精品 S檚 first and only zipperless, roll-top luggage that introduces a revolutionary industrial design. A durable and waterproof sliding door allows for quick access to belongings, even in the most constricted spaces. The bag also includes a removable power bank, built-in digital scale, and can be enabled with GPS.
Blanchet, who earned his UCF bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in business management, and his business partner Jesse Potash, used Facebook and Twitter to help build awareness of their product, and targeted travel and tech bloggers, as well as business travelers. The buzz created a network that led to thousands of pledges and preorders on Trunkster 麻豆精品 S檚 Kickstarter page. The support and demand was so great, in fact, their $50,000 goal soon multiplied more than 27 times in 59 days, with 3,566 backers pledging $1,395,370 by the Jan. 16 deadline.
麻豆精品 S淵ou can never take luck or good timing out of the equation, 麻豆精品 S� Blanchet says. 麻豆精品 S淚 think we were fortunate to launch at a time when both smart products and crowdfunding became two of the year 麻豆精品 S檚 biggest trends. This, coupled with having a unique product in a stagnant industry, and months of media planning, let us claim the spot as the world 麻豆精品 S檚 most-crowdfunded travel campaign. 麻豆精品 S�
While the guys have another idea they 麻豆精品 S檇 also like to take to crowdfunding, for now, they 麻豆精品 S檙e focused on manufacturing and delivering more than 5,000 Trunksters to anxious travelers.
PACK IT UP Q&A
Q. How were you involved as a student?
A. I think some UCF staff thought I was probably over involved! When I begged my way into the Honors College and LEAD Scholars, I assumed that would largely be the extent of my involvement at UCF, but then I had the strange fortune of entering and winning the Mr. UCF scholarship competition my freshman year, which opened the doors to a pretty unique UCF experience! I had some of my best memories as a member of the President 麻豆精品 S檚 Leadership Council, where I was able to intimately partake in some unforgettable UCF moments, including the groundbreaking of the new arena, stadium and College of Medicine.
Q. Favorite UCF memory?
A. It was at Lake Nona while working on the President 麻豆精品 S檚 Leadership Council at the groundbreaking of College of Medicine 麻豆精品 S� when the scheduled singer didn 麻豆精品 S檛 show up to sing the National Anthem for the opening ceremony, our PLC directors, Nancy Marshall and Ana Petkov, looked over at me and said, 麻豆精品 S淥h, Gaston sings! He can do it. 麻豆精品 S� Well, it was about 6 a.m., and I never can remember the lyrics to that particular song. Ha! To everyone there that day, including President Hitt, I apologize to your ears.
Q. How has your UCF degree helped you in your career?
A. I 麻豆精品 S檓 grateful to be working in the field I studied. The business classes were instrumental in giving me a well-rounded toolkit to tackle all of the unique challenges that come up when running your own business. The classes that most helped me while at UCF were accounting, finance and business law, which exposed me early to everyday issues I deal with now.
Q. In what ways have you stayed connected to your alma mater since graduating?
A. I 麻豆精品 S檓 lucky my parents still live nearby and are involved with the Honors College as donors. And, of course, it 麻豆精品 S檚 been an amazing set of years as a UCF football fan. I 麻豆精品 S檝e really cherished watching the team grow under Coach O 麻豆精品 S橪eary and produce stars like Bortles. My fondest memory by far was watching my Knights win the Fiesta Bowl in the middle of the night while in Asia!
Q. What advice would you give to current UCF business students/aspiring entrepreneurs?
A. I 麻豆精品 S檓 not sure if all entrepreneurs say this, but I firmly believe there 麻豆精品 S檚 no better moment for aspiring entrepreneurs to take advantage of the incredible new tools available to our generation. To be specific, we 麻豆精品 S檙e entering a golden age of products. Crowdfunding lets you find the funds and create the community for your idea, while a fully globalized world has made component and manufacturing costs come way down. Furthermore, the Internet lets you easily find customers all over the world for your products and services. So, there 麻豆精品 S檚 really no deterrent but your will. The tools are out there. I encourage you to make the most of them, and take the steps to go through with the ideas you come up with. You 麻豆精品 S檒l fail at a couple until the timing is right, then one of your ideas will take off.
Q. What are three things you never travel without?
A. Bose in-ear, noise-cancelling headphones; Canon C100 documentary camera; and Kindle
Q. Last vacation?
A. Vietnam 麻豆精品 S� motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Q. Dream vacation destination/itinerary?
A. Exploring mountain temples of Bhutan.
Q. Favorite way to pass the time while traveling?
A. Filming local stories for our interactive travel documentary series, 麻豆精品 S淗umanity, 麻豆精品 S� for iPad.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I 麻豆精品 S檓 a total adrenaline and adventure junkie. I love to sail, kitesurf, scuba, skydive, snowboard, any fun local excursions I can find 麻豆精品 S�
Q. Pet peeve?
A. Delayed flights!
Q. Most embarrassing moment?
A. I left my $4,000 camera on top of a rental car and drove a mile before realizing. It miraculously stayed on!
Q. Hidden talent?
A. I can juggle.
Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A. Hold my breath for five minutes.
Q. Best piece of advice you 麻豆精品 S檝e ever received?
A. There 麻豆精品 S檚 no good time to launch a bad product, and there 麻豆精品 S檚 no bad time to launch a good product.
MORE INFO
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