So like many new startups I turned to my local Meetups for support and guidance for my makeup repair kit concept. The first group that I joined was Rocky Mountain Inventor’s Association (RMIA). This turned out to be a great decision. Shortly after joining the group I got an email from a professor at Metro State College. Their Industrial Design Department was looking for companies or startups needing help with product design. I jumped quickly at the opportunity and applied. We soon were working with 10 junior year students (split up into 5 teams) to help create our idea. After giving a design overview and product brief to the teams they had 3 months to create a working prototype. The winning team would be awarded prize money along with the potential of having a tangible portfolio piece.
The students brought their A game and we were blow away with all of the creative solutions. They didn’t know we already had a working prototype, but their creativity had us re-thinking our next steps. So, how did we choose a winner? It was actually so difficult that we decided to have two first place winners. We even continued to work with a couple of the students afterwards and the creativity and concepts continued to flourish.
