LFHS offers various business classes where students are urged to consider an issue in their own lives or community as they then work together to combat these problems by creating their own product, simulating a real-life company. 

One group of juniors involved with the “Business Incubator” class hopes to offer a sanitary and convenient component to all LFHS bathrooms: the Ultra Violet Public Cleaner. Run by Lily Rosenberg, Will Quigley, Chris Fallidas, Collin Sinclair, and Andrea Constantine, this one-of-a-kind product will provide an accessible container for people to store their phones in while using a public restroom. The container itself is composed of UltraViolet technology, which will work to clean the surface of the phone while it is inside. 

Media Coordinator, Andrea Constatine, said the inspiration behind the product arose while talking to fellow students around the school. Students would complain about having no “safe” or “sanitary” place to put their phones while in the bathroom.

The group considered the idea, and began to realize that it is a widespread issue affecting a majority of phone users.

“For people that generally don’t have pockets or purses, there’s no clean space for your phone,” said CEO Lily Rosenberg. “Setting my phone on the toilet paper dispensary, or even the ground, isn’t the best alternative.”

As the group began to research the idea, they realized the severity of sanitation issues in public restrooms, prompting them to add the Ultra-Violet technology cleaning aspect to their product.

“Your phone has ten times the amount of germs than a toilet seat does, and only 19% of people clean their phone once a week, which is not nearly enough,” said Rosenberg. “Our product will reduce the spread of germs.”

So far, the group has made a “Shopify” website that they are working to publish, as well as social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook to spread the word about their prototype. The team is even working with West Campus to explore the possibility of installing the product in the building.

Pitch Night which is  a series of presentations by multiple business incubator groups, provides a select few with the opportunity to take their business to the next level. Held at the end of this school year, the top groups are awarded money to invest into their product, and are also provided with mentoring to help the selected group take their product into the real world.

UVPC is actively working to get to pitch night, which would not only allow them to take their product to the next level, but also give them a chance to take the “Business Accelerator ” class next year. The group has a few steps in mind in order to help them reach this goal.

“We would like to make the accelerator class. But more importantly, we would like to get a working prototype, some investors, and continue to grow our customers and awareness of our product,” said CFO junior Will Quigley.

The next steps for the group include finalizing a functional prototype which they will be able to present at the MVP pitch on Feb. 15.

“We will continue to run our website and try to maximize our relationships and connections with other companies that want to invest in our product,” said Finance Advisor Collin Sinclar. “We plan to work as a team while pushing through the problems and challenges that occur in our future.”

The “minimum viable product” pitch gives an opportunity for the group to present the most basic version of their prototype while pitching their business idea to investors.  This allows them to get valuable feedback before actually developing their prototype, an opportunity they are looking forward to.

To follow the group’s progress, you can follow them on Instagram at @UV.PC.1.0 or Facebook at @UV.PC.