At the beginning of the school year, 12 students are placed into three groups of four, where they will come up with an idea to make a product, and pitch it to a group of board members, including Matt Sebastion, Dave Scism, Jamie Strange, Dr. Brian Reeves, and Dr. Jamie LaMonds. In February, each group pitched their product to these board members in an attempt to receive funding to bring their product to life.

Cadence King, a student in IncubatorEDU spoke about her experience in the program. Her team’s product is Driven Energy. A caffeinated salt water taffy. “It’s purpose is to give someone the energy they need to get through the day, without having to worry about the harsh effects of energy drinks or coffee.”

“Our pitch in February was our MVP (Minimum Viable Product) pitch. The purpose of this was to get the least amount of money to make the bare minimum of what we want our product to be, so we can put it out on a smaller scale and get feedback and test the product.”

King and her team that also consists of Diep Phan, Peyton Ryan, and Landen Reeder received $293 in funding, which King says will be used to develop and market Driven Energy.

“Now we have to make a prototype, market it, test it, change the recipe if needed, do what we have to do to make the best possible product for our customers.”

In May, the team behind Driven Energy will give their final pitch, where they will have the opportunity to receive more funding to fully launch their business, and become independent from IncubatorEDU. The team is currently looking into a manufacturer and other resources to make Driven Energy a full-fledged business. As of now, an email list has been created which you can sign up for by contacting any of the team members. They will also be launching a website, as well as be selling Driven Energy at Columbia Street Mercantile, and possibly other stores in the Downtown Farmington area.

If a student is interested in participating in IncubatorEDU next, they can sign up for it as they would any regular class. The class can also be taken through Mineral Area College, in an effort to earn dual credit. It is important to note however, only 12 students will be accepted into the program each year.