The Graphrite was a tool that the founding member, Keith Meikrantz, a senior mechanical engineer, created in order to sketch graphs for problems on homework and exams. Over the past year a team has formed around Keith’s idea which includes a computer engineering lead, Samuel Kenney, a graphic designing lead, Austin Zick, and a marketing lead, myself. Together over the past few months, we have worked towards launching a product that can help engineering and math students make graphing a cleaner more efficient process. In addition to be an aid to students, this device is extremely beneficial to teachers and professors as it stream lines the grading process. Having student work done in a uniform, easily readable fashion, grading this work now becomes more simple and efficient.
As a team, our goal is to advance to the next stage of our product development. This would involve a more detailed design from the version we currently have. Our manufacturing process is something the team believes is key to establish while a part of Venture Lab. Lastly, over the next few months the team desires to put in place a solid sales channel and network between colleges and expand in to selling in other college bookstores.
The most costly step in this stage of development will likely be our manufacturing process. Beginning the advancement towards injection molding the units, ultimately making the entire process extremely cost effective, will require a sizeable investment at the front end to achieve it. We anticipate the development towards an efficient sales channel to be more complicated than costly, but with the right direction it is possible to have the beginnings in place while in Venture Lab.
As a team of seniors it is our goal to have the first stages and systems in place for it to be possible to continue with Graphrite after we graduate.