With a wintry weather survival kit, Salem High wins teen founder competition

High school Junior Achievement teams from all three Delaware counties and Salem County, NJ, have been running their own small businesses since last fall, when they competed in the JA Pirhana Pond pitch competition for startup funds.

After months of building and running the businesses, three teams were selected as finalists: Caesar Rodney and their portable charging module Connection Ready, Middletown and their upgraded school gear shop Cavs Mart, and Salem with their Ram Inc. Winter Wonderkit.

After the teams gave their final presentations to an panel of local business leader-judges, only one point separated Connection Ready and Ram Inc.

Ultimately, the honor (and the trophy, which will live at the winning team’s school for the next year) went to Ram Inc. and their Winter Wonderkit – a small “survival kit” for cold weather that can be stashed in a glove box, locker or backpack, containing items like fuzzy socks and gloves, hand warmer pads, lip balm, cookies, mints and packets of hot chocolate.

The kits cost students $4.96 to make and were sold for $8 or two for $15, for a rather healthy 38% profit margin.

The team’s strategy, they said during a question-and-answer session, was to survey students and teachers on what they would want to have on hand when the temperature drops, especially since many students at Salem High walk to school.

The team made a profit of just under $170 when all was said and done, which was split among teammates.

They hope to keep the business going with new students as they graduate and move on.

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“We definitely have plans to do more seasons,” said Emma Boggs, president of Ram Inc. “We’ve had really good feedback, which you can see on our Instagram.”

The event, in its second year, is sponsored by Delaware fintech company Marlette Funding and NCCInnovates, New Castle County’s entrepreneurial initiative.