Mount Prospect, Illinois high school students have business success with ShimmerShield jewelry spray
Imagine juggling school, sports, homework — and a budding business.
That is life for some high school students in the northwest Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect. The students at Prospect High School came up with a product in their class that is catching some big attention online.
In their college entrepreneurship class, seniors Lexi Kuzak and Neve Pomis and junior Molly Beyna invented a product that solves a common problem.
"So if you get jewelry from like Amazon or Shein, it'll rust like really quickly. It'll tarnish," said Lexi. "It'll turn your skin green."
They call the solution ShimmerShield. It is a protective spray that prevents rust and tarnish.
"We actually worked with one of the chem teachers here at Prospect," said Lexi.
It turned out to be a winning formula. The girls took home $3,000 at a Township High School District 214-wide startup competition.
ShimmerShield has also been shining on social media, with 3.2 million views on TikTok. The views of video touting the product have translated into sales.
"We're investing most of our money that we're currently making back into the business," said Lexi.
The young entrepreneurs have been busy lately. Assembled at a table in their college entrepreneurship class on Wednesday, the three young women were busy fulfilling orders for ShimmerShield and assembling packages.
The assembly of packages takes up most of class time these days, as the product goes out to Oregon, Nevada, Georgia. And the young women understand the busy part of business.
"Especially at like this time of year with like finals, AP tests and graduation, there's a lot going on," said Neve.
But while it may not be as exciting as inventing and touting the product, filling orders feels fulfilling too.
"Even the kind of less flashy and sparkly parts of it," said Lexi.
ShimmerShield spray retails for $15.99.
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