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Business: R.C. Creator
Address: Naperville
Phone/website: 630-800-7297, www.rccreator.net
Owner: Sriman Tipirneni, 17, of Naperville
Years in business: 2
What does your business do? “We sell a variety of R.C. (remote control) kits. Do-it-yourself. Kids learn engineering concepts while also being able to create an R.C. toy. Pretty cool product which they can play with,” Tipirneni said.
They have fun and learn? “Yes.”
Where do you go to school? “I’m a senior at Waubonsie Valley in Aurora. I started this business when I was 15.
How’s it work? “We sell the attachment part of it. You put a Styrofoam thing underneath, but the whole thing is meant for kids to design their own base. … Basically, it just gives full R.C. functionality to any base you create. … They can design one that has wheels and drives around on the floor. Or, what’s really popular is one that floats, an R.C. boat.”
Why did you start this business? “I’ve always liked playing with R.C. kits, R.C. toys. It just came to me one day. I like the versatility of it. … I was on Alibaba.com, an e-commerce website. You connect with different manufacturers. I found a Chinese-based toy manufacturer. I pitched my design. I landed on a good one. I started with a sample of 100 products. All got sold in the first month and a half. … I’ve been expanding since then. … Making an impact from a suburban home in Naperville didn’t feel like a thing a kid my age could do, but I really wanted to stick with the idea.”
And the future? “I was really fond of R.C. helicopters. My future goal is to create something with downward facing propellers so it could be something lightweight in the air. I’m working on that with my manufacturer right now. … Each can be anything, really. It depends on what you put it on.”
How is the design process? “Fairly simple. Designing it and being able to fit the molds they have for existing toy products, it took about six months of constant back and forth. Every single night. At 8 p.m., I’d start texting them. Then, when I woke up at 6 a.m. for school, I’d get on my phone for any updates. It was a little tedious.”
Any surprises? “Something we did offer and we had to discontinue because it wasn’t very popular (was) supplies. Styrofoam kits. Little wooden dowels. Wooden platforms. Different things they could use to create the base. But we found that kids wanted to go to Wal-Mart, Staples, Hobby Lobby, pick up things they wanted, be creative.”
Is Naperville good for business? “I would think so. Locally, I work with Leisure Hour Hobbies in Plainfield. They sell my items there.”
How does it feel owning a business at 17? “It certainly makes me feel happy about the impact I can create. But it’s also a lot more responsibility balancing (high) school, college applications, all that.”
What’s new? “(This business) led me to create my own nonprofit. We help other kids start their own business ideas. It’s called SAFA Alliance. We give funding. We’ve raised about $37,000 to date. We have partnerships with UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania. Local youth pitch their business ideas. We give them funding, mentorship.”
Are sales just local? “All around the world. We’ve seen orders from Asia, Europe. Especially during Christmastime.”
What have you learned? “The importance of communication and having an open mind. Not everything goes your way. Also, enjoying the process. I never lost my love for R.C. cars. I have a lot of fun playing with them. … I’ll be in college next year. I want to keep growing it. I fully intend to continue it.”
What college will you attend? “I just started applying.”
Will this be your career? “For now, it’s a stepping stone. It’s important I pursue my education. I’ll major in economics. … If I don’t continue this, it will be with another business endeavor. But I’m all in on this right now.”
Are your parents proud? “They’re really happy. Maybe a little annoyed because they can hear the constant whizzing at 2 a.m. when I’m working. … They think that all the money they spent on those R.C. toys wasn’t a complete waste.”
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Speaking of money? “For the first 100 units, I spent about $1,400. … I sell them for $19.99. I pay about $6 for each one. Shipping is expensive.”
Where do you store these? “A room in the basement is filled with boxes.”
Any negatives? “The late hours.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Do something you like doing, something you want to do every single day.”
If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at [email protected].
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.