Frequent flyers know the importance of a good suitcase. It needs to hold all of your stuff, roll smoothly along a variety of surfaces and fit into the coveted overhead bin space onboard.
But, no matter which ones he tried, avid traveler Gaston Blanchet, 鈥�09, realized the perfect suitcase for his needs just didn鈥檛 exist 鈥� so he invented it.
Inspired by the roll-top doors for meal storage on airplanes, the Trunkster was born. It鈥檚 the world鈥檚 first and only zipperless, roll-top luggage that introduces a revolutionary industrial design. A durable and waterproof sliding door allows for quick access to belongings, even in the most constricted spaces. The bag also includes a removable power bank, built-in digital scale, and can be enabled with GPS.
Blanchet, who earned his 麻豆原创 bachelor鈥檚 degree in business management, and his business partner Jesse Potash, used Facebook and Twitter to help build awareness of their product, and targeted travel and tech bloggers, as well as business travelers. The buzz created a network that led to thousands of pledges and preorders on Trunkster鈥檚 Kickstarter page. The support and demand was so great, in fact, their $50,000 goal soon multiplied more than 27 times in 59 days, with 3,566 backers pledging $1,395,370 by the Jan. 16 deadline.
鈥淵ou can never take luck or good timing out of the equation,鈥� Blanchet says. 鈥淚 think we were fortunate to launch at a time when both smart products and crowdfunding became two of the year鈥檚 biggest trends. This, coupled with having a unique product in a stagnant industry, and months of media planning, let us claim the spot as the world鈥檚 most-crowdfunded travel campaign.鈥�
While the guys have another idea they鈥檇 also like to take to crowdfunding, for now, they鈥檙e focused on manufacturing and delivering more than 5,000 Trunksters to anxious travelers.
PACK IT UP Q&A
Q. How were you involved as a student?
A. I think some 麻豆原创 staff thought I was probably over involved! When I begged my way into the Honors College and LEAD Scholars, I assumed that would largely be the extent of my involvement at 麻豆原创, but then I had the strange fortune of entering and winning the Mr. 麻豆原创 scholarship competition my freshman year, which opened the doors to a pretty unique 麻豆原创 experience! I had some of my best memories as a member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Council, where I was able to intimately partake in some unforgettable 麻豆原创 moments, including the groundbreaking of the new arena, stadium and College of Medicine.
Q. Favorite 麻豆原创 memory?
A. It was at Lake Nona while working on the President鈥檚 Leadership Council at the groundbreaking of College of Medicine 鈥� when the scheduled singer didn鈥檛 show up to sing the National Anthem for the opening ceremony, our PLC directors, Nancy Marshall and Ana Petkov, looked over at me and said, 鈥淥h, Gaston sings! He can do it.鈥� Well, it was about 6 a.m., and I never can remember the lyrics to that particular song. Ha! To everyone there that day, including President Hitt, I apologize to your ears.
Q. How has your 麻豆原创 degree helped you in your career?
A. I鈥檓 grateful to be working in the field I studied. The business classes were instrumental in giving me a well-rounded toolkit to tackle all of the unique challenges that come up when running your own business. The classes that most helped me while at 麻豆原创 were accounting, finance and business law, which exposed me early to everyday issues I deal with now.
Q. In what ways have you stayed connected to your alma mater since graduating?
A. I鈥檓 lucky my parents still live nearby and are involved with the Honors College as donors. And, of course, it鈥檚 been an amazing set of years as a 麻豆原创 football fan. I鈥檝e really cherished watching the team grow under Coach O鈥橪eary and produce stars like Bortles. My fondest memory by far was watching my Knights win the Fiesta Bowl in the middle of the night while in Asia!
Q. What advice would you give to current 麻豆原创 business students/aspiring entrepreneurs?
A. I鈥檓 not sure if all entrepreneurs say this, but I firmly believe there鈥檚 no better moment for aspiring entrepreneurs to take advantage of the incredible new tools available to our generation. To be specific, we鈥檙e entering a golden age of products. Crowdfunding lets you find the funds and create the community for your idea, while a fully globalized world has made component and manufacturing costs come way down. Furthermore, the Internet lets you easily find customers all over the world for your products and services. So, there鈥檚 really no deterrent but your will. The tools are out there. I encourage you to make the most of them, and take the steps to go through with the ideas you come up with. You鈥檒l fail at a couple until the timing is right, then one of your ideas will take off.
Q. What are three things you never travel without?
A. Bose in-ear, noise-cancelling headphones; Canon C100 documentary camera; and Kindle
Q. Last vacation?
A. Vietnam 鈥� motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Q. Dream vacation destination/itinerary?
A. Exploring mountain temples of Bhutan.
Q. Favorite way to pass the time while traveling?
A. Filming local stories for our interactive travel documentary series, 鈥淗umanity,鈥� for iPad.
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I鈥檓 a total adrenaline and adventure junkie. I love to sail, kitesurf, scuba, skydive, snowboard, any fun local excursions I can find 鈥�
Q. Pet peeve?
A. Delayed flights!
Q. Most embarrassing moment?
A. I left my $4,000 camera on top of a rental car and drove a mile before realizing. It miraculously stayed on!
Q. Hidden talent?
A. I can juggle.
Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A. Hold my breath for five minutes.
Q. Best piece of advice you鈥檝e ever received?
A. There鈥檚 no good time to launch a bad product, and there鈥檚 no bad time to launch a good product.
MORE INFO
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