Author: adam_cervenka

The last day working for Vector Textiles was filled with hard work and focus. At the end of the day we had to present to Mr. Self our final presentation. We worked on fixing the things we covered yesterday is our other meeting with Mr. Self. We also prepared for our CA presentation and threw together a quick power point presentation. Over the past eight days, Team Mawan has over come many challenges and obstacles. We grew as intellectuals and as people. We learned how to work as a team and improved our group project skills. We created several power point and even began to experiment with graphic design through Amy. We all gave input on new potential log designs and tags for the clothing. At the end of the day, we gave Mr. Self our presentation and discussed final changes. We plan to make those final changes and send the power point to Mr. Self within the coming days. Interning with Vector Textiles was a great time!

As the work experience program comes to an end, Team Mawan were still hard at work. Tasked to create a formal presentation for Mr. Self, Thursday was spent hard at work putting together a presentation. Mr. Self said he would stop by at the end of the day to see our progress so we wanted to make sure our presentation was great. We also created several logo tag designs and strategized on the paths to market for Vector Textiles. For our lunch break, we went to Cookout because it is so cheap. In the afternoon, Team Mawan prepared for Mr. Self’s arrival at HQ Raleigh. We acquired a conference room on the second floor so we could present on a TV to Mr. Self. He was impressed with our work even though it still needs some work. Mr. Self brought his pet dog, Lyda, with him to HQ and we got to say hello to her, maybe for the last time.

Team Mawan met Mr. Self at HQ Raleigh this morning to discuss our plans for the next three days. We established that on Thursday we would present to Mr. Self a complete power point with a summary of all of our work over the past eight days. We all offered our input into the redesigning of the Vector Textiles logo as Amy worked to create new ideas for the logo and for the clothing “hang” tag. We worked on our power point by using a shared document online. We constructed an outline for every potential market that Vector Textiles might be interested in pursuing. Vector Textiles’ technology has great potential to address a lot of significant markets and solve a lot of problems in America and throughout the world. When we met with Mr. Self, he told us that this power point could be used by himself to present to other professionals, so we want to make sure it is up to a professional business standard. We plan to continue to work on it tomorrow and incorporate parts of it into our presentations to our fellow students and faculty in the Cary Academy Community.

Team Mawan assembled at the NC State Entomology Lab where we toured the labs that Vector Textiles’ weave was tested. At the lab there was an abundance of mosquito boxes that had hundreds of mosquitoes flying around that they use to test different bug repellent and mosquito and tick impenetrable clothing. It was particularly cool to get to see the place where all the behind-the-scenes magic happens. We got to see all the lab equipment and got a thorough explanation of what many of the items were. We were led by a student, who was working on his Ph.D. at NC State, that was an expert in entomology and bio-molecular chemistry. He showed us some of the outstanding technology that he uses to conduct his experiments and showed us how he conducts his mosquito experiments.

After our time at the lab, we went to The Pit for lunch, where we met Dr. Mc. We talked about our research and findings over a plate of North Carolina BBQ. At the Pit, we sat outside so that Mr. Self’s dog could stay with us. After lunch, we walked back to HQ Raleigh and continued our research and work for Vector Textiles and Mr. Self.

Team Mawan began the day at HQ Raleigh with Mr. Self at the R!OT work space. We continued yesterday’s debrief and talked about what our plans were going forward. Today was another “off-site” day, where we conducted customer surveys at REI and Bass Pro Shop. We got to continue to delve into the depths of insect repellent chemical sprays and clothing.  We split up into the same two groups as Tuesday to go to one of each of the two stores. At REI, Amy and I located a vast array of insect sprays and pesticides, but nowhere to be found was any non-chemical alternatives. We had conversations with employees, customers, and associates about what they preferred and what they were looking for in a bug repellent product.

As we continued our day, we continued to do market research and analyze much of the data gained from our surveys. We have data from both in-person and virtual surveys. We are able to put that data in cleanly represented charts for Mr. Self to see and for our other final presentations to Vector Textiles and to CA.

Team Mawan spent today in a conference room on the upper floor of HQ Raleigh. Our usual work space was being used for a meeting between professions but we were able to carry out our work else where. Much of the work we did today was conducted within a non disclosure agreement (NDA), so we can’t discuss too much of the actual work we conducted. However, I will focus on the actual work environment and opportunities we got to utilize. We were able to connect apple devices to the TV screen in the conference room and presented data and research findings to each other. We called various local stores about their products and their markets. We also researched information and competition online. In the conference room we operated out of today, there was a large glass “white” board for sharing ideas to each other. We analyzed individual findings in a group setting by writing our information on the white board. At the end of the day, we utilized these devices again in our presentation to Mr. Mark Self. We summarized our market research and informed him about all of the calls made to various stores. Mr. Self set us up with a tour on Monday of Vector Textiles laboratory, which we are excited to get to investigate. Again, he was impressed with the work we conducted today!

Team Mawan began their day at 9 a.m. at HQ Raleigh. The team was super excited for today because today was an “off-site” day in order to conduct research in the markets for potential product competition. Two groups were made, Amy and Adam, and Will and Scott. We split up a total of 10 different stores between the two groups. At each store there were different products and different associates. It was a very immersive experience because we were left to our own devices to conduct business questions and surveys in the real world. As we searched various clothing venders, like REI, North Face, and Bass Pro Shop, we were able to establish an idea for the market size of Vector Textiles and its competitors. Only in day 2, Team Mawan has achieved great success and learned an abundance about business strategy and surveying. To end our day we had a summary presentation to Mr. Self about our findings. He was very impressed with our hard work and abilities in real business scenarios. We left the office a little after 5 p.m. after a full days work.

Upon our arrival at HQ Raleigh, Mr. Self and his pet dog welcomed us to our  working space inside R!OT, the company that graciously provided us with a home base to conduct our work experience. HQ Raleigh provides an extraordinary Co-working space and we are very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time here for the next eight days.

We began our work by planning our first week out. We made a timeline and set ideas on the table for what we were going to accomplish today. In the morning we researched the potential available markets and similar products on our computers. We also drafted survey questions to send to potential customers and for sales attendants at stores. We decided tomorrow was going to be an “off-site” day where we will travel to various retail stores in the area to survey customers and search the stores for other similar products. During our midday lunch break we made a quick run to Cookout. In the afternoon we focused our research onto Permethrin, a semi-dangerous chemical that is in standard use as the main insect repellent in clothing. Vector Textiles would be a safer, chemical-free, option for insect repellent clothing.