(This is a very recent West Newsmagazine article.)
“Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them.”
Mark Cuban, American businessman and principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is noted for having made that statement on the TV show, “Shark Tank.” It’s a quote that exemplifies the strength of a young Ellisville trio who recently excelled in what all three referred to as a true "Shark Tank" experience.
Westminster Christian Academy graduate Ava Berutti (2022) and Lafayette High graduate Hayden St. John (2023) both earned Kummer Vanguard Scholarships to Missouri S&T in Rolla. The award requires being a STEM student with a very high ACT score. It also made them eligible to compete in the Kummer Institute’s second annual startup challenge. But the duo wanted one more mind.
St. John chose Marquette graduate Devin Keating (2023) whom he knew from Ellisville Elementary and Crestview Middle.
“They let you add another team member, which is a good thing. Devin is super smart in everything and already had this great idea!” Berutti exclaimed. “So we banded together and did Safe Plate as our presentation.”
Safe Plate is a weight plate/clip-pin combination that allows for the quick release of weights from the barbell, allowing weightlifters to safely workout without a spotter.
As noted in the student's presentation, when a weightlifter is exhausted or tries to bench more than they can handle, the barbell can easily become stuck across the lifter’s body. In a traditional barbell system, the release clip is on the outside of the weight, making it difficult to remove. And even if the weight did release, it would likely land on the lifter's body, which could lead to a wide variety of injuries.
With Safe Plate, the release clip and pin slide into place on the inside edge of the weight. That makes it much easier for a solitary lifter to remove the clip and allow the weight to slide off the bar away from his or her body when in a benching position.
St. John noted that during the COVID pandemic, many people invested in home gyms. No one can spot themselves. But with Safe Plate, if you were to push yourself to your last rep and couldn’t get the bar up, you could unclip the weights and they would fall off away from you.
There would be no need for a spotter, and the lifter would always be able to complete their lifting unharmed.
erutti led the presentation and was the perfect choice, given that she is an accomplished speaker. In 2022, she won a St. Louis High School Musical Theater Award as best leading actress. She has also performed on Broadway. She transferred to MS&T after her freshman year at Missouri Baptist University.
“Public speaking and communicating with others are what I’m used to," Berutti said. "That’s kind of what I thought I brought to the table.”
It was only natural for Keating, a mechanical engineering student, to handle the product description. After all, as Berutti explained, "Devin is the father of the product!"
Having been an ardent gym goer for several years, Keating explained that in bench press, not every lifter always has the option of having a spotter nearby.
“I’ve actually seen several times where someone is benching without a spotter, they’ll get stuck under the bar, and someone’s got to run over and help them,” Keating said. “So, I could see this was a problem that we could come up with a solution for.”
He added that through a massive amount of research, they learned there were already several different clips to put on barbells on the outside of the weights. They also found different weight plates. But none combined the two; even when checking patents regarding weightlifting safety items.
After surveying gym members, the trio drew up models and 3D printed a couple of test models.
"We went through them to see what would work best," Keating said. "We changed our plan a couple of times ... (to) make it safe and effective.”
Finally, St. John, a biochemical engineering major, wrapped up the presentation.
“I completed the presentation with the money side of it as in the cost of what materials to buy, including what type of 3D printed material, where we would sell it, who would be our buyer, and what our future plans would be if we got funding for it,” St. John explained.
Despite primarily competing against upperclassmen, the trio placed third in the Nov. 13 event, winning a $1,000 scholarship check. They all said they were thrilled with their placement.
“Others had long been members of different clubs at the school,” St. John said of the competition. “The team that won (for an acne scar treatment) was part of the Biomedical Club. So, they had already been doing research on their project for a good chunk of time. We entered not really thinking we would have a good chance of winning any money. But we felt more confident toward the end of getting our presentation together.”
The second-place team developed a sustainable energy product.
Entrants began by registering as groups. After about two weeks, they had to present an idea. If it seemed realistic enough, they could create their product and presentation.
Teams had to use Canva, a free-to-use online graphic design tool. It took them through situations in which they learned about business building blocks and how to pitch an idea in a Shark Tank environment.
Their mentor, Angelina Billo, the industry engagement officer at Missouri S&T, offered tips on what they might present. It included a Rubric (scoring matrix). After the competition ended, they got the Rubric results to see what they did right and wrong in the presentation.
“What they mainly wanted from us was adding more of the business blocks,” Berutti said. “Since it’s a new product, there are always more questions and whole situations we could improve on in presenting our product in the future. That helped give us a direction for where we should be going.”
Meanwhile, the trio has already sent out an email for a patent to protect their idea.
“We’re all great friends, but it’s also a great invention! So, I would love to help turn it into some type of operation or business in the future,” Berutti said.
