Tell us the story of how and why you started your company.
Nesel Packs was founded as a part of a class called Entrepreneurship in Action at the University of Minnesota. What originally started out as a quest to build a better backpack, we found that the market place was already quite saturated and needed a point of differentiation. Six students came together to brainstorm possibilities, and through a personal experience of one of our team members we determined that a sensory-friendly backpack was lacking. This backpack would help students with autism, and other sensory processing difficulties, be comfortable while at school.
What’s your most recent success or milestone hit?
After many months of preparation and research, our team launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, on March 19. In 30 days we raised over $35k, thanks to 285 supporters. Throughout the Kickstarter period, we received press coverage from The Today Show, Huffington Post and Upworthy.
Where do you see your startup in 1 year?
In one year, we would like to form more partnerships with schools and organizations like our powerful Fraser partnership in order to get this backpack into the hands of as many students as possible.
