Greg Clumpner is surrounded by crowded groups of men who are operating noisy machines as they work on enormous military aircraft. Clumpner, an engineer, makes his way past the busy assembly line and enters a large room he shares with six other engineers. Here, he will spend most of his day designing probes for Avionics Specialties Inc. in Charlottesville, Va. The probes measure flight information for pilots, including aircraft altitude, speed, and climb rate.
It’s important work, but after three years, Clumpner tires of his job. He wants to be more involved in the designing and marketing of new products. Soon Clumpner is enrolled in Carnegie Mellon’s MBA program. He has traded in his talents for making warplanes for something much more soft and cuddly.
Now Clumpner spends his time at home with a 14-inch stuffed white bear that has a large blue bow tied around his neck. Clumpner calls the prototype, Bailey Bear, a new educational toy being designed to teach preschool children foreign languages and math skills. As he prepares for an upcoming business product competition, he works feverishly, trying to figure out how to install the technology necessary for the bear to move and speak while keeping the structure of the bear soft and huggable.
Clumpner plans to enter Bailey into the McGinnis Venture Competition, which is hosted by Carnegie Mellon and features 25 MBA teams from universities around the world. With the help of a friend involved in documentary work, Clumpner created a 20-second video that showcases Bailey’s capabilities. Bailey’s voice sounds a lot like Clumpner’s.
“I can provide a magical learning experience teaching your children foreign languages, math skills, as well as other learning activities for hours of engaging fun,” says Bailey. A smiling little boy sitting next to Bailey claps his hands and smiles in delight when his friend moves his muzzle and wiggles his ears.
During the competition held in Posner Hall, seven judges (venture capitalists, angel investors, or successful entrepreneurs) viewed the video and listened to Clumpner explain the specifics of Bailey’s capabilities and the business plan he will use to market his product.
Although a team from South America won, the judges, particularly those with children, saw great potential in Bailey. So does Clumpner. He is working with a local education company and hopes that Bailey will be in the schools and homes of young children within the next year.
