Moanalua’s student entrepreneurs won second place in American Savings Bank’s (ASB) Bank for Education KeikiCo contest last month. The team was awarded $15,000 to be put towards the school’s business program. Awards ranged from $5,000-25,000.  Teams in each division (elementary, middle and high school) were challenged with two parts, a business plan and video pitch to submit along with any additional ideas. 

Upon learning about the ASB contest, students from the entrepreneurship and broadcast or film media class took the initiative to accept the challenge. Coming together as D&B, the “company” was made up of seniors Bryan Yamamoto, David Agena, Khloe Ringor, Jaymes Tokuda, and sophomore Antonio Dixon. 

The team decided to use their individual skills to determine what part of the project they would work on. Having experience with business, Yamamoto and Agena from the entrepreneur class worked together to devise a business plan complete with an executive summary, business introduction, product explanations, marketing and financing.

Motivated by desire to reduce plastic waste, D&B innovated a new way to serve condiments. The company introduced Xiros (Greek word “dry”), a dehydrated version of condiments in a tablet form that can be activated when mixed with water.

“We had to think about how we’re going to market [the product] and [determine] the price point,” Yamamoto said. 

Conducting secondary research, D&B identified in their Business Plan that 7 out of 10 people are willing to help improve the environment. With that in mind, they market towards middle class consumers who are environmentally conscious.

 Upon completing the first half of the contest, the media students Yamamoto, Ringor, Tokuda, and Dixon tackled the commercial production. Due to conflicting schedules, the students had to compromise and set aside a few days to film and edit their video. 

“I’d say time restrictions were the biggest challenge we faced,” Tokuda said. “We had a few days to plan it and execute it all together, but luckily we worked really well together.”

 With only a few days to complete all the steps before submitting their final product, D&B was pressured for time.  However, D&B was able to successfully execute their product Xiros.

“The students represented the Business and Media departments well and ultimately Moanalua as a whole. The group should be proud of their work. They showed innovation in their business plan and creativity with their video pitch. It was truly a team effort on the groupʻs part,” said Team Advisor Joelle Kramer.

 After D&B were announced winners of the competition, a ceremony was held in the Performing Arts Center just before winter break. The whole team, their advisors, and Moanalua’s Principal were invited to attend. Representatives from American Savings Bank presented the prize and certificates to members in the hall.

“It’s wonderful.” Moanalua High School Principal Robin Martin said. “The best part of it is that it’s totally student done. It shows what teamwork and collaboration can do, I think that’s how they learn the most. I’m very proud of the students,” she said. 

D&B plans to celebrate their achievements and unlock new possibilities together and each on their own. Congratulations to D&B their efforts and success does not go unnoticed. 

“It was really rewarding,” Tokuda commented about the process.