Young entrepreneurs flex creativity at Kokomo CEO trade show

May 11—Customization is an important part of owning a Jeep. It's as much a part of the culture as the rubber ducks on a Jeep's dashboard.

So naturally, when Brad McBride bought a Jeep Wrangler a few years ago, he wanted to make some changes. Specifically, he wanted to swap out the tires and rims. And he did it himself.

But a Jeep tire is heavy, weighing more than 100 pounds. McBride hurt his back.

"I've got to come up with a better, safer way to do that," he thought.

So along with his son Owen, they created a tire jack. Consisting of 13 parts, the jack takes away the hassle of putting a tire and rim back on a vehicle.

A socket wrench raises and lowers the jack, allowing one to properly align the wheel bolts and the holes in the rim. The platform where the tire sits has rollers on it — one of the additions after a couple prototypes — which allows the user to turn the tire to line it up perfectly.

The jack swivels 360 degrees and can support up to 500 pounds. It will easily lift a semi-truck tire. The jack raises up to 10 inches, making it useful even for lifted trucks.

The McBrides believe the tire jack is unlike anything on the market. They've filed for a patent.

Owen, a senior at Lewis Cass High School, debuted the tire jack at Thursday's Kokomo CEO trade show under his business Tire EZ. He took orders and showed people who walked by his booth how it worked.

The trade show is the culmination of a year-long entrepreneurial program that sees high school students create their own business.

Owen, who lives in Logansport, made the drive daily to Kokomo to do the program. He joined after talking to some fellow Cass students.

"The amount of stuff you get to see, it's amazing," Owen said. "You'd never get that opportunity with a regular high school class."

Students learn to network and meet with various business owners in Kokomo and Howard County. Owen said meeting the owner of St. Elmo Steak House was a highlight.

The trade show is always a proud moment for Brandon Bishop, the program's facilitator, who spends a lot of time with the kids over the course of the school year. It was especially so given this is Bishop's last year as facilitator.

"Creative-wise, they knocked it out of the ball park," Bishop said. "It's like the second year in a row where people haven't competed against each other."

Lincoln Cardwell found a way to create a business while also giving back to the community.

His business, Impact Sports, sells second-hand sports equipment with a portion of proceeds going toward purchasing basketballs and footballs for local organization like Bridges Outreach, Kokomo Urban Outreach and the Carver Community Center.

"My mission is to take away the stigma of using second-hand gear," said Cardwell, a senior baseball player at Northwestern. "I don't want kids showing up to practice shoulders slumped because their friend has a brand-new bat (and they don't)."

Before the trade show began, Cardwell had already donated 130 basketballs and footballs. He estimated he'll donate at least 30 more, based on the money he made Thursday.

"It's been an amazing way to give back to the community," Cardwell said.

Cardwell, who is headed to Parkland College in Illinois to play baseball, hopes to keep his business going when he's home on breaks. He draws inspiration from Northwestern grad Kendall Bostic who does basketball clinics when she's in town.

Cardwell plans to use 10% of proceeds to go toward a scholarship that will allow a local athlete to either play travel baseball or basketball free of charge.

"I don't want finances to stop kids from playing sports," he said.

A key feature of Kokomo CEO is that students make many of the decisions. It's up to them to work together to create a class business, which funds a yearly leadership summit or celebration. That event is also organized by the students.

For the trade show, most students offered a Mother's Day deal or bundle. It was something the group decided on.

Many students, year in and year out, make money during the trade show selling their products. Bishop said he expected multiple students to sell out. A few had already made at least $1,000 before Thursday.

Layne Shedron had a handful of cash following the event. She sold trucker hats that could be customized with patches applied via a heat press. Her business was called Derby's Hat Co., a play on the Kentucky Derby as she's headed to the University of Kentucky for college.

There were dozens of patches and colors to choose from ranging from funny to sassy.

"I don't make two of the same hat," she said.

Kokomo CEO was a way for Shedron, a senior at Eastern, to breakout and try something new.

"I wanted to do something outside of Greentown," she said. "I think I've become a lot more confident in myself."

Her mom gave Kokomo CEO a ringing endorsement.

"This program has probably been the best experience of her life," said KyAnne Shedron. "It's helped her find her purpose in life."

Many students find their way to Kokomo CEO through word of mouth from friends. That was the case for Shedron and many others, including Kokomo High School senior Andrew Guerre.

He dusted off a family tradition from 1972 and made pillow toppers, just like his grandma. Using acrylic yarn and a weaving method, he made toppers in area school colors. The result was pillows with colorful poms on them.

Guerre intends to study accounting at Manchester University while also playing tennis and esports. He said he feels even more ready for college after Kokomo CEO.

"It opened up my eyes of what business will be like," Guerre said. "I feel confident I can tackle anything in the world of business."

Other students are nudged toward the program. Teme Moody from Taylor High School said he had to be convinced to do Kokomo CEO.

But he's glad he did. Moody said it made him be more punctual — the class typically meets before the actual school day — which is always a good life skill to have.

He sold ear cleaners that came with a camera. When linked to a phone, one could see inside their ear while cleaning it. Moody's booth was a popular one to check out.

He got the idea after going to the doctor's office and learning getting one's ear cleaned costs about $100. Ear cleaners are also popular on TikTok, but it's hit or miss whether those are reputable.

"Everybody told me they got scammed," Moody said.

So he tracked down reputable distributors.

"You have to build relationships," Moody said.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.