Futuristic entrepreneurs

If you’ve ever watched the Disney movie Big Hero 6 and really wanted Gogo’s magnetic bike, Joshua Tang Nian and Kaitlyn Darwent might one day have something for you.

Tang Nian, 11, and Darwent, nine, were the winners of the business idea competition at the Dingole Ltd’s Biz Kids entrepreneurship camp, which ran from July 9-13. At the end of the week-long camp, the children were expected to work in teams of two to produce and present a product that had both an environmental impact and a social aspect.

Darwent, a student of St Bernadette’s Prep School in St Ann’s, and Tang Nian of Holy Family Preparatory School in Montrose, came up with the idea of the FX bike or Foldable Model X bike. The bike would be able to fold into a case, switch from pedal to electric mode and back, and would be powered by solar energy. The highest speed for the adult bike would be 240 km/h, and 100 km/h for the kids bike.

Tang Nian said he got the idea from Big Hero 6. He drew how the bike would fold and where all the pieces would fit so he was certain it was a feasible idea. “I envisioned it and saw how everything would fit in place and shift to become a full carry-on case.”

He said they put solar cells on the bike so it would not use fuel that would emit gases that were hazardous to the environment and, although not in the presentation, they were also considering electromagnetic suspension for the bikes.

Darwent said their target market was motorists, because they cause a lot of air pollution, tourists and cyclists. And after a 20 per cent profit, the cost would be TT$1,200 for the adult, and TT$960 for the kid’s bikes. In addition, for each bike purchased, a portion of the money would be donated to purchase food for those who experience natural disasters.

Both children already have an idea for a career path. Darwent wants to be an entrepreneur and had many ideas for businesses. One of them was designing, manufacturing and selling a machine that cleaned the air in a contained space.

She also enjoys playing football and robotics. She explained that she got interested in robotics when she heard about a vacation camp that taught about the topic. “I saw so many problems that I wanted to make stuff to solve them, so my mom signed me up for a robotics camp. I started getting into it and having fun with robotics.”

Tang Nian too liked robotics and intends to start a robotics business when he has time from his career as an astrophysicist. “I want to build robots that would help people with their daily lives.”

He said he likes physics because of all the laws of motion and resistance, and he would also like to go into space. He explained that when he was younger he read books about stars and planets, and since then he has been interested in space.