Team Innovative Inertia Wins Innovation Challenge

From left to right: Team Innovative Inertia members Tiffany Washington, Tanisha Washington and Kyohei Mimura

CSULB’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIE) announced that the College of Business Administration’s Team Innovative Inertia, made up of students Tiffany Washington, Tanisha Washington and Kyohei Mimura, has won this year’s Innovation Challenge. In 2003, Idea Crossing, a company that specializes in idea contests, created the first Innovation Challenge, now the world’s largest business innovation competition for students. CSULB’s competition was organized by SIE, a student organization founded to stimulate interest in entrepreneurialism among CSULB students and to provide them with real-time learning opportunities to transform business ideas from concept to successful enterprises.

Team Innovative Inertia’s winning entry addressed two issues: the need for affordable, durable footwear for children in developing countries and the significant number of plastic bags in overflowing landfills. They were inspired by their advisor, Legal Studies in Business Professor Tom Rhoads, who said, “Don’t just think outside of the box, invent a completely new box.” The trio now hopes to continue improving the 100 percent plastic bag shoes and have them distributed to people in need everywhere.

You can view Team Innovative Inertia’s video about  their winning entry on YouTube. Go to YouTube.com and search for CSULB Innovation Challenge.