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ENTREPRENEURIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The following are posts originally created for Entrepreneurial Product Development, a class at UIC taught by Craighton Berman, documenting the process of conceiving and launching a product on Kickstarter. Each week we had a guest designer lecture and while reflecting on their words of wisdom, I thought it would be fun to compare them to novelty or classic dance moves to get this blog party started.

The class blog may be found at always-be-hustling.tumblr.com

cw&t + tAp

November 23, 2015

Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy are the creative minds behind CW&T, the design team that took the pen to the next level. They were generous in sharing details of their experience launching the uber successful Pen Type A – everything from deciding to launch to lawsuits to present manufacturing relationships.What I find most admirable about CW&T is their unwillingness to compromise on the quality of their product. They would rather sell a small quantity of the right product than mass produce a less refined product for cheaper. 

The development of CW&T is super interesting. They started out with a very specific skill set in coding which allowed them to pay the bills. Combined with their creativity, they began building their brand to incorporate a variety of soft and hard goods that include apps, a jumprope, TV barrow and lighting. When we spoke to them, they were currently in residences at Pier 9, developing free form 3D printing, large installation panels and a few other smaller projects.

Much like CW&T, tap dancing is extremely technical, a very specific skill set, yet versatile in styles when mixed with creativity. Tap can be danced to any genre of music similar to Che-Wei and Taylor’s ability to make in a variety of mediums. Tap dancing also has no room for compromise when it comes to precision. I might be bias in picking a scene from Singing in the Rain as it’s one of my favorite movies, but Che-Wei and Taylor’s kid happened to join in and steal the show and Good Morning features a trio too. I couldn’t resist!

← mArtin kastner + contemporary dancecenter for lost Arts + swing riot →