Dino-Cribbers
~3 m
Vendball
Our journey began with a simple yet impactful idea, a vending machine that re-pressurises tennis balls, designed for both tennis enthusiasts and the environmentally conscious.
After securing initial investment from our generous sponsor, we focused on design, procurement, and R&D, while developing a strong brand identity that reflected our sustainable values.
Our pilot launch took place in Birmingham, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham and Moseley Tennis Club. These partnerships were ideal, as their young and active communities aligned perfectly with our mission.
The pilot’s success enabled us to scale and strengthen our market presence. Midway through our ‘first year’, an unexpected challenge arose when the tennis federation announced new ball dimension standards. Initially, this seemed to have a negative effect on our business plan. However, we learned to capitalise on this calamity by emphasising VendBall as an essential migration solution for players and manufacturers who would need to adapt during this period. By extending the lifespan of existing tennis balls and bridging the gap until new equipment could be introduced. Vendball might turn out to be an essential piece of “must-buy” equipment.
After ‘one year’, with a proven model, strong partnerships, and a growing customer base, we determined that selling Vendball to a larger company was the best strategic move in order to maintain our goal of seeing Vendball expand in addition to gaining capital.
At first, with very little knowledge on building a startup, much like most, we were quite intimidated.
With each meeting delving deeper into entrepreneurship, we were able to develop our uncultivated concept into a tangible product with purpose and momentum. Each stage brought its own lessons: securing investment, refining our technology, and building a brand that resonated with an active, sustainability-minded audience. Our pilot programme in Birmingham, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham and Moseley Tennis Club, marked a major milestone, validating our vision and driving early adoption.
Due to our lack of experience, we were not able to prepare a plan that focussed particularly well on burn rate. We were not entirely sure of realistic financial figures we should have expected throughout the course of the year.
Overall, towards the end of the programme, we had greater confidence in our idea of Vendball having advanced our startup with each phase of the program.
The exposure to many new terms, regulations, aspects of the company to consider (eg: types of insurance, business registration and taxation etc.) as well as the required processes to complete and outcomes to expect, meant that the learning curve was definitely steep.
I was surprised by the sheer number of options, and their hyper-specific definitions when setting up a business. Understanding that a business isn’t just a consumer and a seller but a much more complex system was definitely an eye-opening realisation.
We learnt a valuable lesson during the calamitous industry shift:
As a business owner, every challenge must be approached optimistically with not just a goal of minimising loss. Haphazardly mitigating bad circumstances could mean losing sight of an hidden opportunity that could maximise the overall business outcome.