VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Growing up among a family of doctors, Tumi Oredein knew one thing: He didn't want to follow in their footsteps.  

"I definitely had the 'ugly duckling' mentality for most of my life with my ambitious family," Oredein said. "I didn't really have a blueprint."

What he did have was a passion for product development. While his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia didn't help propagate that passion, he joined invention websites to learn more about developing his own products. A prospective employer suggested he look into Virginia Commonwealth University's product innovation master's program, which is offered through the da Vinci Center for Innovation, a collaboration of the schools of the arts, business and engineering and the College of Humanities and Sciences.

It turned out to be the right call for Oredein, who is on track to receive his degree in May 2014. After joining the VCU program, he revisited an idea he had been playing around with for a year or so —SKRIBS, customizable wristbands. At VCU, he realized he had to develop a product for and with consumers as opposed to developing his finished idea and pushing it on them. With the help of a focus group consisting of 5- to 11-year-olds, he re-evaluated what the product needed to represent, who his target audience was and what they needed to see in the finished product.

SKRIBS — wristbands on which wearers can write and re-write their own messages — have proven popular among his target audience. So popular, in fact, that Oredein is a finalist in Walmart's "Get on the Shelf" competition, a multi-stage contest in which individuals and businesses submit their products for consideration to be offered to Walmart customers. The public can participate in online voting for products, and Oredein and the other finalists are featured in a web series. Winners gets their products sold on walmart.com.

"I'm happy with the way this competition has turned out for me and I think this is a model for other inventors/entrepreneurs who may not think they can live their dreams because of money," he said.

Oredein has set up a website, skribs.com, to gauge market interest. So even if he doesn't win the competition, he plans to push on with his product innovation career.

The once "ugly duckling" of his family has turned into the figurative swan.

"Even with my ambitious family and my early struggles as an engineer, my family always believed in anything I tried my hand at," Oredein said. "While they may have been skeptical of me jumping into school and a business, my current business status has helped calm their nerves."

Vote for SKRIBS and view a video about Oredein and his product at https://getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/19be/SKRIBS-Customizable-Wris.

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