Ayaan and Mika’il’s Ornament Anchors

Scholastic: Why did you start your business?
Ayaan: One winter, our dog Zara wagged her tail and knocked an ornament off the Christmas tree. When it smashed on the floor, I realized this happened every year—someone would hit the tree by accident, and our ornaments would fall off and break. I had been looking for an idea for my school’s invention convention, and suddenly I had it: I could make something to keep ornaments in place on the tree. I designed a small device that uses a string and toggle. The toggle tightens a loop that securely attaches an ornament to a branch. I call it an Ornament Anchor. My older brother, Mika’il, suggested we start a business, and we borrowed $1,500 from our parents to start it.

Scholastic: What’s the best part of running your business?
Ayaan: The satisfaction of knowing we succeeded is amazing. That happened after we learned how to advertise and set up an online store. Our whole family pitched the idea on Shark Tank, a TV show where people compete for money for their businesses. After seeing us on that show, more people paid attention. Even though we didn’t win, that helped us expand to sell ornament anchors in more than 500 stores!

Scholastic: What’s the most difficult part?
Ayaan: I had to tinker with the design a lot to make the anchors just right. On the prototype, the string was too stretchy, so the ornaments didn’t stay in place. I changed it to a thinner and stiffer string. Then I attached weights to test whether the anchors could support heavy ornaments. I even hung a 10-pound weight from one and left it on the tree for a few days to see what would happen. It stayed in place!

Key Math Idea:
Calculating Costs

Pricing a product can be tricky. If the price is too high, people may not buy it. If it’s too low, it might not make a profit. Ayaan and Mika’il decided to sell Ornament Anchors in groups of 24. They sell a 24-pack for $19.99, a 48-pack for $39.98, and a 96-pack for $79.96. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.