Image: Solefully/Michael Satterlee
Michael Satterlee, 18, of Clifton Park, New York, was a full-time high school student when he ran Solefully, a six-figure business that designs and 3D prints unique accessories for Crocs, according to Entrepreneur, which told his story in an as-told-to format. Because demand at the time was limited, satterlee told Entrepreneur that he had a bunch of 3D printers from his time working on Solefully and was not using all of them. He asked himself why he did not simply create a different e-commerce store to put those machines to work. After brainstorming, beer koozies, the insulating sleeves that keep a can cold, caught his eye. He wondered how he could make the product better and, more importantly, how he could make it go viral.
Because he has a lot of experience with computer-aided design, he told Entrepreneur he had a working product within a day, after a couple of printed variations.
Satterlee said he has patents and trademarks filed to protect it. His first question was how to make a koozie easier to use. His answer was a design that opens on both the top and the bottom, so cans slide in easily. He then tested ideas for making the product go viral and found that raising the cap slightly makes the can eject when a new one is loaded, much like a shell reloading mechanism. The product became the Beerzooka; it is a patent-pending creation from his company, Cruise Cup.
