Joseph Morel - Switch-Code

Joseph Morel

Student Entrepreneur
Major: Entrepreneurship, International Business and Finance
Class of 2021
Hometown: Jupiter, Florida

Code Switch on Desk Code Switch product photo Code Switch in Action

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Toy Nuggets is a company focused on developing physical toys to teach children the principles of coding. Consider the fact that there are toys for many traditional professions and careers. Think about Lincoln Logs for future architects and Lego sets for engineers. These physical toys are meant to nurture some of the basic skills associated with their respective professions. Physical toys also awaken a child’s curiosity to learn more about a specific field.

Surprisingly, there are no physical toys for computer programing. There are only digital platforms that teach children computer programing (i.e. software and video games), but they tend to focus on older children. We are missing a huge opportunity to teach children programming at the optimal age of learning, when children can easily absorb new knowledge.

This is Toy Nuggets' mission. To lower the age at which children to learn about computer programing and give them a foundation of essential tools to succeed in the digital age.

Toy Nuggets toys focus on the fundamental building blocks of computer science fields such as coding, programing, and circuitry. The first product in our series of toys is called the Switch-Code. It is focused on teaching the mathematical infrastructure of programing through the use of base systems. These base systems can be seen around us in everyday life. The Switch-Code allows students to gain mathematical skills, creative problem-solving skills, muscle memory, hand-eye coordination, as well as cognitive decision making.

Toy Nuggets is currently targeting the toy market, which is currently estimated at 21.7 billion dollars in the U.S alone. Through customer exploration, we also assessed that the Switch-Code also can serve as a teaching aid in schools to develop future programmers and computer software engineers. Adding this market segment to our strategy effectively raises our potential market to nearly 30 billion annually.

Get started with a business idea

Good for you! You have taken one of the most difficult steps in entrepreneurship - deciding to get started (most people never make it this far...)

Acting upon your business idea will require you go through a sequence of activities, which typically begin with finding out if there is a market for your product. Here's the good news: You don't have to go through these activities alone. We will help you!

Join the entrepreneurship club

Stetson's entrepreneurship club is aimed at anyone who wants to be involved in creating, innovating and building. You don't need a business idea to join the club. We welcome everyone. So, regardless of your major, class standing and GPA, join us!

Participate in a business pitch competition

We are excited you are considering to join a business pitch competition! Participating in pitch competitions is a fun and valuable activity for entrepreneurs. Pitch competitions will give you the opportunity to get feedback about your ideas, practice selling skills, and sometimes, win prizes!

Nothing is stopping from participating in pitch competitions. If you are representing Stetson University, however, we ask you to contact us with anticipation. We want to help you do your best, and to do so, we will request your engagement in multiple Stetson-based activities prior to the competition.

Connect with other entrepreneurs

Connecting with other entrepreneurs is an extremely valuable experience for anyone developing a business idea or launching a startup. There are many opportunities to meet entrepreneurs locally:

Get funding

We can help you connect with funding sources for your business idea and startup, including:

Local investors
Stetson Entrepreneurship Program's Advisory Board
Stetson alumni network
Crowdfunding campaigns

We will work closely with you to get your business idea ready for investors.

Protect my intellectual property

Whether you seek a patent, copyright, trademark or any other kind of legal protection, we will help you connect with local intellectual property attorneys.

Switch my major/minor to entrepreneurship

Excellent! We are excited you are joining our program. The process to change your major or minor is very simple. Simply go to the Registrar's Forms webpage and go own to "Other" and complete the form to change either your major or minor.

I don't know what my next step is

We are here to help you achieve your academic, career and startup goals. Don't hesitate to contact us for any questions about entrepreneurship - especially if you are unsure what to ask.

The students involved in the Prince Entrepreneurship Leaders program are actively developing their business ideas. These ideas invariably require funding for many small, but critical things, including:

Graphic design: like logo development
Legal documents: such as NDAs, contractual agreements, filing an LLC, filing for provisional patent status
Web development: like Wix and Shopify accounts, domain names, web hosting
Market testing and validation through digital ads
Collateral material: such as brochures, flyers, posters
Commercial-grade prototyping
Cloud-based storage: like Dropbox, Google Drive
Training courses
Books

Help the next generation of entrepreneurs get their business ideas started. And who knows, you may be part of getting the next "Facebook" off the ground!

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