LEAD
COVER STORY: Winners of MPowered's 1000 Pitches
By Nicole Bowling and Allison Goldstein
Photographs by: Anja Kreibaum and Marissa Mcclain
February 8, 2010
Ear Buddies, an alarm embedded in a small ear plug, is a new idea that certainly hasn't been kept quiet. Eleanor Pryser, University of Michigan freshman and winner in the Global Business category, pitched a product that enables sleep in a noiseless environment.
LM: How did you come up with this?
EP: Actually, the inspiration came from my roommate. She was really loud at night, and I always wanted to sleep with ear plugs in, but I didn't think I'd hear my alarm.
LM: How has growing up in Brighton, Michigan affected your relationship to the state of Michigan and its future?
EP: I definitely have more of an attachment to the state. It does make it more personal. I think small business is important to Michigan. Hopefully, if Ear Buddies does become a small business, it will be helpful for our economy.
LM: How has your experience at the University of Michigan made this possible?
EP: It was a requirement for the entrepreneurial engineering class that I was in. It was a homework assignment, and I probably wouldn't have made the pitch if it hadn't been for that. So luckily I did, because it's been awesome since then.
LM: What inspires you? EP: I like music and art-the general muses. Also, so many people around this school are awesomely creative, and that is highly inspiring.
LM: Who influences you?
EP: It would have to be my mother. She is probably the most stubborn person you'll ever meet. She'll never give up a fight. She just fought cancer for the second time in her life and is an extremely inspirational person.
LM: How did you come up with this?
EP: Actually, the inspiration came from my roommate. She was really loud at night, and I always wanted to sleep with ear plugs in, but I didn't think I'd hear my alarm.
LM: How has growing up in Brighton, Michigan affected your relationship to the state of Michigan and its future?
EP: I definitely have more of an attachment to the state. It does make it more personal. I think small business is important to Michigan. Hopefully, if Ear Buddies does become a small business, it will be helpful for our economy.
LM: How has your experience at the University of Michigan made this possible?
EP: It was a requirement for the entrepreneurial engineering class that I was in. It was a homework assignment, and I probably wouldn't have made the pitch if it hadn't been for that. So luckily I did, because it's been awesome since then.
LM: What inspires you? EP: I like music and art-the general muses. Also, so many people around this school are awesomely creative, and that is highly inspiring.
LM: Who influences you?
EP: It would have to be my mother. She is probably the most stubborn person you'll ever meet. She'll never give up a fight. She just fought cancer for the second time in her life and is an extremely inspirational person.