Sometimes people think that an MBA is a tool to speedup a corporate career, and definitely it is, however pretty often it represents also a powerful incubator for entrepreneurial ideas like Drive Gum. Some business schools like IE understood it very well and have started building a dedicated ecosystem like our Venture Lab in order to promote entrepreneurship and support business innovation.
Regarding innovative MBA students, less then a couple of months ago, during the Christmas dinner with the Italian Club of IE Busienss School, I met for the first time Nazareno Mario Ciccarello, a smart guy and an IE alumnus who had the brilliant idea to produce Drive Gum, an energizing chewing gum with mint taste that combines the power of caffeine with the scientifically proven effects of chewing which helps to stay wake. Let me say, a kind of Redbull for workers and travelers, but sugar and gluten free, and with very low calories.
I asked him how the hell he had came out with this cool idea:
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I have been working as an export manager in the healthcare industry for several years and being responsible for Asian and South American markets, being based in Italy I was spending most of my time on long haul flights. Recovering from jet lags was an everyday challenge which I tried to win with coffee but it wasn’t always available when needed.
After a trip to Hong Kong I realized that there were many taxi drivers chewing gums in order to stay awake. There it came the idea why don’t combine the act of chewing with the energizing power of caffeine????[/quote]
Focusing on safe driving and sharing the same values with Andrea De Adamich, former formula 1 pilot, Drive Gum has set up a partnership with centro internazionale di guida sicura one of the leading driving academies set up in collaboration with Alfa Romeo in Varano de Melegari (Parma) Italy.
Honestly I don’t have a car here in Madrid therefore I don’t drive that frequently, but I found Drive Gum a very valid alternative to coffee in order to support my daily 20 hours of combined work and study!!! Maybe he should consider distribute it into business schools and into business environments where the workload is very tough. Anyway at the moment, according to its brand positioning, it is available in Italy along the highways A5, A1, A13, A14, A25, A16, but also in SARNI stores ( the second biggest highway convenience stores chain in Italy ) and in API / IP petrol stations.
What to say to Nazareno? I wish you lots of success and I’m sure one day I will get back to this topic and say “I knew it was a great idea”. Ah, by the way this is Drive Gum’s website www.drivegum.com and its Facebook page www.facebook.com/drivegum.
Now it’s time I find my way. IE has given me all the tools and I will use them in all the possible ways I can. Then.. time will tell 😉
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