Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Transforming pine needles into cleaning products
137 Plays2 years ago
Recently we have discovered the European virtual businesses contest and we were amazed by an idea that has already been in action. Today we are talking with the founder of MyPine Maria Tsiaousi and the production manager Andreas Omirou about their virtual company that produces cleaning products based on pines. We also learn what it takes to run a virtual business and how to keep balance between the business's obligations and your personal life.
Did you hear the news. The GenZers to rise! Podcast now has a social change app. Check it out here!
Follow ChangemakerZ https://go.changemakerz.org/follow
MyPine social handles at https://lnkfi.re/mypine
Episode's page https://podcast.changemakerz.org/mypine
Produced by Vasilis Skarleas
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Changemaker-Z and My Pine
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello everyone, I'm Kennedy. And I'm Vassilis. We run Changemaker-Z, a student-run initiative that aims to empower, educate, and connect in zeros interested in entrepreneurship. We interview teenagers with impactful projects and create resources to help you change the world. If they can't do it, so can you.
00:00:23
Speaker
On this podcast, we discuss the logistics of creating different types of projects with Jin Ziers, who have already done it. We will leave our social media and website information in the description. Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Jansir's Rise podcast.
00:00:48
Speaker
Recently we have discovered the European Virtual Business Contest and we were amazed by an idea that has already been in action. Today we are talking with the founder of My Pine, Maria Tiosi and the production manager, Andreas O'Mearo, about their virtual company that produces cleaning products based on pines.
00:01:09
Speaker
Yep, that's right, cleaning products produced by Pines. Well, I'm sure that you have seen these 5-minute graphs that says that you can use lemon or vinegar as an ecological cleaning product. Those are not efficient for all types of surfaces since they cannot destroy the materials as long as they are acid. But for now, let's put the chemistry aside and let's talk about entrepreneurship. Maria and Andreas, welcome to the show, so nice to meet you.
00:01:40
Speaker
Nice to meet you, too. Thank you for having us. Thank you so much. So tell us, how did you get started with My Pine?
The Eco-Friendly Mission of My Pine
00:01:49
Speaker
Well, My Pine was created by students of the experimental senior high school of Macedonia as part of the junior achievement company program. And every summer, we witnessed our country being on fire. And because of climate change, extreme heat waves caused megafires which spread very quickly.
00:02:10
Speaker
and are extremely hard to extinguish. Influenced by the recent fire scene in Navient Athens, we decided to address the problem. So basically, the dry pine leaves are very flammable and help the fire spread very quickly. So we decided to read the forest of a great enemy.
00:02:33
Speaker
We also noticed that the dry pine leaves prevent vegetation because they create a very acid environment and we took advantage of this property to create 100% ecological, cure and natural products for disinfection and cleaning of surfaces, which are fully biodegradable, non-toxic without chlorine, phosphorous or ammonia.
00:02:58
Speaker
We produce two types of products, a 500 milligram disinfectant and a 1000 milligram surface disinfectant. Our products clean and disinfect without soil on our planet. Specifically, they are natural, less processed, without chemicals, with active natural ingredients.
00:03:22
Speaker
Sustainable because they reduce waste of resources. Beneficial because they protect the health and environment. Simple because they replace a variety of specialized products. And they are ideal for clean children's saloons, for schools and for people suffering from chronic allergies. They do not contain any dyes, perfumes and they are currently free.
00:03:49
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that's amazing. So your products, they're cleaner, they're more environmentally safe. I didn't know you could do all this with pine cones, y'all.
00:04:02
Speaker
Yeah, I was kind of wondering about that. So you were saying, oh, you want to help because pine cones are very flammable. Was the first thought, oh, let's try to clean up the forest. And then you discovered that pine cones had these amazing cleaning properties, or were you trying to develop a cleaning product?
Innovative Programs and Techniques
00:04:25
Speaker
No, the main idea was to prevent forest fires.
00:04:29
Speaker
And then we found out their property. So we took advantage of it. And so you guys, that's amazing. You guys entered this into a contest. And can you explain a little bit more about it, kind of how you participated? Yes. Through the program of junior achievement,
00:04:52
Speaker
students produce innovative products or services that meet specific social needs and are environmentally friendly. The aim of the program is to cultivate and strengthen the abilities, skills and attitudes of students so that they realize your social responsibility as future professionals with respect for the common good and the environment.
00:05:19
Speaker
Consequently, skills such as reinforcement, planning skills, organization, cooperation, time management, decision making, problem solving are cultivated throughout the whole process. Yeah.
00:05:35
Speaker
I know we talked about why you chose pine cones, but can you just explain a little bit how? We're starting with the pine cone and then we're turning it into a cleaning product. How is that possible? There has to be some science to that. Yes. After the collection of the pine needles,
00:05:56
Speaker
for which the permit of the forest office is required, of course, and we should not exceed the 70% of the surface layer. This is actually possible by fractional distillation of the pine needles in a laboratory. Well, by that way, we extract from the pine needles
00:06:26
Speaker
a mixture of all the next trends, which is our secret formula, which we use to create a product. Remember guys, they're in high school talking about fractional distribution. What? Go on, sorry.
00:06:48
Speaker
Let me add that the experimental tests in the development of forestry, wood challenges and design of the University of Tesla, which support Sino Denver. And through those experimental tests, we found out that this material is actually very effective with its low beha, a growing 100% of bacteria.
00:07:13
Speaker
So avoiding, yes, so we are basically avoiding the negative effects of chlorine. This mixture is the low material for the products, which we created with our long series formula. And for the disinfection, we add pure cream soap.
00:07:35
Speaker
And finally, the products are part of the recycled plastic bottles, which are biodegradable and environmentally friendly. I am imagining that this process may take time and resources. If you imagine your formula on a bigger scale, do you think that it can be applied in a mass production line?
Market Viability and Scaling Challenges
00:07:55
Speaker
And why?
00:07:57
Speaker
well, of course, our business is sustainable. But for commercial exploitation, business equipment from the one we use as a student business is needed. And most reduction in housing requirements in 2019 equipment. And these theories are needed. And because most of the investment is considered high for that of our country,
00:08:24
Speaker
We started searching distillation and distilleries of essential oils with a distillation cost of 150 to 130 euros per ton. And there are a number of reasons why our business is viable. We started the environment in the market two weeks my time is at rest.
00:08:51
Speaker
and thought that our company is entering a dynamically exotic industry with great consumer interest. First of all, because the pandemic changed the world construction map, the priority of all of us now is disinfection and cleanliness. We noticed that 67% of leaks said that they clean their house much more often than in the past.
00:09:19
Speaker
And there is also a term to natural products and the consumer's desire to contribute with their consumer behavior, the detection of the environment. And there's also a utopia, a union of regulations, for safer cleaners. And in addition, it is really necessary to clear the photos so fine. And this mainly to prevent fires, but also to ensure the succession of ecosystems.
00:09:48
Speaker
After all, the forest authorities pay the forest cooperatives every year for the clearing of the forests. So basically, there is a sustainable raw material of zero cost available for the business in our country. And we also notice that countries such as the USA with huge forest areas already commercially exploit the dry pine with this flat cloud cover. So we have
00:10:16
Speaker
So we are essentially adding value to a policy resource. And after the distillation, we can save the findings after naturally trying for the ground cover. So it's so interesting that there are so many different applications. And at the same time, I'm so happy to listen that the regulations are helping to know the startup of this type of companies and also abroad.
00:10:43
Speaker
know exactly for Greece, but they also have funding, capital funding that doesn't have any regulations about how you will prevent any extra taxes on these things in order to apply all the equipment that Maria had mentioned earlier in order to create a mass-produce for this clinic product.
00:11:05
Speaker
So we had already talked about, you know, we found out it's kind of a big process to kind of turn these pine needles into the product. How many team members are part of My Pine and how do you keep it organized?
Team Structure and Work Ethic
00:11:24
Speaker
The participants are 17 in total and they come to more classes of the senior high school under the guidance of our teachers.
00:11:34
Speaker
and we are organized in the model of real business and staffed the seven departments of my time based on our inclinations our educational professional goals. So there is the CEO which is me, the vice manager, the production department, the finance,
00:11:54
Speaker
the marketing, the sales department, the public relations, and the IT department. We apply a team-oriented operate model as considered human resources as a strong point of our business.
00:12:09
Speaker
Besides our executive, particularly, active participation in programs and competitions with important national and international institutions, we work live in the two-hour weekly meetings of the group, but mainly
00:12:32
Speaker
We work through teleconferences. We use the advantages of the internet for our consistent communication. So you are all high school graduates. This means that you need a lot of time to study for your final exams while you are running this virtual business. How do you keep balance between school, extracurricular activities, my buying?
00:12:59
Speaker
and so on. It's true that our obligations as senior high school students are increased. We need, indeed, many hours every day to prepare for our school's extracurricular activities. However, because we love what we do, and even on the most difficult days when we seem to have no time at all, we make time, we try to make time to deal with our business.
00:13:27
Speaker
It's because of our commitment to our goal, our inner motivation, our real and positive spirit that we made it to work. We feel that in this way our creativity is released by doing something useful for both our society and the environment.
00:13:45
Speaker
And that's so important. The fact that you actually love what you do is one of the most important factors, I think, because you could do something for a college application, but how long is that really going to last? What do you think is the most important thing or just something you've learned via the process of creating a virtual company?
00:14:13
Speaker
Well, I believe the most important thing we have learned and we continue to learn through this process is that with responsibility, hard work and cooperation, we can achieve everything.
00:14:28
Speaker
Well, the truth is that in the beginning, what we want to do is completely difficult. Since we were faced with difficulties and problems that normal businesses have to deal with. We're realizing nevertheless through this process that only with determination, a lot of effort and good communication among us, we could do it.
00:14:52
Speaker
And what we have been doing now seems not only simple and feasible, but also very enjoyable for all of us. I can't imagine like, because you, I mean, you started from like the ground up being able to just come up with a concept and then, and like just seeing the physical product and you won awards, you were featured on CNN, Greece for it. Like that's amazing. You have to feel so accomplished about that.
00:15:20
Speaker
challenges throughout this whole process. Did COVID, when did you start this? Did COVID have any respect on it? Well, this year I know because we started it on September. So the schools were open and we had time to prepare. But last year we had this problem. So we worked on this new telecom crisis.
00:15:48
Speaker
For now, we sort of plans for the future for my find.
Future Goals and Investment Ambitions
00:15:52
Speaker
We aim to become a real sustainable business since we are already in the process of safeguarding the idea. And we aim that we can find investment funds and product products that fit the investment profile of many investors who adopt the easy investment philosophy.
00:16:17
Speaker
EFT means environment social government. And we wish to contribute to sustainable development. So we will raise funds from investment funds looking for venture capital, crowdfunding and business engines. We initially targeted desensitized consumers who chose eco-friendly products
00:16:43
Speaker
And we shared a house for his creative anticipation and feeling less of the schools of our country, but starting from the schools of all of them is probably now going to change when his school belongs.
00:16:57
Speaker
amazing. I can't wait to see what you guys do in the future. And alright guys, we have come to an end of another great episode. Today we met with Marie and Andreas, who talked about how my pine has taken pine needles and turned them into a sustainable, environmentally friendly bean product. As Andreas mentioned, little hard work, passion, determination, you can create something amazing.
00:17:22
Speaker
So again, we're so excited to see where you guys go in the future. There's no doubt in my mind that it's going to be amazing. So until then, keep changing the world, guys. Bye.