When a pop-up opportunity came up for kids to sell their creations, Benjamin knew exactly what he wanted to make: a Minecraft-inspired shaker toy filled with tiny “items” people could “mine.”

He remembered trying shrink art years ago and wondered if he could turn printed plastic into mini shaker pieces. So he and his mum rolled up their sleeves and began a real-world experiment in making, problem-solving, and perseverance.

The Prototype Quest

The first test failed fast. Their inkjet printer made the colours bleed badly on shrink plastic. In the oven, the plastic curled and crunched up. A heat gun worked better but it was too slow to shrink piece by piece. They kept going.

They noticed material thickness mattered. A thicker plastic sheet held its shape and shrank more evenly. To fix the printing issue, Benjamin reached out to a neighbour with a laser printer. Success for the first 10 sheets, then some smudging, but by then he had enough to continue.

Production… and Blisters

Next came the marathon task of hand-cutting every tiny “item.” Benjamin cut until blisters formed, took a breather, then powered through. He shrank the pieces in batches, checked for consistency, and separated the best ones for the shakers.

Building a Business, Not Just a Toy

Benjamin invited his best friend Alexander to co-found the venture. They held a meeting to talk operations and marketing, from pricing to managing customers. The boys bounced around ideas, tested their pitch, and even worked on display layout.

On launch day at Guoco Midtown, they were buzzing. With a little coaching from Elizabeth, a seasoned kidspreneur, they created a simple booth chant to draw a crowd and boost their confidence. Then they did the most important thing young founders can do: say hello, pitching, and keep learning.

What Benjamin Learned

• Test small, learn fast. Each failure showed the next fix to try.
• Tools and materials matter. Laser printing and thicker plastic made a clear difference.
• Ask for help. A kind neighbour and a peer mentor changed the game.
• Grit beats perfect. Blisters, reprints, retries. Progress over perfection.
• Teamwork multiplies ideas. Co-founding with Alexander made the booth stronger and more fun.

This is what a kidspreneur journey looks like in real life: curiosity, trial and error, community support, and the joy of seeing an idea become something people can hold.

Small steps. Big learning. Onward.