A 14-year-old from Alabama allegedly turned down a $30 million offer for his first-aid vending machine idea.
Taylor Rosenthal of Opelika, Alabama is the teenage CEO and founder of RecMed, which he launched in 2015. Rosenthal’s idea for a first-aid dispensing vending machine has already raised $100,000 from private investors and received an order of 100 machines from Six Flags.
Rosenthal was also reportedly offered $30 million from a “large national healthcare company” for his idea, but is unable to reveal more details because of a nondisclosure agreement.
The innovative teen was one of 19 students in a Young Entrepreneurs Academy eighth-grade class when he came up with the idea. He told CNN:
“Every time I’d travel for a baseball tournament in Alabama, I’d notice that kids would get hurt and parents couldn’t find a band-aid. I wanted to solve that.”
Rosenthal consulted with both of his parents who work in the medical industry to hone and develop his business design. In December 2015, he already had a functional prototype and patent.
RecMed allows anyone to get first-aid supplies quickly and conveniently when in a public space. The machines contain full prepackaged mini first-aid kits, priced between $5.99 and $15.95, and single items like Band-Aids, hydrocortisone wipes and gauze pads priced between $6 to $20.
Rosenthal will be the youngest person ever to exhibit his invention at TechCrunch Disrupt in Brooklyn this week. He told CNN Money:
“They told me that I was the youngest person to ever get accepted to the event. It felt awesome.”
Rosenthal hopes his machines, which cost $5,500 apiece, will be in “high-traffic areas for kids,” like amusement parks, beaches and stadiums this fall. RecMed will make a profit from the machines’ sales, restocking fees on supplies and possibly advertising on the machines.
