Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

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August 23, 2023 | Tom Ballard

Bad hair day inspires high school entrepreneur

A bad hair day became an opportunity for a then-high school student from Wilmington, NC.

After getting a terrible trim, Andres Valdiri came up with the concept for an app to ensure a good haircut. The app would use artificial intelligence to measure facial proportions and head shape to suggest the best haircut and how to scout barbers by specialty.

“I just regretted giving that guy money,” the now first-year student at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill said.

In the end, Valdiri made money from the ordeal during his senior year at Isaac Bear Early College High School at UNC Wilmington. His idea won the $1,500 first-place prize in a regional youth entrepreneurship competition.

Now Valdiri is excited about studying business and computer science at Carolina, already expressing interest in the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.

You can read more about his story at this link.



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