In Brent Sebold’s FSE 301/ ENT 360 a new venture was born that could radically change how people perceive the beverage market. So what is Kava? Kava is a plant that comes from the Pacific Islands that has relaxing properties such as alcohol. The team saw that people wanted something for home use that would make them feel less stressed, align with their fitness goals, and not provide any unwanted side effects.

Kava’s target customer, Eryck, a 27-year-old middle school teacher, found that when he came home from work and drank a couple of beers to relax, it was putting making him put on weight and sluggish the next day. He wanted an alternative that would eliminate those extra pounds and also give him that relaxed feeling.

KavaWater was the solution to our customers’ problems. Traditionally, Kava is sold as a supplement and also in a variety of teas. The problem that the team faced was finding creative ways for the Kava itself to have a longer shelf life and to also taste appealing. However, once those solutions were found, KavaWater became one of the top three ventures in the class and pitched for 1,000 dollars to have their idea come to fruition.

Siena Storino, an honors student in chemical engineering, was made up of one of the five members of the team who knew firsthand how important entrepreneurship was. She works with the KERN foundation at ASU which promotes why entrepreneurship especially alongside engineering is so important. “ You learn the skillset of an engineer in Physics, but to learn the mindset of an entrepreneur you must practice that, it simply cannot be taught, and that is why this class was not just a “class” but a start of a venture.” (Storino 2019)