- April 26, 2024
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Before leaving for college, four FPC IB graduates created an online sales service they believe will impact the economic landscape of their hometown.
A total of 40 students set off on Flagler Palm Coast High School’s academically elite International Baccalaureate program after middle school. Only 26 finished. Among those are graduates Kyle Russell, Ryan McDermott, Larry Tesler and Jon Haydak — creators of an online sales forum they believe will give Palm Coast’s economy a brand new bite.
The name is AucDog.com — a moniker Haydak said fit right into the group’s main goal of coming up with a tag that didn’t sound “too stupid.”
“I expected it to be a lot harder,” Russell said of writing what totaled about 10,000 lines of code, comprising the site’s design and functionality.
Although coding duties were shared, it was Russell who thought up the concept — a site the gang describes as a “simpler, smarter and safer” craigslist-style sales model.
Russell said it only took two days to write the HTML foundation. Then Haydak and Tesler did their part, working in tandem the next few weeks — between studying for finals and picking up their cap and gown — to write Python code for database creation, log-on abilities and posting functionality.
In other words, Russell said he wrote the skeleton, and Haydak and Tesler wrote the muscles to make the site work.
McDermott — who was also the School Board’s FPC senior representative — played project manager, the group’s “keep-us-in-line guy.”
“I kind of thought about it from a local angle,” McDermott said, explaining that, when users sign onto AucDog.com, the site automatically detects their locations through a built-in GoogleMaps application. This means that if you live in Palm Coast, you’ll only see Palm Coast listings on the pages.
“With my experience, looking at business … the best way to get a good user base, is by word of mouth,” McDermott said. The group plans to utilize Facebook, government, the School Board and the media to plug their site.
Eventually, they envision AucDog being used by local used-car dealers, antique shops — even for listings of restaurant promotions and coupons.
“Because it’s a website with such a broad range,” McDermott continued, “you can really list anything.”
With an admitted eye toward profitability, plans to monetize include a premium listings feature, which bumps paying members’ posts to the top of search results, increasing their visibility.
But it’s not all about money.
“The success isn’t just for us,” Haydak said. “We’d be helping the local economy.” By offering local shops and services another outlet in the community, the group believes AucDog can reform the way companies do business. All it needs is the opportunity.
Come fall, Kyle Russell will be attending the University of California-Berkeley, for computer science or economics; Ryan McDermott will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for mechanical engineering; Jon Haydek will be at Georgia Tech, for chemical and molecular engineering; and Larry Tesler will go to the University of Florida, to study medicine.
Visit www.aucdog.com to browse or post listings. Premium listings are offered free, first come for serve, to AucDog subscribers.
MO’ MONEY, MO’ EDUCATION
On April 28, Kyle Russell was announced as one of 11 Florida students awarded scholarships by the National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation. The ninth-annual NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards were designed to encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school students.
Russell was awarded $1,000.
In addition to Florida’s $1,000 award recipients, the state was also host to one of five students who received $5,000, one of which will advance to a final $10,000 prize.
“This year’s scholarship winners represent an incredibly impressive group of young adults. Their ingenuity and ambition prove that entrepreneurship is thriving in high schools today, which is very promising for our nation,” said Dan Danner, NFIB president and CEO.
More than 4,500 students nationwide applied for a YEF scholarship this year, and 131 took home awards, thanks to the financial support from statewide small business leaders, as well as corporate and foundation supporters. This year’s major corporate sponsors were Sam’s Club, EMPLOYERS and SunTrust.
To qualify for a YEF Award, students must be currently running their own businesses. They were required to write essays describing their entrepreneurial endeavors and future goals. Standardized test scores, GPA and class rank were also considered in the selection process. NFIB members around the country nominated applicants for the Young Entrepreneur Awards.
