Junior Nick Bain Delivers First Batch of Switch Ports
Colorado Academy junior Nick Bain, inventor of the Switch Port, a dry-erase light switch and the first invention to come out of Colorado Academy’s Upper School Innovation Lab, began delivering packages of the product last week.
Each package contained the CNC milled and laser-cut Switch Port, a dry-erase marker, two light switch screws, and a 1/16" thick, laser-cut piece of balsa, which can be tucked in between the wall and the top of the Switch Port to provide an extra 1/16" of ledge.
Heralded by Good Housekeeping as “just plain genius,” Bain has logged more than 1,000 hours on the project, from designing prototypes to talking with press and retailers. In total, the Switch Port has taken four years to make with more than 100 versions.
The sixteen year-old funded the project through a Kickstarter Campaign, which took only 12 hours and 59 minutes to raise the more than $750 he needed in order to begin. A successful launch also meant a spot in the Kickstarter record books: The Switch Port is the first new product to be crowd-funded by a minor.
For more information about the Switch Port, which comes in three sizes – 10 by 15 cm for $12, 15 by 19 cm for $13, and 15 by 26 cm for $14 – visit www.theswitchport.com.
© 2023 Colorado Academy
