Singapore’s Stick ‘Em has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by winning the Hult Prize 2025, a globally recognized competition often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for students.” This victory highlights the country’s growing influence in educational technology and student entrepreneurship. Founded by four university students, Stick ‘Em developed an innovative platform that addresses educational disparities through affordable, interactive learning tools.
The Hult Prize, which awards US$1 million in seed funding, draws over 100,000 student applicants from more than 120 countries each year (Hult Prize Foundation, 2024). Stick ‘Em’s solution stood out for its ability to deliver quality resources to underserved communities, supporting UNESCO’s goal of inclusive education for all. According to the World Bank, more than 250 million children globally lack access to basic educational materials; Stick ‘Em directly targets this gap with scalable technology.
The startup’s approach combines low-cost hardware with adaptive learning software, ensuring students in remote or low-income areas can participate fully in digital classrooms. Their pilot projects in Southeast Asia demonstrated measurable improvements in student engagement and literacy rates, as reported by local education authorities. By leveraging partnerships with NGOs and public schools, Stick ‘Em has already begun expanding its reach beyond Singapore.
Stick ‘Em’s Hult Prize win signifies more than financial success — it exemplifies how youth-driven innovation can tackle persistent global challenges. As they prepare to deploy their solution worldwide, the team’s achievement serves as a model for other aspiring entrepreneurs. Singapore’s reputation as a hub for technological advancement and social impact is further strengthened by this landmark victory.
The Genesis: From Childhood Curiosity to Global Impact
Founding Vision and Team Dynamics
Stick ‘Em emerged in 2020 from the convergence of four distinct yet complementary minds, each bringing unique strengths to what would become a revolutionary educational platform:
Adam Huh Dam (27) serves as the strategic architect, overseeing operations, finance, product development, and business strategy. His journey from South Korea to Singapore at age seven provided him with a multicultural perspective that proved invaluable in understanding diverse educational needs. His graduation from SUTD with a degree in Engineering Product Development in 2025, achieved with honors despite prioritizing the startup, demonstrates his exceptional ability to balance academic excellence with entrepreneurial ambition.
Chong Ing Kai (22) represents the technical innovation core, focusing on product development, strategy, and teacher development. His background from Singapore Polytechnic, where he graduated with a diploma in Engineering with Business in 2023, combined with his early fascination with building “dangerous items like flamethrowers and tasers” in primary school, evolved into a passion for creating educational tools that could genuinely help people.
The founding team is completed by Tew Jing An, who leads software product development, and Chong Kai Jie, who oversees hardware product development. This division of expertise—spanning hardware, software, business strategy, and educational methodology—has been crucial to Stick ‘Em’s holistic approach to product development.
The Problem Statement: Educational Inequality in STEM
The founders identified a critical gap in global education: the prohibitive cost of hands-on STEM learning tools. Traditional robotics kits often cost upwards of $1,000, making them accessible only to well-funded schools and affluent families. This disparity creates an educational divide where students from different socioeconomic backgrounds receive vastly different levels of exposure to practical STEM concepts.
Moreover, the founders observed that Singapore’s education system, despite its global reputation for excellence, still relied heavily on “pen-and-paper learning,” with hands-on activities relegated to end-of-year celebrations rather than integrated into regular curriculum delivery.
Product Innovation: Redefining Accessibility Through Design
The $100 Revolution
Stick ‘Em’s flagship product represents a masterclass in accessible design engineering. At $100 per kit—approximately one-tenth the cost of conventional robotics kits—it democratizes access to hands-on robotics education while maintaining educational value and build quality.
The kit’s components reflect thoughtful design choices:
Wooden Chopsticks: Beyond their obvious cultural relevance in Asian markets, chopsticks serve as an ingenious structural element. They’re lightweight, biodegradable, cost-effective, and familiar to users. Their standardized dimensions make them ideal for modular construction while their natural texture provides good grip for young hands.
Geometric Connectors: These precision-engineered components allow for infinite structural possibilities while teaching fundamental geometric principles. Students learn about angles, symmetry, and structural integrity through direct manipulation.
Wheels and Electronics: The plug-and-play electronics eliminate the intimidation factor often associated with robotics, allowing students to focus on creative problem-solving rather than technical troubleshooting.
Pedagogical Framework: Learning Through Creation
Stick ‘Em’s educational philosophy centers on constructionist learning—the theory that people learn most effectively when they construct something external and shareable. Their lesson plans integrate multiple disciplines:
Mathematics: Students explore geometry through structure building, statistics through data collection from their robots, and algebra through programming motion equations.
Physics: The elastic potential energy lesson exemplifies their approach—students build catapults, experiment with rubber band quantities, and observe the relationship between stored energy and projectile distance. This transforms abstract physics concepts into tangible, memorable experiences.
Engineering Design Process: Each project guides students through problem identification, ideation, prototyping, testing, and iteration—core engineering thinking skills that transfer beyond robotics to any problem-solving context.
Environmental Science: Lessons on recycling plants using robotic simulations connect technology education to global sustainability challenges.
Market Analysis: Global Reach and Strategic Expansion
Current Market Position
Stick ‘Em has achieved remarkable market penetration across multiple dimensions:
Domestic Success: With over 10,000 kits sold across 27 primary and secondary schools in Singapore, the company has achieved significant local market presence. This represents substantial penetration in Singapore’s education sector, considering the country’s approximately 350 primary and secondary schools.
International Expansion: Distribution across 11 countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Uganda demonstrates the product’s cross-cultural adaptability and universal educational value. Each market presents unique challenges and opportunities:
- Indonesia: Training 225 teachers from seven schools in July 2025 showcases the scalability of their teacher development programs
- Uganda: The success story of students independently building steering systems demonstrates the product’s intuitive design and local adaptability
- Vietnam: Represents expansion into rapidly growing Southeast Asian education markets
Distribution Strategy and Channel Innovation
Stick ‘Em’s go-to-market strategy relies heavily on direct engagement with educational stakeholders:
Conference and Exhibition Strategy: By meeting educational leaders at international venues, the founders build trust and understanding of local educational needs before market entry.
Word-of-Mouth Amplification: Teacher networks serve as powerful distribution channels, with satisfied educators recommending the product to peers across schools and countries.
Demonstration-Led Sales: The founders’ hands-on approach—personally visiting schools and conducting demonstration lessons—builds deep relationships with end users and generates authentic testimonials.
Competitive Advantages: Sustainable Differentiation
Cost Innovation Without Quality Compromise
Stick ‘Em’s primary competitive advantage lies in radical cost reduction achieved through innovative design rather than corner-cutting. By reimagining robotics kits around readily available materials (chopsticks) and simplified electronics, they’ve created a product that’s both more affordable and more accessible than traditional alternatives.
Cultural Adaptability
The use of chopsticks as a primary building material creates immediate cultural resonance in Asian markets while remaining exotic enough to generate interest in Western markets. This cultural bridge gives Stick ‘Em unique positioning in global education markets.
Integrated Teacher Support
Unlike competitors who focus solely on hardware, Stick ‘Em’s comprehensive teacher development programs create switching costs and build lasting relationships. Their customizable lesson plans address the critical challenge many educators face: having innovative tools but lacking the pedagogical framework to use them effectively.
Community Impact Focus
The company’s work with underserved communities like the Tak Takut Kids Club in Boon Lay demonstrates genuine social impact commitment. This isn’t just marketing—it’s core to their mission and creates powerful storytelling opportunities that resonate with socially conscious educational buyers.
Financial Architecture and Business Model
Revenue Streams and Pricing Strategy
Stick ‘Em operates on a multi-tiered revenue model:
Hardware Sales: The primary revenue stream from $100 kit sales, targeting both individual and bulk institutional purchases.
Educational Services: Teacher training programs, customized lesson plan development, and ongoing pedagogical support create recurring revenue opportunities.
Licensing and Partnerships: Potential for licensing their educational methodology to other markets or partnering with larger educational technology companies for distribution.
Funding Journey and Capital Efficiency
The company’s bootstrap approach in early stages—starting with less than $100 in materials—demonstrates exceptional capital efficiency. The 2021 River HongBao Hackathon victory and subsequent Mapletree funding provided their first significant capital injection, enabling the transition from garage operation to formal business.
The unexpected 150-order surge at Gardens by the Bay tested their operational resilience and revealed both strengths (creativity in fulfilling orders through school and friend networks) and areas for improvement (logistics and inventory management).
The Hult Prize’s US$1 million represents transformational funding that will enable:
- Manufacturing scale-up
- International expansion acceleration
- Teacher community development programs
- Product line extensions
Operational Excellence: From Chaos to Systems
Early Stage Challenges and Solutions
The company’s early operational history reads like a classic startup story: 3D printers running around the clock in family homes, parents recruited as packaging labor, and founders juggling full-time studies while building a business. This period, while chaotic, established crucial foundations:
Family Integration: By involving families in early operations, the founders built strong support networks and reduced operational costs while maintaining quality control.
Academic-Business Balance: Both founders’ ability to maintain academic excellence while prioritizing their startup demonstrates exceptional time management and priority-setting skills that serve them well in scaling operations.
Prototype Validation: Testing with children of parents’ friends provided authentic user feedback before significant investment, reducing product development risks.
Current Operational Structure
Today’s 14-person team represents sophisticated organizational development. The expansion from four founders to a structured organization indicates successful scaling of both operations and management capabilities. Their dual-campus presence at SUTD and NUS provides access to:
- Research facilities for ongoing product development
- Student talent pipelines for recruitment
- Academic partnerships for credibility and market access
- Prototype manufacturing capabilities
Impact Measurement: Beyond Commercial Success
Educational Outcomes and Student Development
Stick ‘Em’s impact extends far beyond traditional business metrics. The transformation observed in Tak Takut Kids Club participants illustrates the deeper educational value: children who initially showed impatience and quick frustration began demonstrating systematic problem-solving behaviors, tracing wires and diagnosing robot failures rather than abandoning tasks.
This behavioral change represents development of crucial “soft skills”:
- Persistence: Working through challenges rather than giving up
- Systematic thinking: Following logical troubleshooting processes
- Collaboration: Working together to solve complex problems
- Growth mindset: Viewing failure as learning opportunity rather than defeat
Global Educational Equity Contribution
By making robotics education accessible in countries like Uganda, where the cost of traditional kits would be prohibitive, Stick ‘Em addresses fundamental educational inequality. The image of Ugandan schoolchildren independently building steering mechanisms represents more than product success—it demonstrates the universal human capacity for innovation when given appropriate tools.
Teacher Empowerment and Professional Development
The company’s focus on teacher training creates multiplier effects. Each trained teacher can impact hundreds of students over their career, making teacher development potentially the highest-impact investment in educational technology. Their approach of creating “super teachers” who can mentor others builds sustainable educational ecosystems rather than dependency relationships.
Strategic Analysis: Future Trajectory and Challenges
Growth Opportunities
Market Expansion: With presence in only 11 countries, significant geographic expansion opportunities exist, particularly in:
- Sub-Saharan Africa, where STEM education gaps are pronounced
- Latin American markets seeking affordable educational technology
- Developed markets looking for differentiated, culturally-aware products
Product Line Extension: The success of the basic robotics kit creates opportunities for:
- Advanced modules for older students
- Subject-specific kits (chemistry, physics, environmental science)
- Digital learning platforms complementing physical kits
Partnership Ecosystem: Potential partnerships with:
- Major educational publishers for curriculum integration
- Technology companies for advanced electronics integration
- Non-profit organizations for humanitarian deployment
Potential Challenges and Risk Mitigation
Manufacturing Scale-Up: Transitioning from small-batch production to global scale requires significant operational sophistication. Quality control, supply chain management, and inventory optimization become critical success factors.
Competitive Response: Success often invites competition. Larger educational technology companies with greater resources might attempt to replicate Stick ‘Em’s approach. The company’s differentiation through cultural adaptation and teacher relationship building provides some protection, but continuous innovation remains essential.
Regulatory Navigation: International expansion requires understanding diverse educational standards, safety requirements, and import regulations. Each new market presents unique compliance challenges.
Organizational Development: Scaling from 14 to potentially hundreds of employees while maintaining culture and quality represents a classic startup challenge. The founders’ ability to build systems and delegate effectively will determine long-term success.
Innovation Ecosystem: Singapore’s Role
National Innovation Infrastructure
Stick ‘Em’s success reflects Singapore’s broader innovation ecosystem strengths:
Educational Excellence: The founders’ strong technical education from SUTD and Singapore Polytechnic provided essential skills for product development and business management.
Government Support: Programs like the River HongBao Hackathon create platforms for startup validation and early funding access.
Corporate Partnership: Mapletree’s sponsorship and subsequent funding demonstrate how established Singapore companies support innovation.
International Connectivity: Singapore’s position as a regional hub facilitated expansion into Southeast Asian markets and global competition platforms like the Hult Prize.
Regional Impact and Knowledge Transfer
The company’s success creates positive spillover effects:
- Inspiring other student entrepreneurs to pursue social impact ventures
- Demonstrating Singapore’s capability in educational technology innovation
- Creating knowledge transfer opportunities through international expansion
- Building Singapore’s reputation in global education circles
Technology Integration and Future Innovation
Digital-Physical Convergence
While Stick ‘Em’s current product focuses on physical construction, future opportunities exist in digital integration:
Augmented Reality: AR applications could provide virtual instruction, design suggestions, and troubleshooting support directly through mobile devices.
IoT Connectivity: Internet-connected kits could enable remote monitoring, collaborative projects between schools, and real-time performance analytics.
Artificial Intelligence: AI-powered tutoring systems could provide personalized learning paths based on individual student building patterns and preferences.
Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness
The choice of wooden chopsticks as primary building materials demonstrates environmental consciousness, but future opportunities exist for even greater sustainability:
Circular Economy Integration: Programs for kit component recycling and refurbishment could reduce environmental impact while creating cost efficiencies.
Local Material Sourcing: Adapting designs to use locally available materials in different countries could reduce shipping costs and environmental impact while creating local economic benefits.
Conclusion: A Model for Sustainable Social Innovation
Stick ‘Em’s journey from garage startup to Hult Prize winner represents more than individual success—it exemplifies a new model for sustainable social innovation. By addressing genuine global needs through culturally-aware, economically accessible solutions, the founders have demonstrated that profit and purpose need not be mutually exclusive.
The company’s success factors provide a blueprint for other social entrepreneurs:
- Deep Problem Understanding: Identifying genuine gaps rather than assumed needs
- Radical Cost Innovation: Achieving accessibility through design innovation rather than quality compromise
- Cultural Sensitivity: Adapting solutions to local contexts while maintaining core functionality
- Stakeholder Integration: Building relationships with end users (teachers) as partners rather than customers
- Impact Measurement: Focusing on educational outcomes alongside financial metrics
- Sustainable Scaling: Building systems and partnerships that enable growth without losing mission focus
As Stick ‘Em enters its next growth phase with Hult Prize funding, the company faces the classic challenge of scaling impact without losing soul. Their success will depend on maintaining the innovative thinking and community focus that enabled their initial breakthrough while building the organizational capabilities needed for global impact.
The broader implications extend beyond educational technology. In an era of growing inequality and technological disruption, Stick ‘Em demonstrates that innovative startups can address systemic challenges while building sustainable businesses. Their model of accessible innovation, cultural adaptation, and stakeholder partnership offers hope for addressing other global challenges through entrepreneurial solutions.
For Singapore, Stick ‘Em’s success reinforces the country’s position as a hub for meaningful innovation. As the global economy increasingly values purpose-driven businesses, Singapore’s ability to produce companies like Stick ‘Em will be crucial for maintaining its competitive advantage in the innovation economy.
The story of Stick ‘Em is ultimately the story of human potential unleashed through accessible tools and supportive communities. As they continue to expand their reach, the simple wooden chopsticks and geometric connectors they provide to children worldwide carry the power to build not just robots, but futures—one creative solution at a time.
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