Arizona Teen Starts Business to Better Serve Supply Needs in Schools

Cooper Weissman Dynamic Purchasing Solutions Teen Businessman

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 29, 05:58 am

Photo: (Photo : DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

One Arizona teen took the experiences he gathered in high school government and successfully turned them into his own business, and it is now attracting a lot of attention in the state, according to Local Today.

Cooper Weissman is not your ordinary high school student. The Valley high schooler has already accomplished much in his young life, including advocating for more financial literacy for children and founding a blockchain development company.

Weissman also started a company that offers schools a new way to purchase their supplies, and he got this great idea from his time in student government. He explained that they have a lot of student government funding from planning events and making a profit, but they are very restricted in how they can use those funds.

Weissman finds a way to get around the red tape

Weissman said that is because schools in Arizona have a restrictive list of approved vendors, whether purchasing supplies for the front office or buying decorations for a dance.

He added that list of approved vendors was only set up to accommodate basic school supplies like pencils and paper. Weissman noted that whenever clubs or schools needed something, there was no one-stop-shop, all-encompassing vendor to meet those needs.

Weissman turned this problem into an opportunity. He managed to get around the red tape, starting his own company that is called Dynamic Purchasing Solutions. He said they got approved by that vendor list, so any club or school in the district can go to Dynamic Purchasing Solutions. He added that they could then go to other businesses, buy the schools' products, and ship them directly to them.

Weissman's company essentially operates as an intermediary between otherwise unapproved vendors and the schools. This gives the schools more freedom to purchase the needed supplies.

Program has expanded to 43 schools

Word about the teen's innovative program spread before long, and other Arizona schools have also become interested. Weissman said that they have expanded to 43 schools. He added that there tend to be around 50 clubs at each school, and they are quickly growing in that market.

Weissman was the one who handled the orders and invoices when things started. He now has hired two interns from his high school with the company and its operations growing. Weissman needs all the help he can get with college life on the horizon for him.

He told KTAR that he could focus on building the long-term plan for the company. He noted that as he moves into college, he will continue to have that role, and if the business continues to expand, he expects to take on more employees.