Summit Middle Schooler Launches into World of Business

When Anna Tselevich was three years old her parents got a new refrigerator. Anna immediately set her eyes on the huge cardboard box that it came in. The eighth grader at the recounted how she kept looking over at the box, as it laid on the living room floor.

"It was so tempting," she remembered.

Anna started to decorate the box and made it into a sort of playhouse. But after a few days the box fell apart.

Four years later, Anna still hadn't forgotten about that cardboard box. And then she had an epiphany.

"Wouldn't it be great if there was a box that would last you a while and you could draw on?" she said.

And that's when then the idea was born for Box-O-Mania - a plastic box that kids can draw on, put stickers on and it never falls apart.

At only seven years old, Anna and her father Max Tselevich started to put a business plan into action. The culmination of all their hard work was achieved when Anna showed her invention this week at the American International Toy Fair at the Javits Center in Manhattan.  

"It's a sense of a great accomplishment," Anna said, as she stood beaming next to her Box-O-Mania houses.

The Box-O-Mania houses come in three different types - the red firehouse called Firestation No. 7, the pink beauty shop called Le Petit Salon and the traditional white and brick-roofed house called My Place.

The boxes, which have interior spaces of about 14 square feet, are held together by velcro and are easy to assemble. Kids can use markers to draw on the houses, can wipe it off and then draw again. Each house also comes with various large, removable stickers than can be placed all over the cardboard box. The boxes are made of 100 percent recyclable material and can be used inside or outdoors.

So as Anna balances not only her homework at Summit Middle School, she's also helping her father run the business. She does Skype conference calls every week with her management and product teams in Los Angeles. She works on marketing, design and product improvement. All changes in the design go by her.

"It's going to prepare me for the real world," Anna said.

Her father, Max, said the thought of what his daughter is doing and how proud he is of her almost brings him to tears. Max is himself an entrepreneur, having started several businesses, but he said Box-O-Mania is "closest to my heart."

Max said he believes his own interest in business may have influenced Anna. He said when Anna was very young she would come to the office with him and make playhouses and would tell him, "I'm in the business."

"The older she got the more she started talking about the box just for kids," Max said.

He told Anna she needed what's called a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Max said Anna went onto Google, found out what a USP is and came up with Box-O-Mania.  

More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the American International Toy Fair this week. Many of them are buyers looking for the next best toy and things they may want to sell in their stores.  

Another selling point Anna has is the fact that 10-15 percent of her profits will go to Hope and Homes for Children - a charity that helps children and their families across Central and Eastern Europe and Africa.

The Box-O-Mania houses are priced from $89.95. The stickers are $22.95. You can find the boxes at various online retailers. For more information go to www.boxomania.com or call 1-888-543-2696.