Mr. Adams has been teaching Entrepreneurship for over six years and has annually introduced the well-known “Shark Tank” project to his students. At the beginning of each trimester, students were introduced to the “Shark Tank” project, which involved creating a business from the ground up. To ensure their success, Mr. Adams guided them through essential steps. Students developed a business plan that covered their business concept, problem/solution, key components for success, competitive advantage, SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), logo, business card, website, business type, revenue projections, startup costs, profit margins, and their pitch for $2,500 in exchange for 10% of their company’s earnings for the year. Students worked diligently to create the best possible business, but only a select few were chosen to compete in the “Shark Tank” event.
Throughout the three trimesters, a total of 12 businesses were selected to participate in “Shark Tank.”Mrs. Dunican, Mrs. Amy Smith, and Ms.Gigi Hall, a Ben’s Pretzels franchise owner and an impersonators clothing business owner, respectively, judged the competition, offering valuable feedback on how students could enhance their businesses. When asked about her “Shark Tank” experience, Ashlynn shared, “The shark tank assignment is an assignment where you had to be able to accurately make a business/company with a logo, accurate pricing and statistics, it took time to be able to calculate the correct information and design what your business would look like. Along with making your own website. Then you would have to present to the judges who would then counter-offer your offer or take the deal or not. It's learning about how to manage business, money, time, socializing in marketing, and things like that.
My partner, Eileen, and I did our own presentation in the first trimester of our 8th grade year. We were able to decide to be partners with each other and she likes baking and so did I and so we made Lovelessy Cuisine. It's a business that gives customers access to healthy foods and dietary bundles according to their allergies, diets or restrictions. We had to present the information about our business including, finances, payments, understanding of the health precautions, and during the original presentation we would have to make a product for the judges to taste since we were able to show a product. It took a lot of dedication to put forth the business idea and correct information in order to get a good grade and become a finalist but it did teach us a lot of independence and marketing.
The winners are determined by accuracy in statistical information and how well you portrayed your business. Along with if you were able to accurately display your work/business without errors.
Being able to participate in Shark Tank is a very welcoming opportunity just overall. It's a wonderful experience as you get to portray your business that you made with a friend or by yourself and it just overall prepares you for if you were to do this in the future. I also learned that by going into Shark Tank it has helped me learn to become independent, look from different perspectives, know how to connect to the audience, public speaking, and helps prepare you for much more leadership roles.”
A huge thank you to Mr. Adams and all our dedicated 8th grade students for an incredible “Shark Tank” experience!