VIRGINIA BEACH, Va .— The Entrepreneurship and Business Academy at Kempsville High School held a special Pitch Night for students.
It was a "Shark Tank"-style pitch complete with celebrity judges.
Student teams presented their business concepts before a panel of industry experts that included Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Kempsville High School alum and music producer Chad Hugo.
The students competed while also asking for funding for the specific amount of money they would need in order to launch their business.
At Tuesday's Pitch Night, students from the high school’s Entrepreneurship and Business Class presented their products and ideas.
The sophomore students entered the class in September and formed teams, and they have been working on developing their businesses since then.
Some of the pitches included Orcasunn, an environmentally friendly and organic sunscreen; Beauty Perfection, a company specializing in hair products and tools; and Port Power, a multipurpose portable charging port.
The teams even asked for funding at the end of their pitches, asking for an amount that would help them launch their companies while judges listened in and offered some advice for other students thinking about competing in the future.
“Just don’t give up. If they have a dream, to go for it because this took a long time. Our group went through a lot to get here,” said Jada Watts from Beauty Perfection, "and I just don’t want anybody to lose hope if they’re trying to do something.”
“Just like any team with multiple members, we’re going to have challenges, have disagreements - that’s common,” said Piper Van Gorder, part of Port Power’s team. “But what I found to be helpful - and all of the other students as well - is to have good communication, strong communication can be super helpful when we’re working out problems.”
The event was hosted by hotelier and developer Bruce Thompson.
He also donated a total of $25,000 to be given away to the students.
