Teen entrepreneurs to swim with the sharks

The Rams are heading into the Shark Tank.

More than 100 Maricopa High School students comprising 20-30 teams are putting together their business plans to present to local “sharks” for investment opportunities. And it is not just an exercise.

The big event Dec. 10 could result in a real business deal for the young entrepreneurs.

“I honestly believe we are in a new culture here,” said Dan Beach, executive director of the Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE), which is one of the sharks. Instead of young adults growing up wanting to work for the same company for 30 years, they want to start their own company working for themselves under their own business belief system, he said.

“Our investment would be taking on a client just like any other business,” Beach said. Ultimately, a chosen business venture could apply for a business loan.

The students will prepare table presentations, which DECA advisor Bernadette Russoniello likened to “science-fair style.” (DECA is a career and technical student organization). Those projects will be voted on by the students. There will be live voting via phone at the event. Organizers are also working on a live broadcast.

The top five presentations then go into the Maricopa Shark Tank, a format familiar to fans of the television show.

Businesses range wide from concepts in development to “companies” already in business or providing a service. One student designed a landscaping tool, another centered on a video game and still another has a working idea for home makeup parties for women on a budget.

“Some have product ideas and some are using their own hobbies or something that they’re already doing,” Russoniello said.

The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce, Bead & Berry CoffeeHouse, Ace Hardware and InMaricopa.com have also come on board as “sharks” along with MCE.

“We want to do something to help these kids go into business,” Beach said. “The Center wants to be a haven to help.”

“That’s the whole purpose of MCE’s incubator program,” Russoniello said. “It’s free and I don’t think people know that.”

Russoniello tells her students that marketing is the only class that will actually pay them.

“I tell them, ‘You can own a business now. You don’t have to wait until you’re 30 or 40,’” she said. “And they get this look of intrigue. ‘I could?’”

In the Maricopa Shark Tank, if chosen by MCE, the young entrepreneurs could have a year of business counseling, workspace and help applying for a Start-Up Loan ($2,500-$25,000).

If chosen by the Chamber, they would get a one-year membership, which includes an opportunity to display the service or product at a major Chamber event.

Bead & Berry is offering a place to brainstorm and a gift card for coffee or tea “to stimulate inspiration.”

Councilmember Nancy Smith and Pinal County Supervisor Anthony Smith are offering up the grand prize for the audience choice award, which will be announced at the event.

The event will also include Mayor Christian Price and Miss City of Maricopa Sydnee Akers, an alumna of the MHS DECA program.

Shark Tank is 6-8 p.m. Wednesday in the MHS Performing Arts Center.