Grade 7 and 8 students at George Freeman School had been busy creating, innovating and designing, all in preparation for the finale of their culminating Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) activity: a two-day Entrepreneur Showcase. Students were grouped into teams, each responsible for developing their own unique products and business plans, and for pitching their ideas to a panel of community investors, 80% of whom are local business owners. With the investment capital they received, each team was then challenged to really put their product and entrepreneurship skills to the test by selling their product to their peers, family and community members.
Connecting to Form Community Partnerships
The students worked in collaborative teams of 3-5, with each member contributing in a jigsaw fashion. Sections of the project were completed individually and then refined by a group effort for the final product. As part of their work, each team composed persuasive sales pitches for their product, much like those seen on shows like Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank. For their pitches, students were required to consider the demographics of their target market, suggest pricing, create a marketing and advertising plan for their product, and, the hardest part, request investment capital. With the capital they received from their newly established investment partnerships with local investors, students were given one week to prepare tangible inventory to be sold to community members at a school-organized market.
Contributing Back to the Community
To help students understand the importance of giving back to the community, all of the money raised, through investment partnerships and profits from the market, was donated to a local charity selected by each group. The highest overall profit, at over $500, went to the “Golden Ghost Chocolate Company”. As an added bonus, one of the groups was asked to showcase their product at the local business that partnered with them.
