Student entrepreneurs pitch startups ‘Shark Tank’-style
Trending
Sixteen students representing 14 different startup businesses pitched their ideas to a panel of Blair County business leaders during the annual Young Entrepreneur Academy event Tuesday night.
The event, held at the Devorris Downtown Center, was the culmination of 25 weeks of work by the students -- who represent high schools across Blair County -- to develop and launch their own business ventures with the help of a rotating cast of mentors.
The approximately 100-plus crowd in the auditorium heard presentations detailing clothing brands, golf ball retrieval services, digital marketing firms and performance sports drinks, among others, before the "sharks" decide who would receive their coveted investment capital.
Representing a who's who of the Altoona business community, the panel of investors included Sheetz CEO Travis Sheetz; Leonard Fiore III of Fiore construction; Adam Ward, vice president of Strategic Development at Ward Transport; and Joe Keller, president of Keller Engineers.
The young entrepreneurs had just five minutes to present their proposals -- with Mayor Matt Pacifico giving the one-minute warning -- before facing a round of questioning from the sharks.
UPMC foundation president Tim Balconi represented the nonprofit health care powerhouse for its eighth year on the investor panel.
"The hospital spends a lot of resources every year to sponsor community events, and we're particularly interested in anything that involves our young workforce," Balconi said, "and this is just the perfect venue for that."
Balconi added that UPMC, as well as he personally, strongly believes in YEA's mission. Over the years, Balconi has seen dozens of student pitches, but his assessment criteria has remained consistent.
"We're really looking for the ability to look the audience in the eye and communicate," Balconi said -- especially because an effective delivery is almost as important as the proposal itself.
Balconi said he calls this quality "being a salesperson for your ideas."
Additionally, Balconi said he intends to return to the panel next year.
"We're very committed to this and what it means to the kids," Balconi said.
Hollidaysburg Area Senior High sophomore William Zhu won the "best pitch presentation" distinction from the investor panel and received the joint-highest funding total of $4,200 for his chemistry education company TitraTech, giving him a ticket to present at the YEA regional competition in June.
John Bauman and Cristian White's athlete-focused sport drink company Calibrate came as the runner-up, with $4,200 awarded by the sharks.
Zhu's product is a simulation tool to give remote-learning students a hands-on representation of a chemistry lab experience.
According to Zhu, the inspiration for TitraTech came during quarantine-necessitated remote learning.
"The teachings for labs that occurred during (the COVID-19 pandemic) were simply done solely through students clicking items on their screens with their mouses; this fails to cover any true experience," Zhu said. "After the student's training, most don't even know how to operate basic (lab) equipment."
Zhu utilized 3D printing tech to make a mock-up of his lab simulation model, which he said he hopes will offer students an improved "hands-on practical experience."
"I discussed my idea with different professors and teachers, and they all thought it was an amazing idea and that they would buy it once complete," Zhu said.
And although he had confidence in his product, Zhu said his success at the pitch event came as a pleasant surprise.
"I genuinely did not expect to get top three or anything, and I ended up winning," Zhu said.
Preparing to face the sharks was a major consideration for Zhu.
"I rehearsed (my pitch) probably two dozen times, like several hours doing it," Zhu said, "but the moment I got up there I couldn't think, I just did it."
And now, with the fresh investor capital in hand, Zhu has ambitious plans for the future of TitraTech.
"I want to grow my business outward," Zhu said. "I plan on scaling this up, not just hundreds of units, but thousands of units, and just try to make it a big company."
Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.