Written By: Addie
Edited By: Lia
Visuals By: Rei
On Tuesday, April 14, all Grade 11 IB Business Management students gathered in the Little Theater for the annual Entrepreneurship Competition, turning the space into a hub of creative ideas and pitches. The juniors involved were given time off from their regular classes to focus on developing and presenting their projects.
First introduced in 2016, the competition challenges students to develop a business idea from scratch, typically focused on solving a social or environmental issue. Since the first semester, 33 groups (of 2 to 3 people) worked on market research, branding, financial planning, and pitch preparation before presenting their final ideas to a panel of judges.
This year’s winning team, Jackson, Julian, and Jaleb, presented SkillLift, a low-cost, short-term vocational training program designed to address unemployment and underemployment and tackle the shortage of semi-skilled and skilled laborers in the construction industry.
Business Management teacher Mr. Kowalski emphasized the value of the event, explaining that this competition is designed to give students hands-on experience. He states, “It’s always nice to see the judges impressed by what the students are doing.”
For many participants, the competition highlighted how different aspects of business are interconnected. “It really made me think about how in business, everything is connected,” shared Maica. “If you only have the finance, how are you going to promote your business? If you only have the marketing, how are you going to maintain your business?”
Overall, the Entrepreneurship Competition gave students the valuable opportunity to step into the world of business. Win or lose, every student walked away with skills and experiences that were far more important than the final results.
