The four entrepreneurs stood before the panel of four "sharks," hopeful that at least one of them would be interested in their startup: Challows, chocolate-covered and jelly-filled marshmallows that they hope to manufacture for 28 cents a piece and sell for four times that amount on the market.
After the entrepreneurs shared their logo, their marketing plan and answered questions about production costs and their potential customers, the sharks were ready to bite. One offered them $1,500 for 20 percent stake in their company. The entrepreneurs seemed to be considering the offer, when another shark made a competing offer, $2,500 for a 20 percent share.
It was a like a scene taken from the popular show "Shark Tank," where aspiring business owners hawk their products before a panel of would-be investors, including entrepreneur Lori Greiner (who has been called the "Queen of QVC") and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. But in this case, the setting was not a television studio, it was a sixth-grade classroom at La Costa Heights Elementary School.
The entrepreneurs were students and the "sharks" were local business owners, many of them Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce members.
Fifth and sixth grade students at the school took part in the five-week educational project, meant to teach them about financial literacy, marketing and public relations, product development and presenting before an audience.
On June 6, the program culminated with the presentations, which featured such products as a lock box to put cell phones in while driving, socks that dry off wet feet as you put them on, a back pack with many partitions and boxes for taking care of smelly shoes.
Principal Leighangela Brady said the program was started last year, and benefited from the knowledge of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee (on which she serves as chairwoman), where it was embraced by many businesses, who saw it as the perfect way to give back to the community.
"Often as a principal, I have to go around the community with my hand out (asking for money)," she said. "With this program, members of the business community can contribute meaningfully by donating their time and expertise."
Toni Padron, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce said the program illustrates how the Education Committee fulfills its mission of working to enhance educational experiences by linking academics and the business community to promote real-world learning projects.
"The Education Committee is all about fostering relationships between our Chamber member businesses and the area's school," Padron said. "These students could ultimately be the region's future business owners, entrepreneurs and employees and businesses can have a hand in developing their early passions and setting them on the right path."
Nick Bradvica, president and co-creator of Marie's Words, a set of cards that illustrate mnemonic devices to help master vocabulary skills, has volunteered with the sharks program both years. This year he visited the school and made a presentation that described how the company was started, and described how new products don't have to necessarily "reinvent the wheel, but they can make the wheel turn faster."
Bradvica said he was impressed with how well the students responded to his presentation.
"They are young, but they're so smart and aware," he said. "They were asking very smart questions and they were interested in how we got started and what our initial steps were," Bradvica said. "We talked about the basics of starting a business."
Brady said one of the interesting aspects of the program is that it was able to reach many students, not just those who have traditionally done well in the classroom.
"The students were all super-excited, and they would talk about their products as if they were real," Brady said. "You could tell that this work was really meaningful to them."
Brady said the ultimate proof of this was that some students spent more than the set aside time on their companies, working on their projects at home.
Joice He, a fifth grader, and her group took part in the competition with the "Breezy Box" a container that deodorizes shoes, their presentation consisting of a light show with glow sticks and fancy costumes. But speaking afterward, she proved that the lesson went beyond the presentation.
"We spent five weeks working on it," she said. "We needed to know everything we could about our product, from the materials we needed to make it, to how we would market it, we needed to persuade the judges to invest in our product."
Brady said that with each passing year, interest in the event keeps growing.
"We've already heard from businesses that say they want to get involved next year,” she said.
The Education Committee meets at 7:30 a.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
After the entrepreneurs shared their logo, their marketing plan and answered questions about production costs and their potential customers, the sharks were ready to bite. One offered them $1,500 for 20 percent stake in their company. The entrepreneurs seemed to be considering the offer, when another shark made a competing offer, $2,500 for a 20 percent share.
It was a like a scene taken from the popular show "Shark Tank," where aspiring business owners hawk their products before a panel of would-be investors, including entrepreneur Lori Greiner (who has been called the "Queen of QVC") and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. But in this case, the setting was not a television studio, it was a sixth-grade classroom at La Costa Heights Elementary School.
The entrepreneurs were students and the "sharks" were local business owners, many of them Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce members.
Fifth and sixth grade students at the school took part in the five-week educational project, meant to teach them about financial literacy, marketing and public relations, product development and presenting before an audience.
On June 6, the program culminated with the presentations, which featured such products as a lock box to put cell phones in while driving, socks that dry off wet feet as you put them on, a back pack with many partitions and boxes for taking care of smelly shoes.
Principal Leighangela Brady said the program was started last year, and benefited from the knowledge of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee (on which she serves as chairwoman), where it was embraced by many businesses, who saw it as the perfect way to give back to the community.
"Often as a principal, I have to go around the community with my hand out (asking for money)," she said. "With this program, members of the business community can contribute meaningfully by donating their time and expertise."
Toni Padron, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce said the program illustrates how the Education Committee fulfills its mission of working to enhance educational experiences by linking academics and the business community to promote real-world learning projects.
"The Education Committee is all about fostering relationships between our Chamber member businesses and the area's school," Padron said. "These students could ultimately be the region's future business owners, entrepreneurs and employees and businesses can have a hand in developing their early passions and setting them on the right path."
Nick Bradvica, president and co-creator of Marie's Words, a set of cards that illustrate mnemonic devices to help master vocabulary skills, has volunteered with the sharks program both years. This year he visited the school and made a presentation that described how the company was started, and described how new products don't have to necessarily "reinvent the wheel, but they can make the wheel turn faster."
Bradvica said he was impressed with how well the students responded to his presentation.
"They are young, but they're so smart and aware," he said. "They were asking very smart questions and they were interested in how we got started and what our initial steps were," Bradvica said. "We talked about the basics of starting a business."
Brady said one of the interesting aspects of the program is that it was able to reach many students, not just those who have traditionally done well in the classroom.
"The students were all super-excited, and they would talk about their products as if they were real," Brady said. "You could tell that this work was really meaningful to them."
Brady said the ultimate proof of this was that some students spent more than the set aside time on their companies, working on their projects at home.
Joice He, a fifth grader, and her group took part in the competition with the "Breezy Box" a container that deodorizes shoes, their presentation consisting of a light show with glow sticks and fancy costumes. But speaking afterward, she proved that the lesson went beyond the presentation.
"We spent five weeks working on it," she said. "We needed to know everything we could about our product, from the materials we needed to make it, to how we would market it, we needed to persuade the judges to invest in our product."
Brady said that with each passing year, interest in the event keeps growing.
"We've already heard from businesses that say they want to get involved next year,” she said.
The Education Committee meets at 7:30 a.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 28.