CHS Entrepreneur Contest
Clarinda High School TAG/Business students competed in a marketing contest that was held Wednesday, October 28, at IWCC in Council Bluffs. Mrs. Carper is their sponsor. The following article appeared in the Council Bluffs Daily NonPareil newspaper:
Standing before a crowd of about 150 people, Samuel Baldwin, Cody Dupre, Chaseton Reed and Brett Robberts presented their idea: a solar backpack that charges phones and other electronic devices. The high school students made their pitch at the third annual Minding My Own Business event at Iowa Western Community College, sponsored by the campus’ Small Business Development Center. “It’s not easy to create an idea right off the bat. We spent most of the day coming up with the idea,” said Baldwin, a junior at Clarinda High School. “We threw out a bunch of ideas before settling on the backpack.” The event drew about 120 students from seven area high schools – Woodbine, Sidney, Shenandoah, Clarinda, Kanesville, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. After a morning keynote address on entrepreneurship and making a business pitch, the students were separated into small groups, diversified by school. “They don’t like to be out of their comfort zone,” Jennifer Kalstrup said of the groupings. “But they tend to come up with better ideas that way.” Kalstrup is the assistant director of the Small Business Development Center, which serves seven southwest Iowa counties. Along with the keynote address, the students learned more about making a pitch at workshops, then spent about an hour preparing to take their idea to the outside world. “These are the future entrepreneurs of this area. We want to show this is attainable for them,” Kalstrup said. The teams made their pitches in classrooms and the auditorium in Looft Hall, with volunteers, teachers and advisors judging the presentations. The students had to detail an idea for a business or invention, explain what the problem being solved is, who the business serves, start-up costs, marketing, revenue and more.
“It’s fun to make your own product,” said Storm Howard, a freshman from Clarinda, about his team’s idea: technology that eliminates blind spots in vehicles. Added fellow group member and Clarinda junior Carlton Rahn: “It’s been great meeting new people and making new friends.”
Lauren Tunnicliff noted meeting new and interesting people was a big plus. “It’s not like your average classroom,” the Clarinda freshman said.
Three finalists advanced to make one last pitch in the auditorium, to all attendees. With Baldwin leading the way, the solar backpack – Solarpack – team won first place. Robberts is Clarinda freshman, while Dupre is a sophomore and Reed a junior at Sidney High School.
“We’ve learned about how to start a business,” Baldwin said.
Added Dupre: “It’s been a lot of fun.”