Bauer’s Take on Shark Tank
High School Students Participate in Think Tank Business Plan Competition
Houston-area high school students put their entrepreneurial skills to the test recently by participating in Bauer College’s annual Think Tank business plan competition.
Hosted by the college’s No. 1 ranked Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and Undergraduate Business Programs, students spend months preparing their business pitches prior to presenting their ideas.
At the start of the competition, 22 student teams set up booths for their businesses, structured similarly to a science fair. After an initial round of judging, the top five teams present on stage in front of a new set of judges.
“It’s like the high school version of Shark Tank,” Program Director of Special Projects Natalia Lara (BBA ‘12) said. “It is a great opportunity for high school students who are running a business or have innovative idea to start a business to have a platform to present it.”
This semester, the top three placing teams received cash prizes for their businesses. First place won $3,000, second place won $2,000, and third place won $1,000. All three of this year's winning businesses were already in revenue.
First Place – Elkins Very Own (EVO)
Elkins High School
Second Place – Anthos
The Village School
Third Place – Overpass
Deer Park High School
Wolff Center alumni and members from the Downtown Rotary Club of Houston served as judges. During the competition, current Wolff Center students coach and mentor high school participants.
Wolff Center Executive Director David Cook said Think Tank is an example of how Bauer College serves the Houston business community and the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“We get to have another dimension of relationships with our alumni, and it’s a good way to build up the community,” Cook said. “This event melds a bunch of different interests, so I thought it was hugely successful.”
For some high school students, this competition makes a lasting impression of the Wolff Center. Program Director of Community Outreach Danna Ceron said past participants have fallen in love with the entrepreneurship program through the event and later became Wolff Center students while in college.
“We want them to be on campus, get to experience working with our students and hear more about what the Wolff center is doing in hopes that they will want to be a student here someday,” Ceron said.
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