Students in Start-Up Business Enterprise course met “the sharks” on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, as they pitched their proposals to a panel of working professionals posing as venture capitalists. Modeled after ABC’s reality TV show “Shark Tank,” the event put students’ business acumen to the test.
“In the Start-Up Business Enterprise course, which is really a business simulation, students gain an understanding of what entrepreneurs do,” said Terri Krivosha, adjunct professor and author of “Founding a Startup: What You Need to Know.”
“Students develop group charters which serve as their ‘rules of engagement’, and they work together to develop a business model, including business plans, projections, branding, marketing, division of equity, hiring and compensating their first employee, and governance.”
During the simulation, students made their first pitches for funding.
They presented their projects on teams, pitching business proposals for new phone apps to seven panelists who work as investors in the real world. The panelists represented financial services and securities companies, strategic consulting firms, venture capital firms, healthcare information services, and applied technologies.
The panelists heard the business proposals, asked questions on everything from revenue projections to market exit strategies, and pointed out gaps in the students’ business plans. Panelists heard nine unique proposals, and they told students whether or not they thought each proposal was a viable option.
“It was nerve-racking, but it was interesting in the end,” said second-year student Jungmin Ro, who pitched an app that would suggest food and beverage pairings with her team.
The feedback prompted students to take a closer look at assumptions, market research, and plans for product development—even legal implications for their potential businesses, such as patents and licensing.
“I actually watched an episode of ‘Shark Tank’ before I came here tonight,” said Ro, who wasn’t sure what to expect on stage. “I’m glad it wasn’t quite as intense as it was on the show!”
This is the third year in a row that the Start-Up Business Enterprise course has required students to pitch their proposals to angel investors, but it was the first time the event was held on stage in the William Mitchell Auditorium. The Center for Law and Business even opened the event up to the public, bringing in an audience to watch the budding entrepreneurs in action.