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Picture of Advanced Lanyard group from the AISG Shark Tank
Shark Tank: a 2009 reality TV show that gave entrepreneurs the chance to make their business dreams come true by presenting their ideas to the 5 “sharks,” who are all titans of the industry.
This year, our Business and Entrepreneur clubs hosted their very own AISG Shark Tank on November 1st, 2024. “We [offered] students’ various workshops that [introduced] fundamental business concepts and [provided] examples of business plans. Students [used] these resources to develop their own ideas, which they [submitted] for review. From there, we [selected] the best ideas to move forward into the final elimination rounds. In the final stage, the top entries [were evaluated] , with prizes awarded to the winners—most notably, a 2500 RMB prize for the top idea to help them continue developing their business plan,” says Grade 12 students Aimee Z. and Sherry W, the coordinators for Business Club.
The AISG Shark Tank “sharks” were all members of our community. “The panel of judges (was) composed of a diverse group, including students taking business management and economics, teachers, and parent assistants. We selected judges who have a strong understanding of business and entrepreneurship,” says the coordinators.
According to the coordinators, the aim of this contest was to allow participants to get a taste of the world of entrepreneurship. The clubs hosting this event wanted to give students a chance to develop their creative business ideas, to teach them how to pitch these ideas, and other hands-on experiences that hopefully will help them grow as an entrepreneur. Says Mr. Ron, the business management teacher at AISG.
In addition, this event provided students—judges, hosts, etc.—an opportunity to apply their knowledge from their classes into a realistic situation. This allowed students to not only be recognized, but also motivated for the younger participants who participated.
“For students, this is a fantastic networking opportunity that could potentially lead to further mentorship or career opportunities in the future…It challenges them to develop solutions that could potentially make an impact on society. Moreover, the event helps students build confidence, especially in public speaking and pitching. Presenting their ideas in front of an audience is a great way to boost their self-assurance, a skill that will benefit them in various aspects of life,” says Mr. Ron, who believes that the AISG Shark Tank benefits students, not only for business studies but for all aspects of school and life.
Grade 6 students Whale L. and Patrick C. were the winners of the AISG Shark Tank. Their idea was InstaBlend, their own version of a blender. The InstaBlend was powered by parts of an egg spinner, a dumpling machine, a few blades, and a toy spinner.
“Our inspiration came from looking at the 2 blenders in our houses. We noticed many problems: one they were very loud they annoyed everyone in the apartment, and they were big and heavy. So, I, as team captain, decided to look for a solution by finding some of the machines mentioned above. We took them apart and pieced together our Frankenstein of engineering,” says Whale.
He also describes this experience as extremely valuable. “I learned that you need to be prepared, and you [can never be] prepared enough,” he says, “like before I was about to go up on stage to pitch my product InstaBlend, me and my teammate Patrick practiced our pitch one last time, fixing some issues we would have never caught if we hadn’t practiced that one last time. And if we never found those issues we would be stuck on stage wondering what we were talking about. That is what I think is the most important thing that I have learned and that I will be able to apply into my life and future competitions like shark tank.”
Grade 12 student Arielle L. also participated in this contest. She developed an AI-based note subscription website specifically designed for IB and MYP students. She says that this idea came from her own struggles with finding information tailored to her IBDP courses online. Arielle also found this experience valuable, she says, “Through this opportunity I was able to gain a hands on experience into the world of business, I also was able to work on my speaking skills as I had to present a business pitch in front of an audience.”
Despite it being a new event, the organizers of the AISG Shark Tank plan to continue this in the future. “We hope to expand this competition in the future by involving more students and inviting successful entrepreneurs to participate as guest speakers or mentors. We also aim to organize group discussions and mini lectures to further enrich the learning experience for all participants,” says the coordinators from Business Club.
The AISG Shark Tank proved to be a rewarding experience for both participants and organizers, allowing them to experience both the excitement and challenges of entrepreneurship. This event not only showcased innovative ideas like InstaBlend but also served as an inspiration for aspiring business students. With plans to expand and continue the competition, the AISG Shark Tank is set to continue inspiring young entrepreneurs, teaching them essential skills, and creating a culture of creativity within the school.
(Please contact romadat@aisgz.org for more information)
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