Edwardsville CEO program Fish Tank shows student business ideas - The Edwardsville Intelligencer

EDWARDSVILLE — Young entrepreneurs from the Edwardsville area had the opportunity to display their business acumen Friday morning.

The Edwardsville CEO program held its fifth annual Fish Tank business pitch competition at The Outlet Event Center at Edison's Entertainment Complex. Twenty-three seniors from Edwardsville High School, Father McGivney and Metro-East Lutheran presented for the products or services they created.

Fish Tank is held in conjunction with the Edwardsville CEO Trade Show, which will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, at The Ink House in Edwardsville. That's when the public gets its chance to see the students' businesses.

"Fish Tank is the culmination of everything these students have been working on since the beginning of the school year," Edwardsville CEO Program Director Hannah Allison said. "We're fortunate to have Doug Villhard, who is the academic director for entrepreneurship at Washington University, as a repeat guest speaker several times throughout the year.

See the Edwardsville CEO students' ventures from 12 to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at The Ink House, 117 N. Second St., Edwardsville.

"Doug does a series of lectures and workshops with our students to help them develop their individual business venture. Today is the day where all those pieces are coming together," Allison added.

"Fish Tank prepares them to showcase and launch their business ventures to the community at Trade Show in a couple of weeks."

Each student was allowed a three-minute presentation to talk about their product or service, followed by two minutes for the judges to ask questions.

"A lot of time and energy has gone into this. What students presented in five minutes today has taken them many months of planning," Allison said. "Every year, it is incredibly impressive to watch our high school seniors balance everything they have going on their final year of high school with being able to develop and launch an individual business venture.

"Not only are they developing this individual business, but they also need to have public speaking skills to deliver it. A huge part of our program is working on those communication skills and being able to have a one-on-one conversation and stand in front of a group of people and confidently present yourself."

The first half of the Fish Tank presentation started at 7:15 a.m. with pitches by 12 students:

• Olivia Gray — Cake Explosion
• Tanner Garner — Dog Walker's Dream
• Katie Gilbertson — Clay Crusher Course
• Livia Budwell — Just Breathe Bands
• Emma Bukovac — The Buddy System
• Ella Feldmann — STEM Creations
• Sophia Ivnik — The Time Out Athletic Park
• Carter McMillian — Ready Ride
• Rhiannon LaZella — Rhi-purposed Paper
• Sophia Ball — Urbane Herbs
• Mariam Amer — Baklovea
• Drew Bagby — Drew's Design and Décor

After a brief intermission, 11 more students made their pitches, including:

• Emma Martinez — Taste of Miami
• Ashton Mersinger — Shoe Renew
• Avarie Schwartz — Graze and Gather
• Brooke Wade — Chexedo Dreams
• Ellie Antonini — Art by Tini
• Emma Lorenz — Period Pack
• Madison Deck — Mad Kimchi
• Mae Klusas — The Simplified Life
• Caroline Marcus — The Ville Style
• Mallori Dempsey — Rose Photography
• Taylor Heberer — Biscuits for a Buddy

Three students in the class of 2023 were unable to attend the competition but have been hard at work on their businesses and pitched behind-the-scenes:

• Natalie Blair — Blue Heart Jewelry
• Samuel Chouinard — Lux
• Zoë Byron — Cases for a Cause

Winners tough to choose

After considerable discussion, the judges named the top three finishers, with EHS senior Avarie Schwartz claiming the $300 first-place prize for Graze and Gather.

EHS senior Livia Budwell claimed the $200 second-place prize for Just Breathe Bands, and FMCHS senior Katie Gilbertson took the $100 third-place prize for Clay Crusher Course.

Schwartz's Graze and Gather is a charcuterie board in a box.

"I have three or four meats and cheeses and some fun fruits and jellies and jams," Schwartz said. "I thought it would be a fun way to express my creativity through food. It's like making art on a plate and it's fun."

The Graze and Gather box, complete with a bow, is as much a part of the visual presentation as the charcuterie board itself.

"Through my customer discovery, I learned that people are willing to pay more for something that looks great," Schwartz said. "It's really important and it adds to the appeal."

Schwartz used consumer feedback to fine-tune her product.

"I made several boards for people, and I even made one for the CEO class," Schwartz said. "They told me what they liked and what they didn't like and what I should change."

Schwartz plans to attend Auburn University, where she will major in electrical and computer engineering. She hopes to continue the business while in college.

Budwell, meanwhile, used her own experiences to create Just Breathe Bands.

"The Just Breathe Band is a discreet fidget paired with a breathing exercise to help students collect their focus when they need it," Budwell said. "In a classroom setting with a ton of individually brain-wired students all expected to learn under one environment, focus is hard. This is designed to help gain your focus and learn better and be more productive.

"I personally struggle with anxiety, and I also struggle with focus in the classroom. I was with my younger brother, who is 16 years old, and he was talking about his struggles and how he didn't want to wear fidget jewelry.

"So, I decided to create a product that could help a student gain focus and have it travel throughout the entire day with them without being jewelry dependent."

As with the other CEO students, Budwell did some experimentation before arriving at the final design for her product. The importance of seeking customer feedback is a key component of their series with Villhard.

"I had no clue about how I was going to make my product fidgetable and I didn't know if it was going to be Velcro or something else," Budwell said. "I was fidgeting in class with a magnet, and I thought 'this is great.'

"It's quiet and I was able to learn that magnets were effective. I made them silent and that's how I decided to make the Just Breathe Band."

Budwell plans to attend Lewis and Clark Community College for the fall semester and then transfer to Florida Gulf University in Fort Myers, Fla., where she wants to major in business and psychology.

Gilbertson, likewise, looked to something she was familiar with in creating Clay Crusher Course, which offers trap shooting lessons for people of all skill levels from age 9 and up.

"It was my push for something I'm passionate about. I want to get people to learn and love the sport and have them learn some shotgun skill and safety things," Gilbertson said.

"I'm a competitive trap shooter and I have some credibility and success in it, and I want to grow the sport. There is a lack of youth shooters nationally although it's growing locally."

The "go with what you know" philosophy proved useful for Gilbertson when she was deciding which product or service to offer for the Edwardsville CEO program.

"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I knew that if I did a business, I wanted to do something I enjoy so I would have the passion to continue it," Gilbertson said. "A lot of people that I brought the idea to think it's unique and fun."

Gilbertson plans to attend Missouri State University, where she will major in early childhood education and development. She also plans to shoot on the recreational club trap team.

Time constraints

One of the biggest challenges for the 23 students was condensing information about their product into a three-minute pitch for the judges.

"There is so much information that you can present and it's hard to narrow it down," Schwartz said. "It's fun to talk about your business when it's something you love, and three minutes is not enough. I can talk about this all day."

Budwell said, "Initially my pitch was 25 to 30 minutes, so I had to dial it down and shave it down and keep making it more concise. It's not about how long you're talking, it's about what you say."

Gilbertson added, "There is so much you want to bring in and let people know about your product, but the time crunch is so stressful. But it's good because it teaches you to bring out the key points and bring in your customer in three minutes."

As always, Allison was impressed by the variety of products and services that the students created.

"The biggest thing that Doug (Villhard) teaches them is that you must start with a customer problem, and too often businesses focus on the solution before the problem," Allison said. "The students spend a lot of time diving into their potential market and finding the problems that exist for people and how they can find a unique solution.

"That's how we end up with this variability of products, from shoe cleaning kits to baklava."

The five Fish Tank judges this year were:

• Matt McSparin, president/CEO, Edison's Entertainment Complex
• Jo Ann Di Maggio May, director, SIUE Small Business Development Center
• Steve Cooper, division president, First Mid Bank & Trust
• Timothy S. Schoenecker, Ph.D., dean, SIUE School of Business
• Veronica Ambuehl, VP and executive director of client services, BAM marketing

"Our judges are incredible. On top of their busy schedules, they are willing to donate their time and energy to help our students," Allison said. "Jo Ann, Steve, and Tim have been judging every competition for the last five years, which is incredible.

"Veronica was a first-time judge this year and was fantastic! To have Matt McSparin not only donate his time and return as a judge but also to donate the facility and supply breakfast for our event was just over-the-top generous.

"Just another example of what an incredibly supportive community we have the pleasure of living in," she said.

The next step for the Edwardsville CEO students is to sell and market products at the April 30 trade show at The Ink House.

"Trade show is such a fun event! Not only is it free and open to the public, but our students are also coached on how to develop a creative, interactive booth experience for our guests," Allison said. "Kristen Pfund generously opens the doors to The Ink House for us each year and allows our students a beautiful space to showcase their hard work!

"We are also excited to welcome back Sneaky's Food Truck who will be selling their delicious burgers for guests to enjoy while they shop," she added.

"We also have our CEO Appreciation Breakfast on Tuesday, May 2, back here at The Outlet," Allison said. "In CEO, the community is our classroom, so each year, we invite all those who have contributed to the program to hear fun updates and enjoy a delicious meal as a small way of saying, 'Thank you!'

"We'll also have a brand-new CEO promo video highlighting how the community has been impacted by our students, filmed and directed by one of our very own alumni, Trevor Lovatto."

Edwardsville CEO Board President Marc Voegele served as the emcee for Fish Tank.

"Marc is the reason why we have Edwardsville CEO in this area," Allison said. "He was one of the founding board members and has been with us since the beginning."

For more information about Edwardsville CEO, the Trade Show or the upcoming appreciation breakfast, or to read more about students' individual businesses, go to www.edwardsvilleceo.com or visit the Edwardsville CEO Facebook page.

Allison can be reached via email at facilitator@edwardsvilleceo.com.