Seniors get ‘real world’ business experience at Entrepreneurial Innovation High School Challenge.
After Worthington Christian seniors Luke Hermiz and Cameron Robinson made their Nocturnal t-shirt sales pitch at the Entrepreneurial Innovation High School Challenge on April 5 at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, it was hard to tell who was more relieved—the two students or Entrepreneurship and Career Development Coordinator Nick Johnson.
“I was probably more nervous than they were,” Johnson said. “While they were practicing, I heard three or four different versions of the same pitch, and I didn’t know which one they were going to go with.
“It’s a little bit funny. Both of those guys are probably not the ones who like to go up front and be energetic, talking in front of people. That’s just not their thing. It takes a certain type of person to step out of their comfort zone, but they were willing to do that.”
According to Hermiz, making a two-minute pitch in front of 400 people and even more people online turned out not to be such a big deal.
“It was a little nerve-wracking before, but to be honest, once you got up there, it was no different than just speaking in front of a classroom with 20 people in it,” Hermiz said. “Thinking about it was definitely more nerve-wracking than actually being up there.”
Hermiz and Robinson were selected over two other student businesses at Worthington Christian to attend the Challenge after pitching their company Nocturnal t-shirts to Principal Tim Kraynak (WC ’94), Director of Teaching and Learning Christina Hoverman, Business & Technology teacher Pam Cain, and Assistant Athletic Director (Middle School) and Boys Health and Physical Education Teacher Kyle Nowak (WC ’14). Nocturnal specializes in oversized weightlifting t-shirts bearing Christian messages.
“Luke and Cameron were passionate about their Christian gym t-shirts, and that passion showed in their presentation,” Cain said. “ Both young men were open to the judges’ feedback and made adjustments to their pitch to better prepare them for presenting at Grand Canyon University.”
Hermiz said Nocturnal provides a Christian alternative wear for those who like to lift weights.
“We call the business Nocturnal because it’s popular right now to lift (weights) late at night,” Hermiz said. “(Sportswear for the) fitness industry can be kind of dark, so we are kind of fitting in by making the shirts black, but our shirts are different because they talk about bringing light into the darkness.”
“A lot of lifting shirts have demons or skulls and crossbones on them,” Johnson added. “They wanted a different vibe of lifting clothes. It’s still going to be like black and white, but it’s going to have Bible verses on it. That way, as soon as you see me, you’re already going to know what I’m about without me saying anything.”
Robinson and Hermiz were able to get exposure to the real world of free enterprise at the Entrepreneurial Innovation High School Challenge thanks to a WC’s Faculty Innovation Grant. The grant, the second FIG given out this year, covered close to the $5,000 needed for airline tickets, hotel rooms, food expenses, and car rental for Johnson, Hermiz, and Robinson.
“If we didn’t have this grant for the students to go out there, honestly, I don’t think anybody would have done it because it was so expensive,” Johnson said.
The Faculty Innovation Grant (FIG) was introduced at the school last fall. According to the grant application, the FIG is available to support faculty innovation through research, academic studies, community development, or educational initiatives to broaden the student experience.
The aim of the FIG program is to enhance the Teaching and Learning objectives at WC. The goal of the grant program is to foster student engagement in the curricular experience, enhance experiential learning, and impact the scholarship of teaching and learning at WCS.
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) reached out to Johnson about the conference last year.
“ACSI has a big STEM competition out there, but this was the first year they added an entrepreneurship component to it,” Johnson said. “I was out at GCU this past January, and I learned about their Shark Tank-style competition. ACSI’s idea was to piggyback off that. Essentially, five college students did their pitches for funding to start their businesses, and then four groups of high schoolers got to practice delivering their pitches after that.
“After I saw their whole program out there, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for my entrepreneurship class. Not only would they be a part of the pitch competition, but they would also be able to talk to some of the college students who are making ridiculous money out there. (They were) able to talk to some of these students who were basically their age and running full-fledged businesses.”
Among the student entrepreneurs the trio met was a freshman who pulled in $300,000 last month while running a business that buys and sells used clothing. Another student was doing well financially after developing a lip balm holder for cars.
The three also observed GCU’s weekly open market on April 4 on the Promenade, when student business leaders sell their wares. Students run coffee shops, make pasta and pizzas, and sell clothing.
“There was even a guy literally selling his advice for a dollar,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I don’t think he made a single sale.
“Sometimes the ideas were big and others were small. Luke and Cameron saw that it takes a certain type of person to step out of their comfort zone. They must have the mindset of wanting to work for themselves and then doing something about it.”
“One of the things I took away from the conference was to keep working and focusing on our ideas,” Hermiz added. “We got to see a lot of people who were just a couple of years older than us that have well-functioning businesses.”
While they were in Phoenix, Hermiz and Robinson received advice from college students who helped them refine their Nocturnal business pitch.
“Students offered them some tips about speaking in front of people,” Johnson said. “One of the biggest ones was even if you mess up or don’t say something you were planning on saying, keep going. The audience doesn’t know what you were going to say. I think that helped them.”
The Faculty Innovation Grant program is completely supported by charitable gifts. If you would like to make a donation, you may do so here.