On September 19, students taking Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation faced a monumental task on a field trip to the Advanced Technology Center (ATC): pitching a business idea to investors with real money on the line. This was one of many first-hand looks the students have had in the business world and a pivotal moment for the newly-founded class company. Out of the 11 other schools that presented its product idea and business strategy, Princess Anne was announced as the top school for its button startup, PA Pins.

PA Pins is a cooperative project of students from the Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation class who share an interest in business and innovation. The class company allocates leadership roles to students like CEO and Vice President, while others work together in departments like Sales, Marketing, and Human Resources. After completing the day’s coursework in Advanced Entrepreneurship, students run the operations of PA Pins.

Senior Jayden Blackman, the Vice President of the company, says he wanted to “take one more step up” after taking Fashion Marketing last year, one of the required preliminary courses for Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He explained that he “wanted to get into entrepreneurship” and thought that the class was the “perfect way to do it.”

The class’s teacher, Lisa Burkett, has 36 years of experience working in the business world, and she says that her knowledge of the field allows her to “relate to the curriculum.” In addition, she believes she can put a “reality spin” on the class by emphasizing the ideas from her career experience that are “still very relevant”. Burkett says PA Pins is “always brought up” when discussing topics learned in class, and students use what they learn to advance through the steps of creating a successful business. 

For example, students learn important concepts of business and running a company. Burkett said one such big idea from the class was that small businesses are “the backbone of America.” She defined some of the questions answered by the course’s content, like “How do you become an entrepreneur?” and “If you have an idea, what do you do with it?” In addition, students have assignments that cover real-life examples of successful businesses and entrepreneurs. Recently, students researched and created presentations around famous marketing campaigns throughout history. 

According to senior Sales Representative junior Kim Tran, the class chose decorative pins as a product to market because they “wanted to do something that could include everyone.” But, Tran says there are still some steps to take before the pins become available for purchase at Princess Anne. “We have to figure out who we’re gonna sell [the pins] to. Right now, we’re just doing posters and figuring out who to target. I think our next step is just bringing the word out there,” added Tran. 

According to Burkett, the class company faces “fixed costs” in producing and advertising the pins, which include “the button machine, paper, ink, and the actual buttons.” These costs necessitated the need for a convincing presentation so the class company could secure some financial backing. The class chose four speakers to present to investors, and prepared for their pitch by practicing their presentation and anticipating the possible questions that could be asked by judges, who were local business owners and entrepreneurs. 

Eventually, the class traveled to ATC, on the Tidewater Community College Virginia Beach campus, for an event hosted by Junior Achievement, a program that encourages high schooler interest in business and helps students develop entrepreneurial skills. The field trip included the company’s presentation, along with opportunities to meet with professionals from the business world. Blackman described it as “really fun,” explaining that “there was free food, and we got to learn from marketers and entrepreneurs around the city.” But stakes were high for the participating teams, like PA Pins. Burkett described the experience as being “like Shark Tank,” adding that “just because you have an idea, that doesn’t mean they’re gonna give you money to do it.” 

After 12 company presentations from several different schools, including Kempsville High School’s business academy, the judges announced the winner of the Presidents Award, which is given every year to the team with the best business pitch. This year, the award was won by Princess Anne. Blackman described the “really good feeling” of winning, saying that the class “put a lot of effort in.” 

Junior Achievement contains the creation and development of a successful student business into 7 steps, starting with the exploration of entrepreneurship and ending with the conclusion of a profitable business. Defining itself as an “experiential blended program,” it encourages students to learn skills like adaptability, creativity, and risk-taking across the course of the program, running synonymously with the Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation elective. Step 6 in the program is titled with a statement that could soon describe PA Pins status in selling pins: “Open for Business!”

With investment money acquired for the company, the class is set to continue the process of creating a successful business. In order to pay back the investors, Burkett explained, the class needs to “break even” by selling at least 98 pins. After that, she says any additional profit is for the students to “divide up amongst themselves.” And if the class reaches its goal of 500 pins sold across the school, there will be a lot to divide up.

Students in class said they have enjoyed the experience so far, and are excited for what’s to come over the remainder of the semester-long class. Tran explained that her favorite part of the class is how “everyone is so easy-going and willing to pitch in for the work.” Currently, the class is in the process of figuring out how to market the pins, and who to focus on for sales. Possible targets being Princess Anne alumni, the Class of 2025, and political interest clubs like Young Democrats and Young Republicans.

Burkett emphasized the importance of taking a class like Advanced Entrepreneurship and Innovation, describing how “almost every student” will eventually work for or own a business in the future. In addition, she wants her students “to not be afraid of hard work, because the students that get ahead are the ones who go early, stay late, and are not afraid to get their hands dirty to get the job done.” Burkett wants her students to take away from the class that in the business world, “The rewards are great but sacrifices are great.” She also described the relevance of taking a business class, saying “[high school students] are going into a world that’s going to be very expensive, and you need to understand what it takes to make money.”