Students in the Bullis School’s Entrepreneurship Signature Program competed in the school’s annual Shark Tank competition on Tuesday.
This year’s competition was different than the competitions in years past because Bullis has moved to online learning because of the coronavirus pandemic. Four groups of students presented real business startups they’ve developed to to three judges: Bluemercury founder Marla Beck; Cava CEO Brett Schulman; and CEO and Founder of And1 Seth Berger.
The student team that came up with the business Sice Me, an “online marketplace for high schools and colleges that enables students to sell and receive non-essential goods,” ultimately won the competition, winning $10,000. Students in the group included Mingyang He, Zach Lieberman, Dennis Perkins, Alex Rolinski, Connor Shepard, James Snowden, and Dillon Weinberg.
The team came up with a mobile application that was tested by fellow Bullis students (before schools were closed because of the coronavirus). In the Sice Me application, students sold goods — mostly appliance items — in a digital marketplace. During the testing phase, Sice Me generated $1,118 in transactions, making a total of 26 sales.
After announcing Sice Me’s victory, Beck spoke on behalf of the judges: “We thought that this was something you could take to market right away.”
Marc Steren, the Bullis School’s entrepreneurship director, praised students involved in the program for their work, especially under the difficult circumstances of the coronavirus and online learning.
“It’s obviously put a restraint on their ability to acquire new customers but they’ve been go-getters,” Steren said.
Steren also teaches at Georgetown university and said students in Bullis’ Entrepreneurship Signature Program “are just as great as the collegiate level.”
Tweet Recap of Bullis Entrepreneurship Shark Tank Competition
Here’s a recap of Bullis’ Shark Tank competition, in the form of tweets.
So far one of the main investors in @ABCSharkTank, Mark Cuban, and U.S. @RepDavidTrone (D-Md.) have appeared on the @BullisSchool's virtual Shark Tank. @mymcmedia
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
A @BullisSchool student team consisting of Joey Chmara, Julien Gause, Agnes Kong, Harvey Li, Parker Merril, Sydney Rodman, Zach Senders, Ian Steren are discussing — have introduced Ecommunity, "a shopping tracker that tracks eco-friendly purchases." @mymcmedia
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Merril says COVID-19 presents an opportunity for the world to "reset" and "go eco." @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/J3likZXXTB
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Here's a look at Oak Financial, the mobile app that would teach students about savings and financial literacy.
The app has videos and quizzes to help student users test their knowledge. Students can become Oak certified and then link their bank accounts. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/i9xgskI46Y
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
.@BullisSchool students finished presenting "Oak Financial" app. Now the judges are weighing in.
Marla Beck of @bluemercury wonders how parents can encourage kids to sign up for kids to listen to teachers.
Barlia says with COVID-19 the group is working on marketing. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/0N5lXRRqT8
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Students say the app would have a $2.99 monthly subscription fee. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/Sp7kzBuWfu
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/DeirdreByrneMCM/status/1252652140205613056?s=20
Here's a look at Rise & Shine's revenue model. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/rCYOesyKsK
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Seth Berger of @and1basketball says he loves the idea and understands the struggle of getting out of bed fro when he was younger.
Berger asks if they've have considered a subscription model. Schumacher said the students will look into it, but they saw it as a one time purchase. pic.twitter.com/Xkzg3Bq2KK
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Seth Berger says he loves the name "Rise & Shine," but it's a product. He asks if this can be made a brand.
Willing says the students are first trying to get the product and name out there, and thereafter they will look into more sleep products to create a brand. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/OOfD2FHjkO
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Here's a look at what the Sice Me app looks like. Students would sign up, have access to a marketplace, and students can message the seller once they've agreed to buy the product. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/RjSETAkndS
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Marla Beck asks about the 10% fee, and if that's the regular fee for marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay.
Students are still looking at the fee (when it was tested, students weren't charged with a fee). All transactions are digital instead of cash. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/lPqNt40ZFJ
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
Weinberg found students were most interest in purchasing personal appliances, so Sice Me could start out by focusing on appliances.@mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/wnjWnNswHi
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
.@BullisSchool Entrepreneurship Director Marc Steren is now talking about the impact of Bullis' entrepreneurship program as judges deliberate.@mymcmedia
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
The @BullisSchool Shark Tank judges are back and making some comments before announcing the winner.@mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/mQBwgPhamg
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
.@bluemercury's Marla Beck announces Sice Me is the winner of @BullisSchool's Shark Tank: "We thought that this was something you could take to market right away."
The team is awarded a $10,000 prize. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/6Ht3dHGHSe
— Deirdre Byrne (@DeirdreByrne_) April 21, 2020
