Sharks Choose Winner at Annual J.A. Event
Shark TankIPA Floral and Gifts stands alone as the winner of the 2nd Annual Cathedral Shark Tank Entrepreneurial Capstone. Under the leadership of Peter Chasten, Ian Mitchell and Aaron Vrbka, IPA first presented flowers to the female sharks, then won over the entire panel with their pitch, their responses to difficult questions, and a remarkable strategy: zero overhead.
"We called Russ's and hoped to get in touch with their flower vendor," said Vrbka. "They directed us to a super nice man from Omaha. He liked our plan and our enthusiasm, and ended up donating the flowers! Can't beat no cost!"
Mitchell continued, "We worked every event we could - choir concerts, Valentine's Day Masses...you name it, IPA was there."
Chasten added, "We did work as a team. We all have gifts and we put them to use. Our employees are a driving force and we're proud they were a part of this because we couldn't have done it without them."
This project is also a lesson in stewardship as 80% of net income goes back to the school for current projects. In 2015-16 the teams raised nearly $2000 for bathroom, art room and gym renovations.
Cathedral School wishes to thank the Sharks on the panel: Tony Fulton (State of Nebraska); Wendy Birdsall (Chamber of Commerce); Donde Plowman (Dean of UNL Business College); Sam Nelson (UNL Entrepreneurship Studies); Christopher Aumueller (CEO FanWord).
The five-person panel heard business pitches from 10 student-run businesses. They then narrowed the field down to the top four: Divine Treats, Cathedral School Sprinkles, TEMSHA Gifts, and IPA Floral. In the end the four judges and the guest audience vote was unanimous, and IPA walked away with the prize of educational CDs donated by Fiserv.
This annual event is the culmination of months of work by the eighth grade students, who work in teams as they run a business. These students hire and intern 7th and 6th graders. All of this work is supported by generous efforts by Junior Achievement of Nebraska, and Fiserv.
The winner from 2015 was Efflorescence, which was owned by Morgan Framke, Courtnay Hagedorn, Sarah Vagts and Avry Victor.
This revolutionary program is directed by Cathedral's Mrs. Laura Brouillette, who acts as mentor, teacher and guide during this process. Brouillette was named the Junior Achievement Bronze Award Winner in 2015 for the development of this project.
