Entrepreneurship Pitch Evening

The Grade 10 Entrepreneurship Pitch evening was held on Monday 14 October. The event took the form of a shark tank episode, where five start-up businesses were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a group of investors.

It was an extraordinary event where the opportunities typically seen by starry-eyed entrepreneurs, was given to a group of 18 Grade 10 Business Studies students. One in which insight was shared by the investors, where excitement filled the air, anticipation masked the room and where the best of St Stithians stood on stage and gave their all.

The audience was privileged to hear key note addresses by Garth Klintworth, the Head of Global Markets at ABSA and Tebogo Moalusi, the CEO of Black Excellence and the Young Professionals Association.

Of course there was nervousness, as experienced entrepreneurs such as Tebogo Moalusi, Sandy Ashfield (owner of various Sorbet Stores) and Charles Savage (CEO of Easy Equities) astounded the audience of eager parents and students, with difficult questions and constructive feedback. Despite the nerves and inexperience, the students delivered performances that impressed the audience and judges immensely and showed the potential of the young entrepreneurs.

The winning business pitch was made by Bio-Smoke, a company which has manufactured a chimney filter which removes the harmful chemicals released into the atmosphere from domestic fireplaces. They walked away with a R5000 share trading account, sponsored by Easy Equities. The one thing every boy there can agree on is that the event was a turning point in a young student’s life and that it paves the way towards a brighter future in the business world for all who attended. (Luke Reilly – member of Bio-smoke)