Catawba Valley Community College held its Spring Shark Tank Competition for local high school students on May 5 at CVCC’s Workforce Solutions Complex, with students presenting and pitching their business ideas to a panel of judges.

The first place winner was Rylea Suddreth from Bandys High School who pitched her Malibu Farms business plan. The second place winner was Hannah Bush from Hickory High School, who presented her plans for the Biomedical Lidar Machine. Two teams tied for third place, with Tammarion Jones from Hickory High School pitching his plan for the “What If” VR app and the team of Lauren Land, Makala Pittman, and Charlotte Zimmerman from Challenger High School presenting their plan for Common Grounds, a teen coffee shop. The top finishers each received gift cards as prizes.

Teams from Bandys, Hickory High, Challenger, and Maiden High School participated in the Shark Tank finals and pitched business ideas. The competition provides students with the opportunity to pitch a business idea to a panel of business leaders, promoting entrepreneurship and the potential for small business ownership to local students. Judges for the event included Kim Dahlsten with the Chamber of Catawba County, Landon Lane with the L.B. Lane Family Foundation, and Michael McNally with the NC Center for Engineering Technologies.

A takeoff on the popular ABC reality show, CVCC’s Shark Tank is sponsored by K-64; the L.B. Lane Family Foundation; Chick-fil-A South Hickory; and the CVCC Foundation. The CVCC Chapter of SkillsUSA assists in coordinating and managing the event.

For more information about CVCC’s Shark Tank program or about entrepreneurship activities for students, contact CVCC Student Entrepreneurship Coordinator Lily Laramie at [email protected].