Fostering Ambition

TOMORROW'S BUSINESS LEADERS

This semester, upper school entrepreneurship students participated in a prestigious business plan competition open to 13-18 year old students around the world...The Conrad Challenge...

www.conradchallenge.org/conrad-challenge

The Conrad Challenge invites student teams from around the world to apply science, technology, entrepreneurship and innovation solutions to real-world problems in the categories of Aerospace & Aviation, Cyber-Technology & Security, Energy & Environment, Health & Nutrition, Transforming Education Through Technology, Smoke-Free World: Eliminating & Reducing Teen Vaping, and Smoke-Free World: Re-Purposed Farmlands & Tobacco Crops.

CDS had one team who completed the requirements for Round 2, and have been named Conrad Innovators. Rohan K. and Laney H., class of 2022, competed under the category of The Foundation for a Smoke-Free world: Eliminating Teen Vaping.

Every student in 10th grade entrepreneurship participated in Round 1. It was a great opportunity for them to hone the opportunity analysis skills they learned in 9th grade entrepreneurship and further develop their ability to write a business plan, try the Lean Canvas Model, and work on developing a persuasive pitch.

This semester students are learning about some of the ways entrepreneurs access funding, specifically the financial markets, by participating in the Florida Stock Market game. They will also explore personal finance topics and learn to build a balanced budget spreadsheet tool for their future selves. They will participate in the National Personal Finance Challenge exam in March.

Students will end the year with an internal marketing plan competition, where they will act as the Marketing Directors for well-known multinational brands and create a prototype and marketing plan to support a new product/service launch. There is a plan to visit the University of Tampa's Lowth Entrepreneurship Center's New Venture Expo this Spring. 6

2019 NATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS' DAY

On November 19, National Entrepreneurs' Day, CDS successfully launched a school-wide initiative to have every student participate in an entrepreneurship lesson or activity.

In elementary school, some students learned how to take a big idea, nurture it, and change the world by reading What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kodi Yamada. Other elementary students worked together in a balloon challenge with the goal to build the tallest tower using the least amount of tape. There were even small business presentations by 5th graders that made us want to invest!

In middle school, students were tasked with an opportunity analysis activity of looking at an image and developing three potential businesses that solved a problem. Self-driving luggage with GPS devices, valet services in airports, and color-coded luggage were just a few of the ideas.

In preparation for the real world, all upper school students wrote and videotaped a 30-second elevator pitch with the hopes of gaining an internship, job opportunity, or a mentor. With the task of keeping it under 30 seconds, students had to figure out how to "sell themselves" effectively.

At the end of the day, the initiative was a success, however, it was also evident that CDS students and faculty are entrepreneurial thinkers every day. The way our students, from preschool to the senior class, approach challenges and obstacles can only be described as an entrepreneurial mindset. Time and again CDS students challenge themselves to improve their skill set. They fail and then they try again until they find success. So today and every day it is the inherent mission of CDS “to create entrepreneurial thinkers for a global society.” 7