Brewster High School Team Makes National Finals In Biz Pitch Contest

BREWSTER, NY — A new business class at Brewster High School has sparked so much creativity and teamwork that one group of students has been selected as a national finalist in the annual competition.

The class is INCubatoredu Entrepreneurship. It's designed to get students excited about becoming true entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to create and fully develop their own products or services. In addition to their teacher, business experts serve as coaches and mentors guiding student teams through the process of ideation, market research, and business plan development.

Over the course of the year, the teams learn about the science of marketing and accounting, as well as the legal aspects of starting a business. Teams have access to a network of professionals to develop their skills (teamwork, problem-solving, presentation, communication) for college and career readiness.

Then comes Pitch Week. Student teams pitch their innovative idea to a panel of actual investors, competing to win funding and turn wishful thinking into a reality.

It provides collaborative learning experiences, hands-on problem solving and real-world action.

Three groups pitched ideas. One team, pitching a special genital deodorant for men called Sticks & Stones, was selected as an INCubatoredu National Pitch Finalist — one of five groups out of sixty in the entire country.

They were awarded a trophy and a chance to compete for funding dollars at the National INCubator Student competition in the summer. They will travel to Chicago for the National Pitch Competition on July 11 to compete for a top $20,000 prize.

"What an amazing way to end our kick-off year of IncubatorEdu," business teacher Ed Schmidt said in an announcement about the win. "The three groups went out there and gave it their best. The judges chose Sticks & Stones because their presentation was filled with energy and creativity. The night ended with one of the judges placing a one thousand dollar order. We have now seen the result of encouragement, teamwork, guidance, leadership, all bundled up in one pivotal event. I hope they win it all in Chicago."

Was the group surprised to make it into the finals?

"It felt surreal really, no one could believe we'd be in the top 5," said Kendra Gonzalez. "We knew we could make the top 25 because we had confidence in our product but no one believed our male genital deodorant could make it so far. We checked our emails every day waiting for the first 'Congratulations' message to arrive. Our product is great, we put in the time, had dedication to our business, listened to all the customer feedback, made physical improvements to the product, and overall just reached out and got our product out there. In other words, we were 'hungry' to win and we had the drive to make that possible."

Learn more about the course on the school district website.