Young entrepreneurs give their pitches to panel of Blair County investors

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ)– Area high school students got the chance to put their pitches to the test at the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneurs Academy event Tuesday evening.

The event was hosted at the Devorris Downtown Center. The entrepreneurs got to mingle with local business people before trying to persuade them to invest in their ideas.

“It’s going to be like a Shark Tank kind of a situation,” Program manager for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Tim Gildea said. “It’s great just to bring these people in to talk about insurance, to talk to them about banking. To talk to them about just all of the different facets of owning a business. I never have to work hard to get people to come in and talk with the kids.”

Altoona Area High School senior Jack Whitaker says he originally heard about the program from his older sister, who participated when she was in school. Now, with the program in its eighth year, he and 16 other students have been prepping for months to perfect their pitches.

“Each student has a different business, some of them partnered up but mine is a sole proprietorship,” Whitaker said. “My business is a re-selling business. So when a music artist or a big brand like Nike or Adidas drops a new clothing line I’ll buy it, and then whenever the price goes up I’ll resell it.”

Each student got five minutes on stage to to pitch to the panel of investors with a PowerPoint presentation. Then the investors would ask questions and give suggestions on how they can improve their business plans.

“These kids go on to really use the skillsets that they acquire here to enhance their lives and to give them some direction,” Gildea said. “It’s just such a positive thing.”