"Shark Tank" Escuintla Style
YOU’RE DEAD TO ME……
Fortunately, Kevin O’Leary was nowhere to be found when we held our first Shark Tank style event at Mana de Vida in Escuintla, Guatemala.
For me, “Shark Tank” proved to be one of the most exciting things I have done at Maná de Vida. The teams were preparing for the event in the weeks leading up to our visit. By the time we got there, they were well into the development of their business plans and the goal of winning money to launch their business had the students enthusiastic and engaged.
The students divided into teams. Each team was responsible to come up with an idea for a business they could start. They learned how to figure out who their customer is, what the customer values, how to make the product or deliver the service, and how to understand what their total cost is.
The coaches/judges spent a few days working with the teams to help them develop their ideas and to emphasize that every aspect of their business, like every aspect of their lives should be centered on giving glory to God.
We had food related businesses like pizza, mole sauce, and donuts. There were service businesses like home health care, dog sitting, and a photo booth. There were also products like an incubator for hatching chicken eggs faster and a motorcycle stand to stabilize a motorcycle while it is being worked on.
When it came time for the finals event, the auditorium was packed with students, staff, family, friends and excitement. The teams did an outstanding job presenting their business and answering questions from the judges.
The judging team was so impressed with the ideas, engagement, and tenacity of the teams we decided that in addition to the winners, all twelve teams that presented to the judges would receive seed money so they could see if their business could get started.
After this competition, two of the teams placed first and second in a local competition in Escuintla. They moved on to the national round in Guatemala City where one team took third place!