Poppy left its mark internationally as the Huntington High School Virtual Enterprise company turned in an exceptional performance during a recent summit of many of the best young business minds in the country in New York City.
Poppy is a bagel chip company created by a team of Huntington students that takes stale bagels and reverse engineers them into bagel chips. The company’s motto is: “Giving Bagels a Second Chance.”
Poppy earlier qualified for the Virtual Enterprise International National Business Plan finals at the Microsoft Technology Center in Times Square, Manhattan.
Poppy’s presentation team of John Panos (chief executive officer), Yaidelis Acevedo (chief operating officer), Graham Young (chief financial officer), Riva Bergman (vice president-design/IT), and Madelyn Reed (vice president-human resources) was spectacular, making pitches to two separate panels of judges and finishing 13th in the world out of thousands of high school Virtual Enterprise companies.
Junior Reid Bellistri, who coordinates Poppy’s social media presence was on hand to post throughout the day. “Competing at the Microsoft Technology Center in Times Square was just an amazing experience,” he said. “The presentation team was unbelievable. I’m so proud of them and what they have accomplished. I was nervous just sitting in the room watching and I wasn’t even presenting.”
When Poppy learned it was among the top 16 teams in the world, the teenagers were ecstatic and so was business teacher Paige Tyree Furman, who has worked with the class since September.
Poppy was just as impressive at the Virtual Enterprise International Trade Exhibition at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Poppy was among the Youth Business Summit’s social media contest award winners.
“Overall, Virtual Enterprise has taught me so much and has ultimately helped me choose my major in college for next year, which will be business management and international business,” Mr. Bellistri said.
