Huntington High School’s three Virtual Enterprise course company teams enjoyed a memorable experience at the recent Long Island VE Entrepreneurship and Leadership Conference at LIU Post in Brookville.
The Huntington company executives came decked out in impeccable business attire and made a great impression on the hundreds of VE students, teachers, business leaders and entrepreneurs participating in the event.
CEOs Taylor Case, Charles O'Rourke and Abby Holmes at LIU Post for the elevator pitch competition.
Huntington’s three Virtual Enterprise companies are Snooz³, Titan and BioSol. The three classes have selected executives and assigned roles to the rest of their team members. Efforts on behalf of each of the companies are well underway.
The Huntington teams were accompanied to the conference at LIU Post by high school business teachers Paige Furman and Suzie Biagi. The three groups networked, listen to panel discussions and learned from high-impact business leaders, many of whom have successfully created their own companies.
The highlight of the day were the “elevator pitches” made by company chief executive officers from the Long Island and New York City Virtual Enterprise teams. The 60-second rapid fire business pitches were delivered before a crowd of about 600 and were meant to “intrigue potential customers and partners from across the Virtual Enterprise International marketplace with the hope of generating future business activity for their company.”
Huntington CEOs Taylor Case, Charles O’Rourke and Abigail Holmes were marvelous in delivering their one minute pitches. Supported by their executive teams, the three teenagers were “coherent, compelling and charming.”
“Getting the chance to present my elevator pitch was amazing,” Ms. Case said. “Not many high school students get that experience and I’m so glad that the VE program grants me those opportunities. I was also able to speak to many great people who share similar interests in business as me. As hard as it is to get up and speak to a large group of people, especially in a 60 second time constraint, I was so excited and proud because of how passionate I am about the company we created.”
The three outstanding young people from Huntington led off the “elevator pitch” session. “I think we came out with a bang and showed the other teams and judges what Huntington is made of,” Ms. Case said. “This was just the beginning. I cannot wait to share what Snooz³ has in store!”
BioSol CEO Charles O’Rourke was well prepared for his turn in the spotlight as he made a well received 60 second investment pitch to a panel of judges.
“It was an amazing experience and incredible practice for public speaking,” Mr. O’Rourke said. “I knew I couldn’t let my class down, so I made sure to pitch as perfect as I could possibly make it. After the pitch our executive team, which also includes Marissa Stafford, Sarah Giarraputo, Isaiah James, John Holly, Matt Gennarelli, Alex Gonzalez and Andreas Seferian sat and listened to various speakers explain different aspects of how to run a successful business and share motivating words.”
All the Huntington students who participated in the Virtual Enterprise conference found it to be a valuable experience. “At LIU Post we met countless other firms from other schools and made numerous virtual sales,” Mr. O’Rourke said. “All in all this experience was incredible for all students that attended. I can’t wait for the next event.”
Ms. Holmes made the elevator pitch for Titan, “summarizing our product, target audience and marketing plan,” she said. “While we did not advance in the competition, our group of executives learned a lot from the atmosphere and the presenting professionals. We are looking forward to competing at future events.”
