Huntington High School’s HomeTown and Poseidon Virtual Enterprise company teams have advanced to the national level of this year’s business plan competition. The two teams are among only 32 in the country to reach the finals.
The two classes have been guided by business teacher Paige Tyree Furman, who provides advice to the companies and offers technical information, but otherwise lets the students take charge of their own affairs and allows their creativity to flow.
The full-year, one credit Virtual Enterprise business course is available to juniors and seniors. “Virtual Enterprise is a simulated business that is set-up and run by students to prepare them for working in a real business environment,” according to the high school’s course bulletin.
HomeTown is “a unique and kindhearted food delivery service that focuses on bringing relocated Long Islanders a taste from home, revolutionizing the way people eat and enjoy their favorite meals by delivering Long Island’s most popular foods, starting with pizza and bagels with plans for expansion,” according to the company’s promotional material.
“All I have to say is that people buy from who they can relate to,” said Naysa Escobar, HomeTown’s chief executive officer. “HomeTown does not only sell a product; it sells family. And that is why we have gotten so far. I’m really happy that two firms from Huntington have qualified for the nationals.”
Visit HomeTown’s website by logging onto https://hometownny.wixsite.com/website. Visit the company’s Instagram page by logging onto https://www.instagram.com/hometown.ve/.
“Words cannot describe how proud and excited I am for the entire HomeTown team,” said Christopher Maichin, the company’s chief operating officer. “We have been working tirelessly to get where we are right now and that is all because of the dedication and extreme amount of commitment of the entire HomeTown family. I came up with this idea when my sister, a freshman at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana texted me saying ‘what I would do for a slice of Long Island pizza right now.’ And then it hit me, a food delivery service that brings relocated Long Islanders a taste from home, satisfying that craving and bringing them nostalgia all while combating homesickness. It has been so cool to see this simple idea evolve into what it is today, paving the HomeTown path in the VE International world.”
HomeTown began picking up momentum back in September. “Ever since the beginning, it has been our mission to make ‘family’ the core of what HomeTown truly is,” Mr. Maichin said. “We have made it a point to foster that genuine, authentic connection with our employees, allowing it to shine through to everyone interested in joining the HomeTown family. We all invested in a simple, yet powerful idea, we brought together very different people and as a result, we created a family. A family that continues to surpass standards, defy the status quo and dominate the Virtual Enterprise world. Earlier in the year I stated ‘watch out, because here comes HomeTown,’ and here we are.”
Poseidon is led by an equally gifted team of executives and employees. The company markets and eco-friendly showerhead that tracks the amount of water used during a shower. It connects to an app that shows how much water a person has used in the shower and helps to limit water usage and cut bills.
“I am so proud of our team and how we all worked so hard together to advance to the national level,” said Alex Frawley, the chief executive officer of Poseidon. “We are one out of only 32 teams in the country to have made it to this level and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Visit Poseidon’s website by logging onto https://poseidonve.com. Visit the company’s Instagram page by logging onto https://www.instagram.com/poseidon.ve.
“It’s insane how hard this team is working and how we just continually get better and better,” said Ainsley Proctor, the chief operating officer of Poseidon. “We always push for the best, but I never realized we could achieve so much as a team! I love working with everyone on our executive team because they have the same exact work ethic I do and I'm so proud to be part of this incredible group. The path our team has taken is beyond anything I could ever have thought and it is immensely helpful for real world training. I’m so excited to see where the next competition takes us.”
The national business plan competition showcases some of the best and brightest student leaders and budding entrepreneurs in the country. Teams representing 32 VE companies from around the country will have their written business plans and oral presentations judged by industry professionals.
After receiving top honors in local and regional business plan competitions during the current school year, these teams have earned the chance to compete in the country’s premier team-based national business plan competition.
