By Valerie L. Moran - Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy HS
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
After the entrepreneur boxing gloves came off, students, faculty and judges gathered for a group photo. The winning team, consisting of Brian Jaury and Stephen Hanrahan, received 500 dollars for their presentation of SmartCart.
SOUTHWEST RANCHES| In conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy High School hosted its second annual Mav Tank Challenge, the school’s version of the popular television show ‘Shark Tank.’
Held Dec. 10, over 700 students were in attendance as the 2014 Mav Tank teams made their presentations and vied to garner the interest of a distinguished panel of judges.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
A boxing ring with no boxing gloves, but with student entrepreneurs vying for a winning spot in the second annual Mav Tank Challenge at McCarthy High School.
The student entrepreneurs, who spent dozens of hours identifying and developing a new product or service, pared the information down to five-minute presentations to impress the innovators and job creators who served as celebrity judges.
“The judges, all entrepreneurs, knew what they wanted to see in a future entrepreneur,” said Kim Zocco, Global Entrepreneurship Week and Mav Tank Coordinator. “We were honored to have Greg Baty, a former Miami Dolphin, Stanford graduate and wealth manager; Lonnie Bergeron, a well-known South Florida land developer and real estate mogul who hails from a legendary rodeo family; the very popular DJ Laz, a producer known for his rapping and marketing genius and his work as a HITS97.3FM DJ; and John Troia, the General Manager for Sawgrass Ford, the nation’s largest Ford dealership.”
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
From inside the ring, Archbishop McCarthy High teacher John Anfuso emcees the second annual Mav Tank Challenge at the high school.
Following each presentation, every judge challenged the teams with questions.
“The Student Entrepreneurs were sharp in their responses, and stepped up to each judge’s challenge with well thought-out comments,” said Zocco. “The process taught the students the importance of being prepared for anything, including having a Plan B.”
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Judges are hard at work as they decide the winners of the Mav Tank Challenge at McCarthy High. The judges were wealth manager and former Dolphin Greg Baty; real estate developer Lonnie Bergeron; John Troia, general manager for the nation's largest Ford dealership; and radio personality DJ Laz.
One team employed Plan B when a video demonstration of a “service offered” went awry due to technical difficulties. Quickly identifying the problem, the team made the best of the situation and continued without missing a beat to describe the video, utilizing words to paint the picture.
The top three MAV Tank Entrepreneurship Challenge teams and their prizes were:
- First place, $500: SmartCart by Brian Jaury and Stephen Hanrahan.
- Second place, $250: ScanCorp by Joseph Perez and Brandon Hylton.
- Third place, $125: Rubber on the Run by Juan Aquino, Matthew Valent and Stephen Gorey.
“Mav Tank was made possible due to the support of the (Future Business Leaders of America) Team who did an amazing job putting together this event,” added Zocco.
