Middle school students pitch on the final day of ‘CEO Camp’
The Tolsma sisters started CEO Camp last year, and it has grown into a huge success!
Friday marked the end of CEO Camp at Webb School in Knoxville. The Tolsma sisters Ann Baker and Lee Belle beamed as they watched 24 middle school girls pitch their businesses.
“We take them through the steps of what it would look like to start a business. So we go through the ideation of it, the manufacturing, how you would build it, and the marketing, and scaling of it,” Ann said.
teknovation.biz interviewed the Tolsma sisters about the camp on Monday (see article here). However, they said this year was the best camp yet!
“This year we had girls from all different schools, but seeing the ways they’ve collaborated, the ideas they’ve had, the fun, friendships, and laughter was really great to see,” Ann said.
The students had a great time as well, Danielle Hill and Laryiah Clark presented their start-up called Canine Crunchies.
Hill said that she and Clark’s middle school teacher approached the two of them about being classroom leaders, and helped them enroll in the CEO camp. It has been one of the highlights of their summer.
“It has been really fun. I’ve met new people and learned a lot of new things,” Hill said. “Entrepreneurship and business might be something I want to do in the future since I’ve had so much fun in this camp.”
Their company was about designing and making tasty dog treats. They both have dogs, so it was a natural fit!
“We talked about how we were going to promote our business on social media, and how we would make the treats at home, and do pop-up shops,” Clark said.
They also praised the Tolsma sisters for their leadership, mentorship, and approachability with the whole camp.
Some of the other student start-ups consisted of “Theme Core,” which helps mobile users customize the layout of their device’s home screen. Another was called “Inner Light Therapy,” and was an animal therapy clinic.
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