Students in grades 9-12 get to think like Entrepreneurs and pitch their ideas in competition!
This 6-week learning experience empowers high school students to think like entrepreneurs and create an idea for a unique business venture that supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students will develop and test ideas through market research and prototyping, set goals, develop a business model canvas, and learn how to pitch their product or service. At the end of the 6 weeks, students will enter their business idea into a pitch competition alongside their peers.
Registration
This JA program aligns well with the following areas of the Ontario curriculum: Business Studies, Entrepreneurship, International Business, Sustainability.
This learning experience runs once per semester. This program can be run in the classroom or with a school club.
Program Outline:
- Week 1 – Introduction and brainstorming activities
- Week 2 – Innovation, prototyping, product and research assignment, brainstorming
- Week 3 – Pitching, goals, mission, funding (no money will be used)
- Week 4 – Business model canvas, prototyping, submit product idea to JA
- Week 5 – Review research, goals, canvas, final business plan & pitch development
- Week 6 – Final pitches (in-school), debrief, submit final business plan to JA
Fall Semester Dates:
Teacher Registration Deadline
Sept. 26
Spring Semester Dates:
Teacher Registration Deadline
Feb. 13
Through JA Pitch Your Vision, students will:
- Understand the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in today’s society and economy
- Develop the mindset and skillset needed to be an entrepreneur
- Generate, develop and pitch an innovative idea, and evaluate the feasibility and competitiveness of a new venture
- Discover the risks and rewards of starting a business
- Learn and apply business concepts from inception to product pitch, including product ideation, market research and prototyping, and creating a business plan and mission statement
- Learn how to use creative approaches and collaborate through ideation
- Make effective sales pitches and presentations
- Set individual and team SMART goals and reflect on learnings
- Gather data, evaluate alternatives, and develop a business model canvas
- Develop teamwork, leadership, and responsibility.
Additional Resources
JA Pitch Your Vision connections to the Ontario high school curriculum and downloadable information sheet:
Overall, I was truly impressed with the curriculum the JA team had put together for the personal finance session. All were very important topics that I think every young person should be made aware of. Financial literacy is such an important area for young people to understand as it provides them a good basis to make educated decisions early on in their lives.
– Francesca Liberatore, Deloitte Volunteer, JA Personal Finance
