Pedagogy and Professional Development

The Friendly Shark Tank: Mentoring Student Entrepreneurs Using Product Pitches

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Abstract

The friendly Shark Tank model was developed and implemented by a team of faculty members and graduate students to address a need for instruction on small business operation, product development, and how to effectively “pitch” products to prospective retailers. Like the TV show, Shark Tank, these pitch sessions are an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to gain an “investor” in their products and to have their products become part of the assortment in a multi-channel, student-run store on campus. Our model offers a process to mentor and support student entrepreneurs. We applied the undergraduate student-focused mentoring framework outlined by Crisp and Cruz (2009) for our model. This model focuses on the following mentoring activities: emotional support, support for setting goals, advancing subject knowledge, and role modeling. Students benefited by gaining assistance in formalizing a new business or expanding an existing business.

Keywords: mentoring, entrepreneurship, retail, product pitch, experiential learning, student run retail, micro-business, hobby business, shark tank, student business, small business, product development, buying, student support, role modeling

How to Cite:

Schumm, C. Z., McKinney, S., Linda, N. S., Fiore, A. M., Chung, T., Hurst, J. L. & Shane-Nichols, A., (2022) “The Friendly Shark Tank: Mentoring Student Entrepreneurs Using Product Pitches”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13720