Feb. 1, 2020 — Eight teams of 150 young entrepreneurs from around the Greater Washington region put their big ideas to the test at the second annual Junior Achievement Trade Show.
Hosted by Tysons Corner Center in Tysons, Virginia, the JA Trade Show served as an opportunity for the companies to debut their innovative products to the public in market-style environment, as part of the 2019-20 JA Company Program®.
The JA Company Program is a competitive, six-month-long program in which high school students are challenged to work in teams and put their business ideas into action by launching and operating a startup under the guidance of business professionals.
Photo by Rassi Borneo
The students spent the afternoon pitching and demoing their products, selling to new customers, and premiering their company commercials. Overall, the teams sold 978 units for a total of $6,026 in total revenue and $4,270.60 in profit.
The teams were evaluated and interviewed by a panel of local business leaders:
Faith Boettger, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
John Boettger, Park Hotels & Resorts
Anton De Roo, UnitedHealthcare
Hope Jam, E*TRADE
Seare Kidane, HSBC
Jimmy Lewandowski, EY
Team Podseedtivity, a business that spreads awareness for social and environmental issues by selling fashionable, biodegradable, and plantable accessories, received the award for Best Overall Performance.
Photo by Rassi Borneo
Team Sasa, a business that sells environmentally-friendly bamboo socks in an effort to protect oceans and marine life from dead zones caused by cotton production, received Second Place Overall. Sasa also received awards for Best Commercial and Best Financial Performance.
Photo by Rassi Borneo
Team Stickers Speak, a business that seeks to raise awareness for mental health by selling stickers printed with helpful resources for those struggling, won Third Place Overall.
Photo by Rassi Borneo
Following Sasa’s Best Financial Performance, team Everseed, a company that focuses on inspiring learning from the classroom to the outdoors by selling sustainable seed pencils that can be planted to grow a garden, and team Scientists in Training, a business that looks to raise kids' interest in the STEM field by selling science kits with hands-on, interactive activities, received Second and Third, respectively.
Podseedtivity and Pouchful, a company that seeks to preserve the well-being of the earth by selling insulated, reusable lunch bags made of recycled materials to combat paper waste, received Honorable Mentions for Best Commercial.
On April 18, 2020, the eight teams will compete in the Company of the Year Competition, the culminating regional event for all the JA Company Program teams, for a chance to represent Junior Achievement of Greater Washington at the 2020 National Student Leadership Summit in June.
Click here to view more photos from the event.
Click here to learn more about how you can get involved with the JA Company Program.
