A small group of smartly-dressed Park City High School students found themselves in the shark tank Thursday night as they presented an eclectic mix of business and product ideas, hoping to strike a deal with a panel of judges and take home the first-place prize.
Earlier this year, more than 30 students from the high school and Treasure Mountain Junior High entered into an entrepreneurial pitch competition known as Invest Nest. It’s the first year the Park City School District has participated in the official event, though it’s been hosting a similar contest since 2021. The field was narrowed to eight ideas with 10 students competing to win more than $15,000 in prize money and the chance to advance to the state competition.
Judges this week heard final pitches ranging from a multitool designed to ease everyday hassles for busy moms and a business that creates customizable phone case inserts, to a hands-on nutrition and fitness enterprise and a clothing brand inspired by Park City’s ski and skate community.
But it was the ideas for a cryptocurrency mining app, a mobile storage unit for medical patients and a nonprofit dedicated to the founder’s late sister that captured the attention of the panel, which was made up of well-known community members including Park City Mayor Nann Worel, Park City Chamber/Bureau President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff, Park City Mountain Vice President and COO Deirdra Walsh, High West Distillery founder David Perkins, Altivist Consulting Executive Coach and founder Peter Deininger and AP biology teacher Ed Mulick.
Freshmen Rudger Klug and Dmitriy Siminovskiy earned first place for their crypto business, Hash Hive. Klug was inspired last year after encountering challenges while trying to mine the digital currency via mobile apps that he said often take advantage of the user. The duo instead strived to develop their own program that would allow everyone to make a profit.
Their pitch focused on the logistics of running Hash Hive, such as the need for at least 500 users to start mining, a threshold of 10,000 users before ads can be rolled out and a minimum of 15,000 users to start making a profit, as well as how the boys enlisted the help of engineers to create the app’s interface. The freshmen also highlighted how the top prize of $10,000 would push its production into the next phase – helping propel it into the virtual world.
Klug and Siminovskiy learned about Invest Nest through a PCCAPS business and marketing class they enrolled in. As freshmen, they didn’t expect to place in the competition at all, let alone take first. They are proud of how they grew Hash Hive from a simple idea during the first round of judging into a concrete business plan.
“Pursue your dreams. You can never do it if you don’t start somewhere,” Siminovskiy said.
Like the freshmen, many of the other students’ improved significantly from their initial elevator pitches to the Shark Tank-style competition.
Mark Snihurowych, one of the program directors, said students are constantly putting in work behind the scenes to perfect their pitches.
“They learn to understand, but not accept, failure. They adapt, learn and apply that to accomplish their goals,” Snihurowych said. “You can tell they care. The money is just secondary.”
Senior Coen Woolley, who received $5,000 for his second-place idea, is proud of the progress both he and his business made. His concept was based on his experience living with juvenile arthritis and being in and out of doctors’ offices. Woolley created a product that would act as a locker for patients, providing a safe space to keep their belongings as well as a seat to rest and a whiteboard to document their information.
The senior said there are no other products like his medi-caddy currently on the market. Startup costs would total around $200,000, Woolley estimated, but evaluated the potential of the industry at around $500 million.
Although he won’t move on to the state competition next month, Woolley is glad to have had the chance to compete in Invest Nest. He said one of the most rewarding experiences was the networking opportunities promoted through the competition as students who make it to the second and third rounds are partnered with mentors from the local business community, such as the Park City Angels. It was also exciting for Woolley to put himself out there and actually apply his idea.
The third-place prize of $2,500 was awarded to Maisey Mansson for her nonprofit organization Parker’s Planet. Mansson created bracelets, recognizable by a signature purple bead, to help spread a message of love and positivity inspired by her 11-year-old sister, Parker, who died last May.
The high schooler laid out her plans to hire students, engage in a successful social media campaign, transition to a wholesale supplier and eventually, sell the bracelets in retail stores. Proceeds would then be donated to various organizations dedicated to a range of social and environmental issues that Parker was passionate about.
Junior Savannah Tary, the student director of Invest Nest, said it’s been wonderful to watch her classmates improve their ideas – and themselves.
Many of the participants agreed that they learned a lot about business from the entrepreneurial pitch competition, but they also developed a new sense of confidence through public speaking and collaborating with adults.
Don Roll, who has been involved with the high school’s pitch competition since its inception, is proud to see the program growing. He said pitching teaches students how to communicate an idea quickly and effectively while mentorship provides valuable life lessons for youth.
The incorporation as an actual Invest Nest event this year will also help take the competition to a new level, according to Roll. He expects more students and community members – who also had a say in who advanced to the state competition – to become involved. Currently, six counties throughout Utah participate in the event.
Invest Nest was founded by Wasatch County native J.W. Davies. The winner of the state competition, which is sponsored by Zions Bank, receives $20,000. The money is typically used to help fund the idea or educational opportunities. The competition does not require students to give up any equity in their business.
“It’s amazing to see these students’ maturity. I’m certainly impressed by the next generation,” Roll said.