Hempfield High School students in teacher Chris Hanusa's Entrepreneurship II class supplied the "sharks" with business ventures they could sink their teeth into during presentations at the school on Jan. 15.

Hempfield's "Shark Tank" event is modeled after the ABC reality television show of the same name, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch products to potential investors, who are referred to as "sharks."

The sharks then decide if they wish to invest in the product.

In Hempfield's version, the dollar figures discussed are not real, but the products most certainly are.

The students' proposals were impressive enough to transform the sharks from blood-thirsty carnivores to congenial complimenters.

"It was fantastic," said shark Jeff Bertoni of Market Street Sports. "We've now done this for 10 years with the different classes. Every year, the kids come up with new ideas and better ideas. Their presentations are better, to the point that, this year, the four presentations we watched, each one of them I think could have gone on the real 'Shark Tank.' For us, it's really exciting to see that and the energy the kids bring to it."

Bertoni's colleagues from Market Street Sports, Jason Jesberger and Keanen Fraley-Hogg, and Abby Kiebach from Wheatland Federal Credit Union, also served as sharks.

"It's really exciting," Fraley-Hogg said. "I haven't been doing this as long as the other guys, but it's always exciting when we see districts we work with implementing different aspects of the business world we work in. It's not something I see that often. So when I come in here, it helps educate myself on how the youth of today view the business of the future. It helps me just as much as it helps them, I think."

Kiebach said she admires the students' dedication and creativity.

Kiebach wound up striking a "deal" with students Isabella Ames, Karly Flores, and Jennifer Maldonado, the minds behind Fashionista.

Fashionista is an app designed to help people coordinate outfits using clothes they already own.

Geared toward girls and young women, plans include a free app and a subscription model.

Originally seeking $37,000 for 3% equity in their company, the students made a deal with two sharks to bring in $37,500 in exchange for 6% equity, three to each shark.

Ames, Flores, and Maldonado each brainstormed a fashion-related product. After being put together, they elected to go with Ames' app.

"I came up with the idea because I kind of had the issue of not knowing what to wear in the morning and spending 10 minutes looking at my closet, trying on 20 different shirts before just wearing a sweatshirt," Ames said. "So I had that problem, and I wanted to come up with a solution for it."

The students showed a prototype on PowerPoint that demonstrated how the app would function.

"We were at first thinking we could find someone to make our app, but it didn't really work out," said Flores. "We had difficulty trying to design the app, but it came out great," said Flores.

Maldonado said the group had been planning the presentation since mid-October.

"We've been working on the project over and over again to make sure it's good," Maldonado noted.

Two other teams presented 3-D printed prototypes, one designed to make it safer to drink from a water fountain and another that provides a practical way to distribute spices.

Students Benjamin Machuma, Sebastian Smith, and Zion Caban created an app parents can use to limit the time their children, referred to as "screenagers," can spend on a particular app, such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Caban formulated the project while observing the negative impact of too much screen time on others.

Smith relished the opportunity to simulate a television show he appreciates.

"I felt like I was on the show," said Smith. "It went pretty well. We got an offer that was very gracious. It helped us a lot. We're going to be able to pay ourselves."

Machuma enjoyed the experience. "It was amazing working with these guys," he said. "We divided the work. Sebastian was amazing at designing the app. Zion was amazing at being the front face of the presentation. We are a good combination together."

It is the 12th year for Hempfield's "Shark Tank" project, the fourth year with the Entrepreneurship II class participating.

It shows no sign of jumping the shark. "We upped the ante when we did the Entrepreneurship II class," Hanusa said. "It's a college credit class, so as a result we only take juniors and seniors, and we are able to raise expectations where you have to come up with something real." Hanusa is not surprised by how well his students present their products because he sees their preparation throughout the semester.

He is, however, astonished his students continue to raise the bar. "We're at the point that we've been doing this so many years; how can you come up with something new? And they still do it every single semester," Hanusa said.

The lessons will pay dividends especially if the students choose to begin their own business. "We've been talking about, 'How do you truly start a business?' Hanusa said. "We use what's called a lean start-up model. You can mitigate your risk by doing a lot of customer discovery up front." They do interviews to get opinions from outside the classroom.

"We also give the groups mentors and I encourage them to talk to the mentors every week or two weeks via email or phone. We use classroom time to do that because I think it's important," said Hanusa

He believes his students are seizing the chance. "They do a great job of rising to the opportunity and the occasion and take full advantage of it," Hanusa said.