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Lindon Mayor Carolyn Lundberg makes a deal during Franklin Discovery Academy's Shark Tank event Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in Vineyard.

Courtesy Vineyard City

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Students present their Vacu Finder invention to a panel during Franklin Discovery Academy's Shark Tank event on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.

Courtesy Vineyard City

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Franklin Discovery Academy students participated Friday in the second annual “Shark Tank” entrepreneurial experience with help from Vineyard and Lindon city officials.

Vineyard and Lindon officials took time to form the experience, based on the long-running ABC reality program, for nearly 100 students attending the academy from fourth to sixth grade.

“It was nerve-wracking, but once I actually did it, it was fun,” fourth grade student Lucette Uda said.

For the past three weeks, students spent time creating their “inventions” to face the mock investors, or “sharks,” which included Carolyn Lundberg, Lindon City mayor; Amber Rasmussen, Vineyard City Council member; Kaitlyn Handley, business owner; David Kent, finance executive; Natassia and Reno Pace, entrepreneurs; Capt. Richard Maughan, retired U.S. Navy; and other leaders in the community.

The class is team-taught by literacy teacher Jamie Sarmiento and science teacher Camille Guertler. Students were asked to think about “pain points” they encounter during the day and were then guided in problem-solving activities to help them develop ideas for products that might help solve these problems.

The students tackled such issues as being unable to get out of bed in the morning, biting into a donut with the wrong flavor, tangled hair or being stuck in traffic.

With provided supplies in hand, students worked collaboratively in teams or individually and built their prototypes while also learning about scale models and basic machines.

During the literacy portion of the class, students wrote a marketing plan and presentation to the sharks while also learning about margins and mark-ups.

“I wanted to create a class where students could bring their unique product ideas to life while learning how to build a catchy, successful advertising campaign to market their product to consumers. With the combined efforts with our science teacher, Camille Guertler, we came up with a curriculum that would take our students on a journey that took them from student to inventor to entrepreneur,” Sarmiento said.

At the conclusion of the term, the students got to present their inventions to the panel of volunteer sharks and a parent studio audience.

“Shark Tank was super fun and I love it. Coming up with an invention was cool, and presenting it to all of the sharks was awesome,” fourth grader Taylor Buell said.

One by one, each team approached the sharks and pitched their ideas over the course of two days and six hours of presentations. The sharks carefully considered each invention and quizzed students on costs, how they came up with their ideas, how they planned to market them, and talked through potential roadblocks.

Financier David Kent commented that he “wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was thoroughly impressed with the preparation and planning of not only the teachers but the students who were so prepared and confident in their projects. The production value was amazing, and that really translated into the commitment of both the sharks and the student junior entrepreneurs.”

Deals were made for “tickets” and a percentage of the company. Like the real-life show “Shark Tank,” the Franklin sharks got to compete against each other and make competing offers to the students.

Sharks got to talk about their own experiences and how they could help the students take the invention to the next level. After the event, students were able to purchase prizes with the tickets.

“It was such a pleasure to come to Franklin Discovery Academy the past two days and participate in the fun Shark Tank experience,” Lundberg said. “I really enjoyed being there with the students and the other ‘sharks’ — all very sharp people. As one is in the school, it is obvious the environment truly sparks joy in everyone.”

Rasmussen added, “The entrepreneurial spirit that brings vibrancy to Utah’s economy is alive and well in its students here in Vineyard. These bold students displayed keen problem solving, abundant creativity and great heart. I was delighted to observe people assuming these roles and supporting kids in a fun and interactive way. It fills me with gratitude to know that schools like ours, devoted teachers and parents offer wonderfully enriching activities such as these to all children, which will help them succeed.”

“As parents, we feel like it was an important opportunity to face her fear and learn how to be comfortable in stressful situations. And my husband loved that they are teaching her to think like an entrepreneur,” Lucette’s mother said in a statement provided by the school.

Taylor’s mom added, “Getting to work together as a team to come up with an invention, then create the product and write a presentation was such an amazing real-world experience for my son. It was awesome watching them answer questions about their invention and then discuss and accept a deal.”

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