Young entrepreneurs were recognized for their business acumen at Cochrane High School's annual Cobra Den - a fictional entrepreneurial fair, though some of the ideas pitched had real-life viability.
Young entrepreneurs were recognized for their business acumen at Cochrane High School's annual Cobra Den - a fictional entrepreneurial fair, though some of the ideas pitched had real-life viability.
For the past month, the Grade 9 students created their own businesses or products and worked to address essential factors including the impacts of consumerism in Cochrane, how to be a successful entrepreneur and how to sell a business or idea or a product to an audience. On Jan. 15, students from four classes - accounting for 60 projects - had the opportunity to present the ideas to their peers, community members, teachers and even the mayor.
Maddie Dee and Keeley Isinghood's Green Grocers, which touted a ‘zero waste' grocery store as its platform, was among the top 10 ideas.
“We wanted to do something environmentally friendly, ” Dee said. “Cochrane is a really eco-community and they're doing a lot for waste management so we said our zero waste grocery store would fit into that. We also talked about how we're also helping the local economy because we're a place where people can shop for groceries that's in town. ”
Canada has a growing number of zero waste grocers including one in Vancouver, which opened last November.
The girls proposed their fictional business could be located on a coveted public land site - the previous Big Hill Leisure Pool on Fifth Avenue - and estimated it would cost about $400,000 to build.
Mayor Jeff Genung, who participated as one of the Cobra judges, gave the students feedback on whether it was something town council would support if it were to be proposed in real life.
However, the students, who are both just 15 years old, said they couldn't see themselves pursuing a career as entrepreneurs but added it was a project they could get behind if someone else took up the initiative.
“We would like to see some change. If anything relating to this came up in the future we might partake, ” Isinghood said, adding that they were grateful to be recognized in the top 10 for their project. “We just felt as if we had really done something to benefit the town. ”
Other projects included a Cochrane bike trails app, which would work as a navigation tool while keeping users updated on trail conditions and weather.
There was also a plan for an indoor skateboard park, which has been indicated as a need in the community in recent years and will eventually be discussed with the mayor to possibly bring the project to life.
The entrepreneurial fair was a knock off of the CBC Dragon's Den, where contestants pitch their idea to the Dragon judges in the hopes they'll invest. Other judges at the high school's fair included their principal, Ed Polhill, and community business owners.
Esther Sieben, one of the Grade 9 teachers, said the students' ideas reflected the direction of the town.
“Times have changed and their ideas of what's important to the community - like Cochrane - has changed. They're all about sustainability, they were all about involvement, ” said Sieben. “I was personally shocked by the calibre of some of the projects that came out of the fair. ”
