By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
When Evan Hernandez built a greenhouse for his neighbors, the 16-year-old Newport High School sophomore didn’t know it would win him $3,000 and ignite a passion to create his own business.
Students in Oregon Coast Community College’s youth entrepreneurship program received instruction on entrepreneurship, learning about business development and marketing. They spent weeks crafting their pitches and Wednesday evening was the culmination for five finalists to pitch their business idea to a crowd and panel of judges Shark Tank-style for a chance to win $500 to $3,000 in prizes.
It was the second year of the event, organized by OCCC. Judges included Jolee Bancroft, president of Mo’s Chowder and Judah Tysman, a Waldport High School junior, who won last year’s competition.
Equipped with a spotlight, a microphone and presentation slides, the finalists pitched their ideas ranging from an allergen free cake mix to custom built skateboards before an audience at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.
When Hernandez took to the stage, he was nervous but it didn’t show. He presented with enthusiasm, displaying images of a wooden greenhouse he made, calculating profit margins, spoke about his competition, made jokes and answered questions from the judges.
Hernadez didn’t start out with an idea for a business. What he really wanted to do was just grow some vegetables in his yard. He started by sowing seeds outside, but what worked in his previous garden in Idaho wasn’t working here on the Oregon coast. The wind and climate along the coast isn’t an easy environment for seedlings, he said.
“If you want to get into gardening you need structures, greenhouses or raised beds,” he said.
So Hernandez built a greenhouse using $450 worth of wood and other materials and sold it to his neighbor for a little over $1,000.
Contestants were judged on several criteria – innovation and creativity, local impact, viability and the strength of their pitch.
Kailey Kelty-Little of Waldport High School shared her idea of bringing a vendor space for teens in Waldport and won $500 and shared fourth place with Melody Ferguson of South Beach Christian School, who pitched her allergen-free cake mix. Cash Adams of Siletz High School won third place for his landscaping business pitch and took home $1,000. Gear Ishmael and Koda Knife of Newport High School touted their skateboards and clothing line and won second place with $2,500 and an additional $500 as the audience favorite. Hernandez won first place and the $3,000 reward.
“My next steps are to finish high school, and jump right into this,” Hernandez said.
He will use his winnings to buy more materials to build his custom greenhouses and raised garden beds. He also wants to branch out and do other garden projects. Right now he is drafting up an idea to build a chicken coop, he said.
Past winner
Watching the competition Wednesday evening brought back memories to Tysman and his pitch last year. He remembered being nervous and coming onto the stage with a zebra head, he said with a laugh – because he’s a taxidermist.
“It brought back memories and gave me a sense of respect,” he said
The hobby started when a mountain lion came to his neighborhood, killing chickens and other animals on people’s property. When it was declared a threat to human safety, the Oregon Department of Wildlife killed it. But they left the body of the cat behind.
Tysman wanted to mount it, so he found a mentor that taught him everything he knows about taxidermy. Now, Tysman has his own business, Oregon Coast Taxidermy, and is working on several projects – an elk, three raccoons and two ducks.
Being a judge for the competition, Tysman was able to see the bigger picture. He sympathized with the other nervous students and saw how his experience in the competition helped him with marketing but also how to talk to people.
Some young people may not even realize that being an entrepreneur is an option, said Kellianne Parker, assistant director of OCCC’s small business development center. The goal of the program is to give high school students the skills and financial know-how to start on their business idea, Parker said, but also to build their confidence and people skills.
“Entrepreneurship is a great pathway for a career, but for a lot of the students they have an idea or a dream and they don’t know where to begin,” Parker said, “Our goal is to give them a jump start.
● Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
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