Stoughton High Students Place Third at Local Youth Business Plan Competition

students Phil Falkof, Brian Kaplan, and Christina Bacon placed third in the 2012 Future Entrepreneurs Series: Youth Business Plan Competition, earning a $150 prize.

The group was honored at the 2nd Youth Business Plan Competition Awards Ceremony, held at the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board Business Center in Brockton on Tuesday, June 12.

Falkof, a junior, accepted the award on behalf of the group. Kaplan and Bacon recently graduated with the Class of 2012.

Over the course of a semester long, five to six week project, Stoughton High students in Kevin Smith's Marketing II class , coming up with a product, a company name, designing a logo, and figuring out costs for financing - be it start-up costs or funding for marketing.

Four groups of students (12 in total) received qualifying scores to take part in the second round of this business competition on May 15, with Falkof, Kaplan and Bacon placing third overall.

Their mock-company, Super Solar, is an e-commerce platform selling solar backpacks and solar energy supplies over the internet.

"What impressed me most about the Super Solar group was the creativity and the thoroughness of the business plan they created," Smith wrote in an email.

"It is not an easy job to create an actionable business plan for trained professionals - and this group of 17 and 18 year olds was able to accomplish that.  They were creative in their approach and made sure to be detailed enough where the business plan could serve as a road map for starting the business.  I am looking forward to following all three of these students as the move beyond high school, into college, and seeing them grow into their careers. Their future is certainly bright," Smith continued.

The following SHS student groups also competed for the grand prize at the May 15 competition:

• Arcane Clothing (Mark Phan, Mike Vulakh and Muhammed Mir) - A trendy fashion and shoe company targeting urban youth style 

• The Handy Helper (Nick Aliquo, Brian Carter and Amanda Vito) - An all-in-one desk mate that helps to eliminate clutter

• Imagination Inc. (Rebecca Goldberg, Morgan Ayers and Jade Paul) - An event planning company located in Lexington, MA that targets higher end clients and events