MAPS Students Prepare to Showcase Their Business Ideas

A great idea won’t be enough to come out on top in Highland Park’s annual Scots Tank competition; students also need to have a winning pitch.

“You have to find a way to differentiate yourself from the other presentations,” entrepreneur Trey Bowles told students in the Moody Advanced Professional Studies program’s Business Design and Leadership course. “What are you going to do that stands out from everybody else?”

During the Scots Tank kick off on March 25, Bowles shared tricks of the trades that he’s learned as a startup entrepreneur and investor who has built more than 30 businesses.

Students will showcase their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges later this spring.

Bowles advised the young entrepreneurs to “play the game the right way:” to be aware of the judge’s rubric and be sure to meet all the competition’s requirements.

“There’s an opportunity to be creative, and creativity is an important part of the pitch process … But don’t be so creative as to say, ‘Yeah, I know that we have to say the name of our business, the business model, and our marketing strategy. I’m going to not do that because I want to be super different and creative,’” he said. “That doesn’t work in this scenario.”

He also gave students tips on how to use slides effectively, respond to questions, build a team to support their ideas, and bring listeners on board by conveying their passion for their project and how it will connect with customers.

Bowles reassured students that it’s okay to be nervous about their pitches. Even if they trip over their words or make a mistake, their audience likely won’t notice.

“It feels like, ‘oh my gosh, I’m completely losing it. Everybody knows I’m nervous. Everybody knows I’m messing up,’” he said. “They oftentimes don’t.”

Bowles helped construct the curriculum of the Business Design and Leadership course and bring the Scots Tank competition to the high school. Highland Park students, he said, are at least as impressive as those he’s taught in college courses.

Bowles emphasized that elements of the entrepreneurial mindset — including creativity, problem solving, and willingness to learn from failure — can help students achieve success whatever their goals may be.

“Figure out how you can take what we’ve learned out of this class, and utilize it to make you better in whatever it is that you’re trying to do,” he said.