With Falcon Tank, Liguori Academy turns students into entrepreneurs
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia private charter school is turning students into entrepreneurs overnight. For the first time ever, Liguori Academy hosted an event similar to the TV show "Shark Tank."
Students had to present business ideas to a panel of judges.
Get your wallets open, because these students have some pretty cool ideas that are worth investing in.
Instead of calling this competition "Shark Tank," the school's mascot is a falcon so they dubbed the competition "Falcon Tank."
First up, the health and fitness app called "B you."
Next, the "Shoe for You," which is just for kids.
Finally, the "Ability Line," a high-tech walking shoe.
After receiving these commercial ads, we had to visit the Liguori Academy to meet the masterminds behind these three completely different inventions.
"The better health you have, the longer life you live," student Collette said.
Collette and Summer did the research to ensure their "B You app" is competitive in the marketplace.
"It just doesn't focus on you physically, like other fitness apps do," Collette said, "but we have diets. We have mental, we have spiritual and we have physical health."
"I learned how to manage money," Summer said, "like how to set certain prices on things."
These ninth and 10th graders have been preparing for weeks for Falcon Tank. Students had seven minutes to pitch their ideas to a selected panel of judges who could potentially offer these students a summer internship.
"They located a problem within their community," postsecondary coordinator Shaylyn Mayer said. "They aimed to solve with the products they created, and they are doing it and they are passionate about doing it."
Before introducing us to the other contestants, we paused in the hallways to admire these murals.
"Philly people are proud to be from Philly," Mayer said.
The Philly pride was also shared by Edgardo and Mkayla, holding their prototype medical shoe from the "Ability Line."
"I saw it firsthand," Edgardo said. "I have two Grandmas on both sides of the family who had difficulty walking."
"We wanted to make a shoe that's affordable that you can also get off of insurance if you can't afford it," Makayla said.
Inventors Loralei and Nelson are also focused on providing affordable shoes, but this time for kids.
"It's a children's shoe that's customizable and also adjustable," Loralei said. "So it can change up to three shoe sizes so parents wouldn't have to buy multiple shoes in one year."
"We can make this customizability factor," Nelson said, "making us set out, making us look different.
After sitting with all three groups, we're happy we're not a judge -- and Mayer agrees as she reminds us of the Liguori motto.
"The past is no longer yours," Mayer said. "The future is not yet in your power. You only have the present, wherein to do good."
The winner was the "Ability Line," the medical shoe.
