As the final round for the “Why Not Me” entrepreneurial contest was ready to begin, Mr. Diamond brought forward the final five teams who would be presenting their business ideas in front of a panel made up of business professionals. The teams – in the moments to follow – would use persuasion and thoroughness in their presentations in an attempt to win the competition.

Candice dePass, an advisory board member of the Academy of Finance, welcomed the audience of students who came to support their peers and friends participating in the competition and then introduced each team.

The first group to come up was Students Interact, an interactive website which matches peer tutors with students developed by Rick Djeuhon, Luwam Gebreyesus, Beakale Ambachew and John Pham. Retrotheft Clothing Brand, “an apparel company that services the needs of diverse cultures,” reached the stage next. This business was created by Nwando Arah, Oliver Lloyd and Yusrah Adebayo. Following them was Burgundy Plaza, a school supplies store built to serve students, and created by Gabrielle Jobson and Olivia Oliver. Panther Pride Apparel, modern and fashionable spirit wear apparel, appeared next. The contest concluded with Zest Café, a food and beverage company created by Eyouel Mesfin, Preston Bullava, Idoosa Tolessa and Alcides Montiel.

The judges, Jeffrey Weidley, Mark Cruz, Michael Rogers and Chris Wilson, were impressed by the features included in each presentation such as Retrotheft Clothing Brand’s music, which accompanied the theme of their clothing brand, and the clothing models used in Panther Pride Apparel’s presentation. Following each presentation were three-minute question and answer sessions.

Michael Rogers was very impressed by the competition and was astonished “to see the spirit of entrepreneurship here” at Paint Branch High School. The judges expressed how pleased they were that the school hosted this competition, an event which allows students to be innovative.

PB Principal Dr. Rogers was “proud of the presentations that the students brought forward and the level of commitment from the community.”

At the end of the competition, everyone made their way to the Panther Paw, where the culinary-arts students prepared a meal for everyone involved in the event. Here, the judges were able to interact with each of the participating students and speak to them about their achievements as entrepreneurs and advise the students about taking steps to ensure their career as future entrepreneurs.

After much reviewing, the panel of judges, along with Dr. Rogers, chose a winner and announced it on the morning announcements. Panther Pride Apparel, founded by Dhruv Mathur, Aakash Durai, Abel Dereje and Avinaash Gulati, is now “super excited to bring new spirit wear and pride to the students and staff at Paint Branch High School.”

Dr. Rogers would also like to give a special thanks to everyone who helped put this together.