Riverside High School’s Virtual Enterprises program took home a regional title last month, now setting its sights on the national stage.

Virtual Enterprises International is a business education program that allows high school students to create a product and work in a simulated company. There are multiple competitions at the state, regional, national and international levels, covering every aspect of the business.

Last month, Riverside’s team traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where they won the Southern Region Business Plan title with their company, Tundra. This victory came after the group won the State Championship last November.

“Everything they’re doing is something a real company would do,” team facilitator and teacher Brad Redd said of the program. “It’s preparing them like no other class because they’re getting that real-world experience that a normal class can’t get.”

According to Redd, the company’s Business Plan team presented a 10-minute presentation at the competition in front of an audience of around 400. The presentation included a marketing mix, a SWOT analysis, a risk assessment and financial highlights and was followed by questions from the judges.

Tundra was created by the team with the goal of eliminating the frustration of lost house keys or forgotten door passcodes. Its product, the Ice Cap, is designed to fit over an existing lock and allows doors to unlock instantly using a wristband fob or a mobile app. 

Sally Anderson, twelfth grader at Riverside and Tundra’s CEO, said her hopes for the Ice Cap was to make something for older relatives who may struggle with finding keys or remembering a passcode.

“If they could just walk up to the door, it would make it so much easier for them,” Anderson said. “I think it’s been so successful because there is nothing like us on the market.”

An office in the classroom

This year, the Business Plan team, Finance team and Marketing team are all qualified to compete at the national level. The students will travel to New York City in April to compete at the Virtual Enterprises Youth Business Summit, where they hope to earn the national title in their respective categories. The real work, though, happens back home in South Carolina, where the team runs day-to-day business operations out of the classroom.

When coming into class, Redd says that the students treat it more like coming to work. The classroom is split into departments, such as finance, marketing and human resources. Every student has a role, ranging from associate to executive-level.

“I tell [students], my motto is ‘Business never sleeps,’” said Redd. “Just because they’re only here an hour and a half a day, you work more than that. These guys are practicing, they’re calling at night, they’re meeting on weekends. It’s a job.”

Riverside’s Virtual Enterprises team is one of only 13 in the state. Nationwide, the program operates in 20 states and in more than 40 countries. 

As a part of the program, the Tundra team has created a business plan, company website, commercial, employee manual, branding materials and financial documents. Some members of the team even got to work with real local business owners, simulating investments and sales.

“I go out and talk to people, and then the teams work together to get a contract formed,” said Callie Rae Garner, tenth grader at Riverside and Sales Executive at Tundra.

Garner first became interested in business when she took an entrepreneurship class last year. After encouragement from some friends, she applied for the Virtual Enterprises team and has only grown to love the field more. She notes the confidence competing has given her, as well as how the program has encouraged her to look into business as a potential career path.

“Mr. Redd says, if you truly know your business, then you won’t have any problem,” Garner said. “So that’s how I felt going into [competition]. I had no butterflies, no nerves, and I guess I just took to heart what he said.”

Anderson affirmed Garner’s sentiment, saying she feels she would be fine presenting in front of a crowd of hundreds. In the fall, she will be attending the College of Charleston, where she hopes to pursue something business-related. 

“All those late nights and all the hard work and getting on the stage — it’s all worth it,” Anderson said. “This class feels like a second family to me.”

To learn more about Tundra, visit the student-made website. More information on Virtual Enterprises International can be found here.