This year, one of Virtual Enterprise’s teams, Fruition Leather, took 5th place in the Bakersfield State competition, giving them the opportunity to travel to New York, where the national competition will take place.
The Virtual Enterprise program allows students to participate in hands-on activities where teams will create a business from start to finish. The program involves brainstorming a team, creating a product, and managing the business throughout the year.
“We identify problems in the world and we work to address them with a business plan or service,” said Emily Wooten (12), CEO of Fruition Leather.
“We noticed that there is a problem in the leather industry and fruit waste, so we decided to combine imperfect fruits into leather products for teenagers, Gen Z, and Millenials,” said Ella Verde (11), COO of Fruition Leather.
On top of creating a business, teams will engage in local and state competitions, with a chance to earn a spot in the New York national competition. The competition revolves around various aspects of the business such as the business plan, video commercial, marketing, and even the marketing booth creation.
The top nine schools from each category – business plan, marketing team, finance, and more – will earn a spot to New York, where teams will compete in their qualified category amongst teams across the United States.
“We are finishing up our business plan and refining our presentation. Teri Jones, Virtual Enterprise West Director, will give us feedback on things we can improve on,” said Wooten.Fruition Leather had their finance, marketing, and business plan teams all qualify for New York.
“It’s really nice to say that three of our business teams made it to New York. I’m proud of my group and all of our hard work that we put in,” said Wooten.
Other notable accomplishments include Fruition Leather taking home 1st place for the video commercial at San Diego State competition, and another Virtual Enterprise team, Tidal Threads, taking 3rd place for booth sales.
“I think what helped us is the amount of communication and willingness to work with people you don’t know. That’s what makes a good team,” said Wooten.
The team has about half a month before embarking on their journey to the national competition. For now, they have the rest of March to prepare their team.
“We leave for New York April 5th-8th,” said Wooten.
The team looks forward to the 3-day New York competition, where the national championships will be the culmination of their hard work. Fruition Leather will be preparing for the championships in their strive for success.
