Debra Klevens

Global Goodies employees stand outside the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge to get some fresh air before the oral presentation. The team placed first. “I think we won the business plan because of our extensive knowledge of the real world subscription box industry, and we were able to respond to any challenges the judges presented with concrete evidence,” senior Jack Gieseking.

It all began with a hungry belly and a need for food. What started as an idea became a business plan, a web page, and an international subscription box business. Sixteen high school student employees are running this business start-up, named Global Goodies VE.

“Every department had individual jobs. Marketing created the products, creative found a way to brand it, finance had to make sure the portal was accessible, communications got the word out, and everyone worked together to make the company mission,” Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Ma said.

Class periods became business hours of operation, whereby employees finalized the business plan, designed the subscription boxes, selected the products, researched the nutritional facts for allergens and created a commercial.

“I chose products based on quantity for the price, and the look so that they matched our business. For the website, I tried to get the base model up. In the future, I plan on doing the creative work for the website. The website took every day up until Pigeon Forge, and the products took a couple weeks,” Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Giganti said.

Employees had four months to launch their business before traveling nine hours to Pigeon Forge, TN to compete in a Virtual Enterprise southern regional trade show competition.

“The booth planning involved a lot of planning with the team, brainstorming, and pitching ideas. It was hard to agree on what to do until we actually got there and got to see it. The way it was constructed was like a gallery display, with two sides, in order to maximize the space and most efficiently display the products,” human resources employee Joon Bang said.

While at the trade show, employees competed in five national online competitions and six live competitions.

“We learned how to work together as a team in the hotel and at the actual competition,” Chief Executive Officer Jackson Piles said. “We also learned how to make a sale. The competition was tough but we rose above the occasion and did well.”

Global Goodies VE placed first in the business plan competition, qualifying them for the Youth Business Summit in New York.

“We are going to use the sales we made to reach out to more people through our marketing and advertisement,” Piles said.