Virtual Enterprise placed top five at Virtual Enterprise International West Coast Regional Trade Show in San Bernardino.
Story by Max Messineo
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Janna Conner
Contributor
The Virtual Enterprise varsity and JV teams competed in the Virtual Enterprise International West Coast Regional Trade Show in San Bernardino on Thursday, March 5. They placed in the top five out of 54 schools, which qualified them for the Youth Business Summit in New York in April of 2026.
Various countries attend the Youth Business Summit, where students are mixed together and put into teams.
“[Students] get to know different people and different cultural backgrounds,” Virtual Enterprise teacher Janna Conner said.
Both varsity and JV Finance placed gold in company branding in the San Bernardino competition, as well as varsity winning bronze for their elevator pitch, a minute long, memorized presentation. JV won silver for their elevator pitch, and online video submission sales pitch.
Competitions typically consist of a mixture of live and online video presentations, and various planning competitions which include marketing or business. Competitions also include a three to four hour long trade floor show, depending on the event, where teams design and set up a booth showcasing their product.
Each booth is visited by two anonymous judges, and at the end of the event, they compare scores to determine the winners. Scores are based on booth design, sales pitches, how well the students know their product, and professionalism.
The products that students bring to competitions are decided by class vote. A team of four students pitch the idea to the class, and the winning idea is the one that the class develops. Before pitches and competitions, students are taught fundamental business skills, such as marketing and branding.
