Student Chief Executives from the Berks Career and Technology Center’s (BCTC) afternoon Business Management and Entrepreneurship (BME) program recently had the exciting opportunity to pitch their company idea to Robert Herjavec during the 20th Anniversary of the Schmidt Training and Technology Center at Reading Area Community College.
Herjavec is widely recognized for appearing as a regular investor on the Canadian Dragons’ Den and in the United States on Shark Tank, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of potential investors.
The student leadership team represented Proxima, a virtual, student-built company that is part of Virtual Enterprises International. Proxima is an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered communication technology company created by students in October 2025. The company offers innovative accessories such as earbuds, highlighters, and glasses that translate spoken audio and written text into the user’s language of choice.
Participating students included Gabriel Rhoads, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Hamburg senior; Tirzah Fekelman, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Daniel Boone junior; Garrett Vernay, Chief Financial Officer and Twin Valley junior; Kaylee Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer and Twin Valley junior; and Vaghn McElroy, Chief Technical and Design Officer and Wilson senior.
The students created a professional presentation, practiced extensively, and prepared for anticipated questions from the judges. They delivered a 12-minute presentation in front of a live audience and panel that included Herjavec and local industry leaders. Following the presentation, the panel conducted a question-and-answer session. Kaylee shared, “we were asked about our target market during the event as well as pricing, profit margins, software, and where our accessories were made and assembled.”
Gabriel stated, “we have presented at several competitions that have prepared us, even how to improvise in front of judges.” Kaylee proudly stated, “this was our best presentation.” Vaghn reflected on the experience, saying, “the biggest challenge was stress and preparation. The butterflies in the stomach, not knowing what is expected to happen. Honestly, I really think we did well and we beat those butterflies.”
Before taking the stage, students were able to spend time with Herjavec and the panel, where they were inspired by his journey from immigrating from Croatia to founding The Herjavec Group, one of the largest information technology and computer security companies in Canada. Gabriel stated, “He was understanding of what upcoming entrepreneurs go through.” Garrett added, “Robert is a down-to-earth, cool person who really cared about people.”
The students also had the opportunity to meet former Shark Tank winners and local entrepreneurs from Bro Glo, a company that creates self-tanning products for men.
While there was not an actual investment offer as seen on television, the students were surprised when they were given a $1,000 scholarship to RACC. All students plan to use the scholarship to take college classes and invest in their futures.
BCTC’s Culinary students also contributed to the event by preparing cookies for attendees, featuring the creative tag line: “A cookie is always worth the investment.”
It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students. Herjavec left them with memorable advice: “You can fail a thousand times, but when you get that one shot, it is all you need.”
