Wausau Daily Herald: Eighth-grader Zoë Anderson just got a $120 investment to take her babysitting enterprise to the next level. She plans to use the cash to buy a first-aid kit and take an experienced babysitting class through the Red Cross as she dives head-first into the world of entrepreneurialism.
Zoë is among 15 students who pitched their businesses to a “Shark Tank” of local investors Wednesday. Each business received a donation of between $50 and $230.
The “sharks” on the investor panel came from local businesses and the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, and they divided $1,500 among the participating D.C. Everest Jr. High School students. The name references the ABC reality show “Shark Tank,” on which entrepreneurs present fledgling businesses to industry leaders. The funding for the D.C. Everest event came from outside donors, and the students don’t have to pay it back.
Zoë wants to expand her business, Z.A. Sitting, to include pet-sitting as well as child care. And she has her sights set much higher: the money she raises will go into a college fund and help her become a nurse, she told investors.