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Annual Market Expo at Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center

The 91ֱ�� Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center recently turned into a big market for two days, and all of the vendors were students.

Entrepreneurship students from the CTC put their business ideas to the test during the district’s annual Market Expo.

“Market Expo is a one-day pop up event where our entrepreneurship students participate in a preliminary competitive pitch, and the teams who present the most viable business ideas are provided a safe and supportive space to create and sell products,” said Debbie Blackner, 91ֱ�� CTE specialist and one of the pioneers of entrepreneurship in the district.

The event is the culmination of months of preparation for students in 91ֱ��’s entrepreneurship program. Working in teams of three to five, they developed business plans, created products, designed marketing materials, and took on leadership roles.

But long before anything was sold, the student teams first pitched their business ideas to the in a competition to secure micro-loans to fund their startups.

Nineteen teams received funding from the Chamber and went on to more than double their micro-loans in total revenue during the Expo. After repaying their loans and covering expenses, each team earned profits that the students got to keep.

The budding entrepreneurs sold a wide variety of products during the event, including BBQ beef tips, pork sliders, mac-and-cheese chicken bowls, street tacos, cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, flowers, hand-sewn bags, and more.

But not every student was running a booth. Some students formed specialized teams responsible for marketing, logistics, customer experience, and data analysis to ensure the event ran smoothly. An eight-person student leadership team also helped coordinate the day.

The experience mirrors the real world of business. Students tracked key performance metrics throughout the event, including the cost of goods sold, completed sales, and both gross and net profits.

“Our Entrepreneurship I students truly hit it out of the park at this year’s Market Expo,” said Angela Montgomery, one of the entrepreneurship teachers who leads the event. “Their creativity, resilience, and new entrepreneurial mindset resulted in our most successful and profitable Expo to date.”

Montgomery and fellow CTC entrepreneurship teacher Izehi Agboaye were thrilled to see their students put so much into their businesses.

 “What makes this achievement even more meaningful is the pride students expressed in their work and the confidence they gained along the way, many now seeing opportunities in the business world they hadn’t imagined before,” Montgomery said. “Market Expo gives students a safe space to test ideas, take risks, experience failure, recover, learn, and ultimately succeed – exactly what entrepreneurship is all about.”

Through partnerships with the Chamber and hands-on experiences like Market Expo, 91ֱ�� students are learning far more than theory. They’re gaining the confidence and real-world skills to turn their ideas into a profitable reality.