BBBS Matches SuitUp For Success
Big Brothers Big Sisters focuses on building relationships that help children succeed. Many of the connections we create center around the Bigs in our program. Others involve partnerships with community groups – organizations like SuitUp.
SuitUp is an educational non-profit that increases student career readiness through innovative virtual and in-person business competitions. At SuitUp events, students participate in solving realistic corporate challenges, such as designing a new product for Nike. They work with corporate volunteers who coach them on marketing, design, financing, and strategy, before pitching their proposals to judges for the opportunity to win a prize. By the end of the experience, students can come to see the corporate world as part of “their world,” and realize that job titles such as CEO, CFO, VP of Marketing, etc., are within their grasp.
Eleven BBBS matches signed up to attend a recent SuitUp event hosted by corporate partner Pimco in downtown Austin. Located high in the Frost Bank Tower, students in the 5th grade and above had the opportunity to work with business coaches to create a new app for the company. They prepared pitches that presented their plans for research, financing, and marketing their newly designed products.
The students were divided into 4 teams, and each team member had a different role as they worked to prepare their “Shark Tank” type pitch for the judges. Following the team pitches, the judges selected a winning team whose members received an Amazon gift card as a prize.
