2 Newport Harbor High teams head to state business competition

Two teams of Newport Harbor High School students will compete in a state business plan competition in January in Bakersfield.

The students qualified for the competition, sponsored by Virtual Enterprises International, after submitting 30-page plans for mock businesses and giving 10-minute presentations to a panel of business professionals this month at the Orange County Department of Education.

The Newport Harbor teams are among 42 statewide selected to the business plan competition.

The teams — Emperor Inc. and Speed Dealers — consist of students in Newport Harbor’s International Baccalaureate business management class for upperclassmen.

At the beginning of the school year, students in the class decided what their hypothetical businesses would promote and who would fill roles such as chief executive, finance team, marketing team and human resources department.

Members of the Emperor Inc. team decided their company would sell coolers, insulated beverage containers and similar products.

Those on the Speed Dealers team made their business a car dealership.

Emily Gess is the CEO of Emperor Inc., and Madeline Bubb is the top executive of Speed Dealers.

Emperor Inc. and Speed Dealers will submit their business plans and presentations from the previous qualifying rounds to business professionals at the state competition.

The contest will determine which six teams in California will advance to Virtual Enterprises’ next competition, hosting 500 teams from the United States, Canada and South America in April in New York.