Shark Tank project for students: a 45-minute pitch, grades 6–8
What it is: teams invent a product or service that solves a real problem at school, then pitch it in 90 seconds to a panel of classmate investors who ask hard questions and decide where to put pretend money. It's a Shark Tank-style project for students in grades 6–8 that fits in one 45-minute class.
Time: about 45 minutes.
Materials: scrap paper and markers, a visible timer, and pretend money: each investor gets $1,000 to split, written on sticky notes. No sticky notes? Investors write amounts on scrap paper.
- Find a problem (5 min). Teams of three choose a problem at school: long lunch lines, lost water bottles, a messy locker. Ask: "Who has this problem, and how often?"
- Build the pitch (12 min). Post the five parts on the board: the problem, the solution, the customer, the price and why customers will pay it, and the ask ("We're asking for $500 to make our first 50").
- Run the numbers (5 min). Each team estimates the cost to make one, sets a price and finds the profit on each sale. Ask: "If it costs $3 to make and you charge $5, how many must you sell to pay back $500?" (250.)
- Seat the investors. Three or four students from teams not pitching sit at the front. Rotate the panel every few pitches.
- Pitch and questions (90 seconds plus 60 seconds each). Give investors this question bank: "Who would buy this?" "How did you pick the price?" "What stops someone from copying you?" "What's your biggest risk?"
- Invest. Each investor puts any part of the $1,000 on teams' sticky notes, or nothing, and says one sentence about why.
- Debrief: "Which pitches got the most money, and what did they have in common?" Usually: a clear customer and numbers that add up.
Ground rules: ideas must be safe and school-appropriate, no real company names or logos, and investors can't fund their own team. Clap for every pitch.
Differentiation: for students who need more support, give a pitch frame ("Have you ever ___? Our product ___. It costs ___.") and let them pitch from notes. For advanced students, add a competitor slide and one honest weakness. For English learners, let teams split the pitch so each person says one part, and rehearse it once with a partner. For students with speaking anxiety, allow a recorded pitch, a poster or the role of numbers expert who answers only the money questions.
Quick check: exit ticket: "Name your customer, your price, and the investor question you'd answer better next time."
If you try it, share the idea that got the most pretend money in your class.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 28, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades 6–8
- Subject
- Business
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.