What began as a small program in 2024, with 30 student-run businesses, has grown into a large-scale entrepreneurial showcase, as Lynbrook High School hosted its third annual Virtual Enterprise Trade Show last week, featuring 71 firms from 50 school districts across Long Island.
The event gave students the chance to step into the role of entrepreneurs, building simulated companies from the ground up and presenting their ideas in a competitive, trade show-style environment. Led in part by Lynbrook High Virtual Enterprise teacher Ben Tieniber, the program, in which students develop real-world business and communication skills, continues to expand each year.
Among the many student-run businesses at the March 19 event was a Lynbrook High company, Smyle, which focuses on improving dental hygiene with a smart toothbrush connected to a mobile app. It gives users real-time feedback, tracking missed areas, plaque buildup and other potential dental concerns while also sharing the data it collects with dentists.
Skylar Wolkoff, a junior and the company’s chief operating officer, said that the 45 students in Tieniber’s Virtual Enterprise class developed the idea through a competitive process, presenting a number of concepts before narrowing it down by way of a class vote.
“Smyle is trying to get people to have the best, healthiest smile they can possibly have,” Wolkoff said.
She added that collaboration played a key role in refining the company’s concept, with every team member contributing to decision-making and execution.
Senior Anabel Chatterton, Smyle’s chief marketing officer, emphasized the importance of presentation and branding in attracting attention at the trade show. The company, she explained, focused on creating a visually appealing, teen-friendly brand to engage the audience, which resulted in strong interest and positive feedback throughout the event.
“The biggest thing I learned from this experience was how much it takes to make a company come together,” Chatterton said. “It’s a lot of work, delegating tasks and working together — especially assigning roles to people we’ve grown up with — but it was a great experience.”
Fellow senior Sophie Deifel, the company’s chief of sales, said the class has had an impact on her preparation for the future. “This might be the most I’ve ever learned from a class,” Deifel said. “In the long run, I know this is the class that’s going to help me prepare the most for my future career.”
Students also gained experience in making presentations in high-pressure environments. Wolkoff recently competed in a national “elevator pitch” competition at Long Island University, making a pitch about herself to a small group of companies before advancing to present in front of an audience of 300 high school students.
“To us, it feels like real money, a real product,” Deifel said. “We take it so seriously here.”
Other schools brought equally innovative ideas to the Lynbrook High show. An East Rockaway High company, Dear Dorm, was created to help families stay connected with first-year college students through customizable care packages containing hygiene products, energy drinks and handwritten letters.
“We want to sell the connection between college and your life at home,” ERHS senior Yihan Wang, the company’s chief technology officer, said. “Most of us are seniors going to college next year, so this is something a lot of us are interested in.”
Like other teams, the group developed a full
business model, including a website and marketing strategy, mirroring the process of launching a real company.
Tieniber said the program creates opportunities for students beyond the classroom, including participation in outside events such as a Virtual Enterprise Trade Show at LIU.
“The students gain real-life experience,” he said. “It’s preparing them for the future — a lot of them want to continue careers in business.”
Tieniber added that the program immerses students in professional environments early on.
“The students coming in dressed in suits and having business proposals prepared gets them introduced to the environment they will eventually experience in real life,” he said.
As interest continues to grow, Tieniber noted that Lynbrook High’s Virtual Enterprise classes have reached capacity — and have expanded to eighth grade — and he hopes more schools across Long Island will create similar programs.
