A group gathers in a corner conference room to discuss the challenges of how to bring its business idea MeltWell, a throat lozenge in the form of a thin strip that dissolves on the tongue, to market.

As a grunge-rock instrumental walk-up song blares through the speakers, a team of high school students in business professional dress ascend the stairs of the stage at Varidesk headquarters in Coppell.

Developing a viable business was the goal of the students who decided to take a business incubator class at Deerfield High School back in August. At the end of the year, one of 15 teams would be selected as the winner in a "Shark Tank"-style competition among the 69 budding entrepreneurs.

It’s a mission of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce to support entrepreneurship and help businesses get started. One example is the Incubatoredu program at Rock Island High School.

A service allowing high school students to rent out their parking spots, a teen streetwear brand, and car seat attachments to protect children from overheating were among the winning business ideas at Batavia High School’s recent "Pitch Night."

BARRINGTON, Ill., May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — High School students aren’t waiting to earn their diplomas before inventing a product and establishing a business of their own. Uncharted Learning, a not-for-profit organization, has undertaken the mission to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of teenagers through their MobileMakersEdu and INCubatoredu programs.

LAKE FOREST/LAKE BLUFF — After creating Safe & Sound Spray in the Lake Forest High School business incubator class two years ago, the company’s owners continue to both sell and improve the product. The owners are Jenelle Frevert and Gwen Driscoll. The two, now college freshmen, are promoting their business both locally — as they did with a self defense class March 13 at LFHS — and nationally — as they did with a pitch on the QVC online shopping network February 23.

A visitor to Deerfield High School’s business incubator class might think they had walked into a modern suite of offices.The class, which is new this school year, directs students to develop their own businesses while they work with mentors and coaches from the local business community. With three separate classes totaling 71 students, the hopeful entrepreneurs work in teams to come up with an idea for a business and develop the model so that it can be pitched to a panel of investors by the end of the year, according to Joe Navickas, who teaches the course.

April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — April is designated as National Volunteer Month and Jason McCann, founder and CEO of VARIDESK, and Isaiah Stanback, former Dallas Cowboy, member of the 2012 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and co-founder of Steadfast Fitness, are two volunteers to be celebrated. McCann and Stanback are two of approximately 30 business professionals who donate their time to the Coppell High School INCubatoredu entrepreneurial program.