Newport Harbor team places high in state business competition

A team of Newport Harbor High School students took second- and third-place awards in the California State Business Competition last week.

The team, Emperor Inc., took home second place in trade booth design and third in both website design and salesmanship.

Two teams at the Newport Beach school qualified for the competition, sponsored by Virtual Enterprises International and held Jan. 14 and 15 in Bakersfield. They had earned top marks at a regional competition in December at the Orange County Department of Education in Costa Mesa.

Emperor Inc. and the other team, Speed Dealers, consist of students in Newport Harbor’s International Baccalaureate business management class for upperclassmen.

Students decided what their hypothetical businesses would promote and then filled team roles such as marketing, human resources and chief executive.

Members of the Emperor team decided their company would sell coolers and insulated beverage containers, while those on the Speed Dealers team made their business a car dealership.

For regionals, each team submitted a 30-page business plan and gave a 10-minute presentation to a panel of business professionals.

The Newport Harbor teams were among 100 statewide selected to the state competition, where Speed Dealers placed seventh in booth design and eighth in salesmanship.

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

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Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10