Enactus Hosts Annual Swimming with the Sharks Event

Sharks are coming to Briar Cliff University.

Hopeful small-town businesses are getting the chance to get funding through Briar Cliff Enactus’ 13th annual Swimming with the Sharks. A competition based on the TV show Shark Tank.

Enactus, a non-profit, international organization at Briar Cliff set up the event and has fundraised through the years to raise $10 thousand to donate.

“It’s kind of like Shark Tank,” says Cody Salker, the president of Enactus. “But we don’t invest we just donate to help get them started and help build their companies up.”

The contestants are Nested Boutique and Rebel Fitness from Sloan, Iowa, Cheddar Rush food truck out of Jefferson South Dakota, Moon Wellness and Company from Sioux City, and Dagel Rabbitry from Sanborn, Iowa.

“We really wanted to give back to the Siouxland community and support local entrepreneurs,” says Salker. “I’m from the area so supporting local businesses is pretty important to me.”

Paige Dagel, the founder of Dagel Rabbitry, is a junior business and marketing major at Briar Cliff. She’s using this opportunity in hopes of purchasing additional housing facilities, doubling the size of her business and selling more rabbits across the country.

“My goal for Dagel Rabbitry is to breed show quality rabbits and get youth involvement in a rabbit project,” says Dagel. “Rabbit projects teach youth about responsibility and are a gateway to the agricultural industry.”

During the competition, each company gets seven minutes to pitch their business, describe what they plan to do if they get the money, and what their future goals are. The judges are

given three minutes to ask questions, and once each pitch is given, they are given 20 minutes to decide which businesses get donations.

Last year's winner, Dustin Rhoades, the founder of Ability Tech Foundation, will be giving a speech to the contestants and audience during the decision.

“He works with kids with disabilities,” says Salker. “It gives them the chance to play baseball and has a machine where it helps them swing the bat if they can’t.”

Enactus has been working non-stop to keep this tradition alive after facing many challenges throughout the years.

“It was a dying project for a bit,” says Alyssa Bauer, a junior at Briar Cliff and member of Enactus. “We were one of the top six schools in the country for Enactus, but once covid hit it kind of slowly went down.”

Enactus encourages members to join their program to give more fundraising opportunities to students around Siouxland. “It’s one thing to work with them but when you actually see it happen it feels awesome,” says Salker.

The competition takes place at 7 p.m. Friday in the St. Francis Center on campus.

Swimming with the Sharks informational poster.