From an auction house to the world of entrepreneurs, La Martiniere for Boys put the theories of economics and accountancy into practice at their two-day business conclave, The Dalal Street, partnered by t2.
Students geared up to exercise their marketing and managerial skills as famous paintings, arms, a Nokia phone and even the Elder Wand went under the hammer in the first event, Big Bidder. Participants had to guess the actual price of a commodity and place a bid. Following this, they had to sell their purchases at the highest possible value.
Setting up start-ups is a lucrative but adventurous venture and Redefining Strategic Startups provided young enthusiasts the necessary platform. They had to pitch a product they want launched in front of the judges. In Shark Tank, the same teams had to try and sell their stocks to a more rigorous panel. "We are eager to launch our app, Twitchclick. It is designed for wildlife enthusiasts - they can use it to track rare bird species," said Sehr Singh and Angad Khanna, Class XI students of Modern School, Vasant Vihar.
Some other events lined up for the day were Bizquiz, Crisis Management, Social Initiatives by Corporates and 11 Wall Street. The last one replicated a day at the stock exchange, wherein aspiring "businessmen" and "businesswomen" were seen buying shares from the market just after the bell went. Students also got a chance to try luck at Monopoly. The popular game assumed a giant version with a huge board and dice to go with it.
The events on Day II included Panama Papers and Media Manipulation. Each school delegation was divided into two groups - media and its corresponding firms. The meet ended with a panel discussion. St. Xavier's Collegiate School was adjudged Overall Champion. Harshit Jain of The Heritage School bagged the award for Best Entrepreneur and Treenok Guha of St. James' School the Best Crisis Manager.
"Being the CEO of Dalal Street was challenging as well as rewarding. Budgeting with limited resources was a tedious task. However, our administration team pulled it off," said Akshat Patodia, a Class XII student of the host school.
John Rafi, the principal of La Martiniere for Boys, said: "It was a unique kind of a conclave, given the fact that it was for commerce students. The activities were invaluable and rewarding for both the organisers and participants." City schools such as Modern High School for Girls, La Martiniere for Girls, Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, St. Xavier's Collegiate School and Don Bosco, Park Circus, were joined by outstation ones, including Welham Boys' School, Dehra Dun and Modern School, Barakhamba Road and Vasant Vihar, as well.
