When Malia Minarik, a junior at Magnificat High School, took Deborah Barlow’s Metals and Jewelry class last year, she found she had a knack for making jewelry. She gave a ring she made to her friend, Alexis Schweibinz, who was learning about entrepreneurship at the school. “She loved it,” recalls Minarik of her gift to Schweibinz.

By Thanksgiving break, Minarik had taught Schweibinz metal arts and the two had decided to make a business of their craft with ASMM Jewelry and Metal Arts. The pair target their classmates, setting up a table during their lunch periods and relying on word of mouth. “We’re aimed at high school students because we are affordable,” says Minarik.

ASMM Jewelry will be among 10 high school competitors in the Veale Foundation Youth Entrepreneurship Forum’s annual Demo Day at LaunchHouse this Thursday, March 5. The 10 businesses will present their business plans in front of judges, peers, family and supporters to compete for a $1,000 grand prize.

The Veale Foundation started the annual business plan competition four years ago as part of its mission to foster and promote entrepreneurship in high schools around Northeast Ohio. “It’s been a great run so far,” says executive director Cynthia Bailie. “We’re always looking to bring entrepreneurship opportunities to the schools.”

Thursday’s event is among area independent schools, and the competing companies are at various stages of development. The Veale Foundation holds a similar event in May with Youth Opportunities Unlimited’s  E-CITY (Entrepreneurship Connecting, inspiring and Teaching Youth) program.

Last Saturday, the teams participated in an executive coaching day at LaunchHouse to finalize and polish their presentations. Coaches affiliated with LaunchHouse gave tips and tricks to the students. “It was really helpful,” says Minarik. “We got really good insight into our presentation and information that was helpful to us as a business.”

Ethan Silverman, a freshman at Montessori High School at University Circle and owner of All Around the Apple, also will be competing on Thursday. He repairs cracked iPad and iPhone screens and provides diagnostic services. Silverman will even advise his customers on what to get when they’re looking at new phones.

“I’ve always been a tech guy and I’m good with phones,” explains Silverman, who started the company after his friend broke a phone and went to Silverman for help fixing it. While he couldn’t fix it himself, he learned how to and All Around the Apple was founded.

Silverman has served about 20 people so far. His goal is to have two customers a week. He prides himself on his competitive pricing -- $10 to $30 cheaper than bringing it to the Apple Store. “But it’s not about price, it’s the convenience. I’ve gone to people’s houses, to coffee shops,” he says. “My best strategic quality is I can do the repair wherever you want.”

Silverman also found the coaching helpful and is prepared for the competition. “We ran through the presentation and did more editing and organizing,” he says. “I have to present the business and little more, show what the business is.” Interested customers can email Silverman if they would like a quote.

“It’s an incredible experience for the students,” says Bailie. “They get real world experience and they loved it. The teachers love it too.”