ORONO — When Ryan Fernstrom stepped onto the Shark Tank stage at the University of Maine, he wasn’t just pitching a business idea. He was testing something far more personal — his confidence.
Just months earlier, the first-year student from Bentonville, Arkansas, admits he was nervous simply introducing himself in class. Now, he was blowing a whistle in a tracksuit, popping a balloon under a teammate’s shirt and delivering punchlines to a packed auditorium of judges and peers.
“I remember that first class presentation, we just had to say our names and where we were from,” Fernstrom said. “I was kind of nervous for that. And then when we got up there for the Shark Tank, I felt like we really kind of had it in the bag.”
The performance — complete with skits, surprise entrances from the audience and Sharpie-drawn six-pack abs — helped their team win first place and a $1,000 prize. But for Fernstrom and teammate Hewitt Sykes, a first-year from South Portland, Maine, the real victory came long before the winners were announced.
“It taught us a lot about public speaking,” Sykes said. “It wasn’t as bad as we all thought, at least.”
Their winning concept, “Orono Fitness,” develops individualized workout plans tailored to each client’s goals, abilities and preferences. Plans include detailed exercises, timing guidance and considerations for current fitness levels to support safe and effective training.
The project was created as part of the Maine Business School’s Introduction to Business course and culminated in a Shark Tank-style competition that challenges students to build, market and pitch a side hustle from scratch.
The Intro to Business course is one of many Research Learning Experiences (RLEs) offered at UMaine and across the University of Maine System (UMS).These courses allow students to meaningfully engage in hands-on research early in their university education, fostering deeper connections on campus and pathways to Maine careers.
They are part of the Systemwide Student Success and Retention initiative made possible by a $320 million dollar investment by the Harold Alfond Foundation in Maine’s public universities, known as UMS TRANSFORMS.
From strangers to startup team
Fernstrom and Sykes didn’t know each other before arriving at UMaine. They met during Bridge Week orientation, when first-year business students were grouped into cohorts.
“We were basically in a small group and got a campus tour together,” Sykes said.
By late August, they were being told that by semester’s end, they’d pitch their side hustle before judges. At the time, the idea felt distant.
“When we first heard about Shark Tank during Bridge Week, we were like, ‘What are the odds we do that well?’” Fernstrom said. “It felt so far away.”
Their section’s peer leader, sophomore Aja Turner of Calgary, Canada, grouped them together with three other first-year students: Noah Denham of Bangor, Maine; Fern Giarla of Roslindale, Massachusetts; and Corbin Voisine of South Portland. None had prior entrepreneurial experience.
“They didn’t know each other,” Turner said. “They just had to figure it out.”
The class prompt assigned their group a broad theme: fitness and meal plans.
“It was super vague,” Turner said. “Just ‘fitness and meal plans’ and do with it what you will.”
The team began by exploring both nutrition and exercise before pivoting toward workout plans, a move driven by their own interests and backgrounds.
“We realized we kind of wanted to go more toward the workout plan side,” Fernstrom said. “We knew we had Ryan for cardio, and Noah for strength, so we felt more comfortable with that.”
A real sale and real lessons
Midway through the semester, the group confronted a challenge common to real startups: pricing.
“We dropped our price from $20 to $15,” Fernstrom said. “We realized we’re not professional trainers yet, and it’s going to be hard to get people to buy a freshman-in-college plan.”
Soon after, they made their first sale — a customized workout plan for another first-year student on campus.
“That first sale was very impactful,” Sykes said. “It really gives a chance to actually test what we do.”
They built the plan around the client’s class schedule, the campus recreation center and indoor track.
“We wanted to work around their class times and the hours at the rec center,” Sykes said. “That way it could be the most convenient for them.”
Even though revenue was small, the experience was transformative.
“It worked, and it was real,” Fernstrom said. “Now I know all the steps. I know the progression. If I have an idea and want to try to make something, I have the tools to actually create it.”
Selling the product and themselves
As the competition neared, Turner recognized that the group’s biggest strength wasn’t just the business concept.
“They were never selling me on what they were talking about,” she said. “They were selling me on themselves.”
Many teams, she noted, delivered straightforward presentations heavy on data. Orono Fitness took a different approach. They turned their pitch into something crowd-pleasing.
“We wanted it to look like a performance,” Fernstrom said.
Voisine walked on stage with a balloon stuffed under his shirt and a fast-food cup in hand. Fernstrom followed in a tracksuit with a whistle and popped the balloon — a visual metaphor for transforming unhealthy habits.
Later, Sykes and Denham entered from the audience, forcing heads to turn and attention to shift. The presentation ended with the group lifting their shirts to reveal drawn-on six-pack abs.
“People had to turn their heads and actually be engaged,” Sykes said. “That was different.”
The humor carried risk. Would entertainment overshadow the business?
“We were thinking, ‘Is humor enough to win the $1,000?’” Sykes said. “But we knew we executed the way we wanted to.”
Their growth was unmistakable
Neither Fernstrom nor Sykes entered college with public speaking experience. Fernstrom’s only childhood performance was a first-grade “Twelve Days of Christmas” play, where he played the “Lord of Leaping.”
“I had one line, and I messed it up,” he said, laughing. “But I saved it.”
Sykes’ speaking background came from captaining his high school hockey team.
“I was used to locker room speeches — 20 guys — not 300-plus,” he said.
By the time Shark Tank arrived, the nerves had shifted to preparation.
“If we messed it up, we restarted,” Sykes said. “You’re going to be nervous no matter what. You just get up there and speak.”
Turner said the growth was unmistakable.
“They grew their business, but they also grew as people,” she said. “Their public speaking went from here to here.”
Every free moment spent preparing
When judges announced Orono Fitness as the winner, the team was stunned.
“We were surprised,” Sykes said. “There were a lot of good teams. But looking back, I do think we definitely had the funniest presentation.”
They left the stage with a $1,000 prize and something harder to quantify.
“It gave me a ton of confidence,” Fernstrom said. “It showed me it’s possible. If you have an idea, you can make it real.”
For Turner, the result validated the long hours spent rehearsing during finals week.
“Every free moment was spent preparing,” she said. “Dress rehearsals, team meetings. They really put in the work.”
What’s next for Orono Fitness?
The team is now discussing whether to continue Orono Fitness beyond the classroom.
“We plan on talking about it more and evaluating where we go from here,” Sykes said. “We’re open to ideas.”
Regardless of whether the business continues, Turner believes the lesson will last.
“That’s the real success,” she said. “They learned how to sell themselves — and that’s key in business.”
