Students win $3,450 in Shark Tank-style pitch competition and advance to national finals
NFTE Midwest Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Champion
2024 NFTE Midwest Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Winners
CHICAGO, May 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a global entrepreneurship education nonprofit, has announced six local student companies as the winners of its annual Midwest Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Competition. The young entrepreneurs emerged with innovative business ideas and will compete for the title of national champion and cash prizes at the national finals in New York on October 10.
Participants pitched their unique business concepts to a panel of prestigious judges, including NFTE alumna and entrepreneur Autumn Harmon, Tim Liston, Corporate Responsibility Leader at Ernst & Young (EY US), Dave Richards, General Manager of Slalom Chicago, and Renita Young, Host and Senior Market Correspondent at Schwab Network. The judges selected winners who received cash prizes of $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place.
The audience also selected Jaylyn Metcalf of Thornwood High School (Business Idea, Supporting Black Women) as the Fastpitch People’s Choice winner, receiving $250, and two runners-up, Ayana Singleton of Cleveland Metropolitan Remote School (Singleton School of Etiquette & Manners) and Sayana Scott of St. Louis Science Center (Naturals), won $100 each.
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First place: Ariana Whitaker from Thornwood High School in Chicago Her business idea, DigiPlan, is a reward-based app that integrates with students’ learning management system platforms to customize schedules and encourage assignment completion to increase productivity.
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2nd place: Rahi Pachbai from St. Louis Science Center in Missouri Her business idea led her to start Lights On, a charitable non-profit organisation working towards inclusivity for the disabled, which manufactures high-quality adaptive clothing and prosthetics that are functional and durable.
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3rd place: Tywon Barber from Beloit Memorial High School in Wisconsin His business idea is Ty’s Tech Repair, a tech repair shop that employs mostly teenage interns to provide hands-on learning under the guidance of a lead technician. Services include computer repairs, upgrades, basic hardware replacements and software problem resolution.
“We are so proud of all of the young people who competed in the Midwest,” said Dr. Scott Nasatia, NFTE Midwest Executive Director. “Not only are these young entrepreneurs developing innovative ideas to solve complex problems, but they are also incredibly passionate about improving their communities. We are so proud of them, their teachers and their families!”
The NFTE Midwest Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was sponsored by EY US, Ingredion and Slalom, in collaboration with Citi Foundation, PayPal, Santander and Shopify, with additional support from HBK Engineering.
For media inquiries, please contact Angelika Seaman at 603-504-8554 or Denise Berkhalter (APR) at 917-281-4362, mediainquiries@nfte.com.
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About NFTE
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) inspires the entrepreneurial spirit through unique learning experiences that empower students to shape their own futures. Founded in 1987, NFTE is a global nonprofit organization that provides quality entrepreneurial education to middle school, high school and higher education students. NFTE brings the power of entrepreneurship to students regardless of family income, community resources, special needs, gender identity, race or ethnicity. NFTE has educated more than one million students by delivering programs in-school, out-of-school, in-person, online or through hybrid models. For more information, visit nfte.com.
Attachments
CONTACT: Denise Berkhalter, APR Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) 917-281-4362 deniseb@nfte.com
