Incubator Pitch Night brought together some of the most innovative minds in Frisco ISD for the chance to win startup funding.
Rachel McReynolds – Frisco ISD
The brightest entrepreneurial minds in Frisco ISD gathered last month to share their business ideas and win funding for their pitches.
It’s Shark Tank for the high school crowd.
At the annual Business Incubator Pitch Night, teams from Centennial, Emerson, Frisco, Heritage and Lone Star high schools presented businesses that ranged from a tabletop clamp to an AI assistant for business marketing.
After each pitch, a panel of four judges who work in the business world peppered students with questions, asking about costs, timelines and valuations, among other details. And these well-prepared students had answers at the ready.
“For them to get on stage, in front of us, and have the confidence to believe something regardless of what it is — ’I’ve got a dream, and I’m going to convince you of my dream’ — that puts them in a very, very small group of people,” said judge Peter Burns, president of the Frisco Education Foundation Board and a business owner. “They’re bound to be successful.”
Burns joined three other business experts on the judges’ panel: Megan Stevens of CORE Construction, Nirjhor Rahman of the Bangladesh Angels Network, and James Collins, who is retired from McDonald’s corporate.
Judges split the $3,000 prize provided by the Frisco Education Foundation among three groups:
Career Quake from Centennial High School won $1,500. Team members are Vardhan Nahar, Preesha Manduva and Ananya Kalakada, and their teacher is Tommy Thompson.
Clampdown from Emerson High School won $750. Team members are Conner Arnold, Andrew Bologna, Logan Miller and Jon Strittmatter, and their teacher is Revenia Lock.
AiME Technologies from Lone Star High School won $750. The team includes Pranav Desu, and the teacher is Jill Bell.
Career Quake, an online platform for connecting high school interns with local businesses, “was really realistic,” Stevens said. “They’re starting small and local. I can see that taking off and then growing that way.”
Team member Vardhan Nahar said they went through a number of business ideas before landing on Career Quake, but he’s happy with where they ended up.
“To choose an idea, begin to see success and get an investment has inspired us more than ever,” Vardhan said. “We are super excited for the future and now know that with relentless work, the sky’s the limit.”
Thompson can see the impact the IncubatorEDU class has had on students over the years.
“This class prepares students for future careers but also equips them with essential life skills that are invaluable in today’s global world,” he said. “I’m very proud.”