The Results Are IN! The Top High School Students from Across the Country Pitch at SEED SPOT High School Demo Day

What were you doing in High School? Were you learning how to build your own social enterprise and then pitching to over 300 people?

Well, that’s what 1,500 students that participated in SEED SPOT’s High School Program did over the past year. In the program, SEED SPOT trained teachers to empower their students from across the country to identify a local, national, or global problem and create a market-based solution. To culminate the year-long program, the top 23 finalist teams showcased their innovative ideas at the SEED SPOT High School Demo Day on May 6th, 2017.

The top students from Virginia, New Jersey, and Arizona gathered for the day-long event where students received mentorship and advisement from mentors and investors.

Tell me more about SEED SPOT’s High School Program?!

Over the course of a year, each student formed a team with fellow students and set off on the journey of identifying a problem and creating a venture around it. The teams explored how to interview potential customers, validate the demand, properly size a market, project cost and revenues, measure impact, and most importantly change the world for the better. The curriculum was adapted from SEED SPOT’s adult incubator that has empowered over 288 ventures who have collectively raised more than $8.4m of capital!

Networking Session at SEED SPOT High School Demo Day

So, how did they get to pitch at the SEED SPOT High School Demo Day?

Each High School hosted a Demo Day for their school and community! Every student team pitched for 3 minutes. Schools brought in judges from their community to encourage each venture and choose the venture to progress onwards to the culminating SEED SPOT High School Demo Day!

What Happened at the SEED SPOT High School Demo Day?

Inspiration happened. Amazingness happened. Each venture pitched for 3 minutes to an in-person crowd of over 300 and hundred more viewing via live stream. A panel of judges comprised of two SEED SPOT Board Members and SEED SPOT Team member were up front and center to help pick the prize winners. In addition, there was an audience engagement opportunity with audience members able to vote for their favorite venture that demonstrated the “most impact!”

We Can Do it Pitching at SEED SPOT High School Demo Day

Drum roll….

With over $20k in cash and in-kind prizes up for grabs, the competition was fierce (but really SUPER POSITIVE)!

$5,000 Cisco Innovation Challenge: TempTrac, an IoT device designed for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts that detects body temperature using a system that helps prevent heat stroke. Unlike other products on the market, this device predicts warning signs through artificial intelligence and alerts the user before it is too late.

$3,000 Cisco Innovation Challenge: Safe Soles, a venture focused on helping parents locate missing children through a gel shoe insert with tracking technology. Unlike other wearable devices that are easy to see or remove, the covert nature of this device makes it difficult to know a child is wearing a tracking device.

$2,000 Cisco Innovation Challenge: DesignU, is a product that captures your unique personality and takes strides to find a cure for cancer. By picking your base color that correlates to a specific cancer research, you can upload a picture to be printed on the glass cell phone protective cover. With our proprietary material, when the screen is off, the picture is displayed. When the light shines through, the picture disappears and the phone can be used normally. For each cover sold, 10% is donated to the Cancer Research Institute.

$2,500 Judges Choice Award: Drip Drop Water Solutions, a venture designed to preserve water through a provisionally patented thermostatic trigger valve that permits water to emerge from a shower head only when the water reaches desired temperature.

$2,500 Audience Choice Award: Redesigned, focused on helping with the recidivism rate by launching a furniture company that employs ex-convicts and teaches them skills to refurbish and sell furniture.

$2,000 SEED SPOT Choice Award: Team Invigorate, hailing from Newark, NJ focused on raising awareness of black owned businesses through a website and app focused on promoting black business.

In addition to the amazing cash prizes, the startup community rallied with in-kind prizes including summer office space from Workuity, 1:1 mentorship with leaders from EY, GoDaddy, and Arizona Republic, and the opportunity to prototype and learn additional skills at the University of Advanced Technology.

We want to give a special shout out to all the teachers that led the students for a full year:

Darrell Kidd: MET Professional Academy– Peoria, AZ
Sarahi Chavez: Empower College Prep– Phoenix, AZ
Nathaniel Hester: Brophy College Preparatory– Phoenix, AZ
Jan Miller and Richie Ressel: Phoenix Collegiate Academy– Phoenix, AZ
Christen Mamenko: Millwood School– Midlothian, VA
Jerika McKeon: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
McKenzie Moyer: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
Danielle Rice: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
Joey Richardson: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
Steve Ruiz: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
Danielle Townsend: ASU Preparatory Polytechnic– Mesa, AZ
Krista Gypton: City High School– Tucson, AZ
Peter Boyle: Western School of Science and Technology– Phoenix, AZ
Carlos Encinas: Desert Garden Montessori– Phoenix, AZ
Tristan Gandolfi: Red Mountain High School– Mesa, AZ
Lillian Sutton: ASU Preparatory Phoenix Phoenix, AZ
Michael Reppenhagen: ASU Preparatory Phoenix Phoenix, AZ
Alisha Maxwell: ASU Preparatory Phoenix
Chris Sepe: ASU Preparatory Phoenix
Rachael Whitney: ASU Preparatory Phoenix
Harold Brown: KIPP: Newark Collegiate Academy– Newark, NJ
Rita Lopez: North High School– Phoenix, AZ
Sylvia Lopez: Cesar Chavez High School– Phoenix, AZ

Looking to learn more about SEED SPOT’s High School Program? Read more on the 3 HUGE BENEFITS OF TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Bring SEED SPOT to a school near you! Refer a school here!