See the winners, their prizes and their next steps from EntreX 2022.
On March 4, teams of high school entrepreneurs met up at Clayton Hall, University of Delaware to participate in a head to head pitch event. These dedicated students got to pitch their startup ideas in front of a group of accomplished judges in the field of entrepreneurship. The 2022 EntreX Delaware Venture Showcase drew 12 teams of budding entrepreneurs from seven high schools from all around the state of Delaware. These teens pitched their concepts ranging from hot tea delivery services to new and improved braces designed to improve ACL tear recovery.
The teams of highly motivated students competed for a seat in the semifinal round of the 2022 Diamond Challenge, a top ranked high school entrepreneurship competition powered by University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship. Along with that, the teams were vying for the $1000 first place prize or $500 for second place in one of two respective tracks being a business or social focus.
David Liss, Global Business Leader, W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. represented Gore as a sponsor of the event. Liss expressed his impressions of the event and students, “The breadth of opportunities that Delaware students have to engage in innovation and entrepreneurship is truly impressive. I’m amazed at the quality and number of extremely innovative ideas being developed - and the true passion being demonstrated by students! I’m proud to be a part of the Horn Youth programs.”
The teams that competed hailed from schools all over the state of Delaware, and each team certainly made their high school proud.
In the Business Track, the competing teams were:
The Social Innovation Track hosted the following teams:
The schools adopted the EntreX Lab program, which gives students early access to entrepreneurial education with up to three college credits. The curriculum focuses on the key skills of idea generation, creative problem solving, leadership, evidence-based decision making, resilience, teamwork and persuasive communication. With the EntreX Lab in place, students get an in-depth understanding of the world of entrepreneurship before they even graduate high school. Learn more about the EntreX Lab program and adopt it at your school.
The Business Innovation Track saw a plethora of great ideas that may hit the market in the upcoming years, led by some of the brightest minds of the next generation.
Honest Mechanics of Saint Mark’s High School earned the second place prize and punched their ticket to the semifinals in the 2022 Diamond Challenged. Their innovative app syncs with a device that plugs into cars and reads error codes. The app would let users know that there is a problem, what the problem is, and either link them to reviewed local mechanics or to resources that show users how to fix it themselves.
Chary Jewelry took the first place prize back home to Newark High School with an idea for fashionable jewelry with an important purpose. These pieces of jewelry would double as weapons when there is nothing left to do but fight off a possible attacker. High quality jewelry with women’s safety in mind left the judges and audience wanting to get their own.
The Social Innovation Track was packed to the brim with students who are looking to make a positive impact on the world around them.
With just one stone, Two Birds of Padua Academy locked in their seat in the Diamond Challenge semifinals and wowed the entire room with their second place win. Two Birds is looking to reduce food waste while simultaneously filling the plates of hungry students.
First place was awarded to the passionate hearts and bright minds behind Vesifier. The students of Freire pitched a water filtration system with an app that would report what was in the water in simple terms. Vesifier is on the right track to improving water quality worldwide, and opening up an understanding to what people are doing to their bodies when they drink water from different sources, especially those in areas of the world where the water may be contaminated.
For a next step, Chary Jewelry, Honest Mechanics, Two Birds, and Vesifier will compete for a $100,000 prize pool at the 2022 Diamond Challenge Summit from Thursday, April 21 to Saturday, April 23 at the University of Delaware. These teams will join other bright high school minds from all over the world who will be meeting to pitch their ideas on a global stage and to highlight their hometowns, again, while improving the world in the process.
The teams were reviewed by a panel of experienced entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators who were able to connect with the students and provide decades worth of valuable startup advice.
The Business Innovation Track judging was done by Jim Ash, Global Market Development Leader, DuPont Performance Building Solutions; Patrick Callahan, Founder, Compass Red Data Labs; Cynthia Conway, Principal, OakWise Marketing, LLC; and George Munyua, Senior Associate, PwC Cyber, Risk & Regulatory.
The Social Innovation Track was judged by Joel Brown, Founder & CEO, Arrived Leadership; Kit Daniels, Partner, Daniels + Tansey, LLP; Sade Truiett, Advocacy & Partnership Director, First State Educate; and Matt Walz, CEO, trialbee.
The 2022 EntreX Lab Delaware Venture Showcase could not have been a success without this years’ sponsors. Thank you to Gore, Capital One, DSWA and CSC for setting the future on the right path and by allowing these talented young minds to learn and compete.
About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at the University of Delaware. Currently ranked among the best entrepreneurship programs in the US, Horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.