The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest announced the winners of the Northwest Indiana High School Pitch Competition – Westville.
Judges selected five winners from 17 student teams. Students presented their startup pitches at PNW’s Westville campus March 14. Teams had four minutes to share their pitch, followed by questions from the judges.
“It was exciting to host another business pitch competition for our area high school students,” said Jason Williams, Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest CEO, in a press release. “The jobs many of these students will be filling haven’t even been created yet, but I am confident that they are also the students who will creating those jobs of tomorrow.”
Karaline Cartagena Edwards, Economic Development Corp. Michigan City economic development manager, served as a competition judge.
“While it was clear that some ideas would be quicker to market and others would require a bit more time, what stood out to me the most was how our youth are observing our world,” she said. “I wish more people understood that our students are active participants in our society, and they are observant. They see what is working and what isn’t working and they’re honest about it.”
Each winner was awarded $200 to invest in their business idea. Winners include:
- Klueless Kloset (North Judson – San Pierre High School). Klueless Kloset provides a virtual stylist app that uses artificial intelligence and personal fashion designers to help restyle one’s wardrobe. Team members include sisters Haven and Karlie Kretchmer.
- The SolarFlare (Hobart High School). The SolarFlare Cooker is a portable, solar-powered camping heater. Team members include Samuel Clady, Maverick Becerra and Michael Klaich.
- LEVEL (Hobart High School). LEVEL uses an AI-driven gamification system to help students earn rewards for completed school assignments and provide teachers with a tool to monitor and customize their follow-up with each student’s work. Team members include Ian Kelly and Zachary Felty.
- SignalSafe (Merrillville High School), The SignalSafe Smart Watch enhances fire safety for deaf and hard-of-hearing youth. SignalSafe was presented by Isaiah Harvey.
- Night Shine (Lowell Senior High School). Night Shine is a windshield film kit to help eliminate the glare of LED headlights at night. The kit includes the film, a squeegee and a microfiber towel. Team members include Allison Quinn Miedema and Myles Rene Deal.
The judging panel included:
- Karaline Cartagena – Edwards Economic Development Corp. Michigan City economic development manager
- Lorri Feldt – Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center regional director
- Mont Handley – Purdue University Northwest Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center associate director, entrepreneur-in-residence
The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest will host the Innovate WithIN Region 4 Finals April 15 at PNW’s Hammond campus. During the event, 10 Northwest Indiana high school teams, selected out of hundreds of competitors, will share their pitches and business ideas. The event is free and open to the public. Learn more here.
